Barbecued Brisket
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.
- Duration
- Prep Time
- 8 ServingsServings
Ingredients
Mop Sauce
- 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
Preparation
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.
