I consider the king of all (kosher) barbecued meats to be the whole beef brisket. Why is that? The nature of the cut has a lot to do with it. Brisket
is a very tough meat, loaded with the connective tissue called collagen. Collagen is tough stuff -no fun to chew on. If you were to cook a brisket
to a nice medium-rare 140° F, you’d be chewing that meat for days. The magic starts at 190° F, even though the meat is super-well-done. At that
temperature and higher, collagen melts, and the muscle fibers that have lost all their moisture are drenched in unctuous, meaty juices. Once you’ve had a slice of a properly smoked brisket, you’ll be hooked. A barbecued brisket sandwich with spicy BBQ sauce and creamy coleslaw is a bit of heaven on bread.
Barbecued Brisket
Servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup beer
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 whole untrimmed beef brisket (ask your butcher for this)
- A double recipe of all-purpose dry rub
- A recipe of Mop Sauce
Instructions
- 1 Rub the all-purpose dry rub all over the brisket. 2 Place it in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight. 3 Allow the brisket to rest at room temperature for 1 hour before you start cooking. 4 Follow your smoker’s instructions to get your smoker as close to 225° F as you can. 5 Use hickory wood for the smoke. Smoke for 1 to 1 ½ hours per pound, basting every hour with a light brushing of Mop Sauce. 6 Try to work fast when basting, to not let too much heat out of the smoker. 7 The brisket is done when an instant-read thermometer reads 190° to 200° F at the thickest part. 8 Allow the meat to rest for 15 minutes before carving. A whole brisket has a thick layer of fat on top, and another layer of fat in the middle. Slice the fat layers off before serving.
- What is an herb mop? A sauce mop helps glaze your meat during a BBQ. Create your own mop by using fresh herbs, kitchen twine and a twig. It is fun to make and adds an herbaceous flavor profile to your sauce. Take a bunch of herbs (rosemary or thyme for example), attach it to a twig or stick, tie the twine around the herbs, dip the herb mop in sauce, and sauce your meat, chicken or fish as it sizzles over the grill.
- Use your favorite BBQ sauce recipe for your mop sauce.
Hopefully Steve will respond, but I believe when you smoke meat you need some liquid and you can use the beer and juice to give it more flavor rather than water when following the smoker instructions.
Same question as Bonnie
What to do with the beer and juice? Just bought the brisket and ready to start….
What do I do with the beer and apple juice? 1.drink 2. put into a drip pan or 3. add to the plastic bag with dry rub. I know it has to be one of the three. Can’t wait to try this!
This refers to using a smoker…. what if you only have a gas BBQ? Can this be done with a regular grill? How would you change the cooking instructions?
My family will only eat brisket if it’s barbecued. I am always looking for good, new recipes like this one.