Smokedbrisket Recipes

Steps:

• Soak wood chips in water for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat a smoker to 225 to 250 degrees F (107 to 121 degrees C) according to manufacturer's instructions. Maintain temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine rosemary, paprika, pepper, garlic flakes, and salt. Rub mixture over brisket.
• Drain wood chips and place on coals. Place a water pan on the smoker and add water to the depth of the fill line. Place brisket on the lower cooking grate and cover with the smoker lid.
• Smoke brisket, maintaining the smoker's internal temperature at 225 to 250 degrees F (107 to 121 degrees F) until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 3 hours.
• Remove brisket from the smoker and place on a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Wrap tightly and return to the smoker. Smoke until an instant-read thermometer registers between 195 and 205 degrees F (91 and 96 degrees C), about 2 hours.

Steps:

• Brush olive oil over brisket. Combine rub ingredients; rub over both sides of beef. Place brisket on a rimmed baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine mop sauce ingredients. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until ready to grill., Soak hickory and mesquite chips or pellets; add to smoker according to manufacturer's directions. Heat to 225°. Uncover brisket. Place brisket in smoker fat side up; smoke 2 hours. Brush generously with mop sauce; turn meat. Smoke 2 more hours; brush generously with mop sauce again. Wrap brisket securely in heavy-duty aluminum foil; smoke until a thermometer inserted in beef reads 190°, 4-5 more hours., Let beef stand 20-30 minutes before slicing; cut diagonally across the grain into thin slices.

Steps:

• Stir together the brown sugar, salt, black pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, granulated garlic, onion powder and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Combine the apple cider and 1 cup water in a food-safe spray bottle. Set both aside.
• Trim the excess fat and silver skin from the brisket, leaving a 1/4-inch layer of fat on the top side of the brisket (the side with the fat cap). As you trim, make sure to remove any hard pieces of fat found throughout the meat since it will not render off during the cooking process. Transfer the brisket to a rimmed baking sheet; sprinkle it evenly all over with the spice rub then use your hands to rub the spices into the meat. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour to let the seasoning penetrate.
• Preheat a pellet grill to 225 degrees F (see Cook's Note).
• Place the brisket, fat-side-up, directly on the grill grates. Insert a temperature probe if you have one, otherwise you will need an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature regularly. Close the lid and cook for 2 hours. At that point, mist the brisket with the apple cider mixture. Close the lid and cook, misting with the apple cider mixture every hour, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, about 6 hours more. Transfer the brisket to a rimmed baking sheet or cutting board then wrap the meat completely in aluminum foil.
• Return the wrapped brisket to the grill and re-insert the temperature probe. Close the lid and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 203 degrees F, about 3 hours.
• Remove the brisket from the grill and let rest, wrapped, for 30 minutes. Unwrap the brisket and transfer to a cutting board. Slowly separate the point cut (the thick fatty part) from the flat cut (the thinner, leaner part) by running a sharp knife through the fat that separates the two muscles. The flat cut can be sliced thinly and served immediately.
• For the burnt ends, increase the pellet grill temperature to 275 degrees F and dice the point cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Transfer to a disposable aluminum tray or rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Toss with the BBQ sauce and return to the pellet grill. Close the lid and cook, tossing occasionally, until the meat is caramelized all over and dark around the edges, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, tomato paste, paprika, crushed red pepper, allspice and cloves; cook, stirring, until the paste is dark brick red, about 3 minutes. Add the ketchup, vinegar, molasses, brown sugar, salt, soy sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, black pepper, bay leaf and 1 cup water. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the flavors come together, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic cloves and bay leaf; let the sauce cool to room temperature. The sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Steps:

• Mix together the spices in a small bowl. Rub the entire brisket with the spice mixture, place on a baking sheet, cover and let stand in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 6 hours.
• Prepare the smoker according to manufacturer's directions. Place the brisket in the smoker, fat side down, and smoke for 4 to 5 hours or until extremely tender. Baste with the mop every 30 minutes.
• Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Steps:

• Make the brisket: Mix the paprika, brown sugar and 2 tablespoons each salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub and pat all over the brisket in a thick even coating. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to grill, soak the wood chips in cold water in a large bowl. Prepare a charcoal grill for indirect cooking: Light the coals, then bank them to one side of the grill. Set up a drip pan on the other side of the grill and replace the grates. Let the fire burn until the temperature is between 200 degrees F and 250 degrees F (you should be able to hold your hand about 5 inches away from the coals for 6 seconds). Drain the wood chips and scatter a handful of them over the coals. (If using a gas grill, cook over low indirect heat and use a smoker box for the wood chips.)
• Place the brisket fat-side up on the grates above the drip pan. Cover the grill; adjust the vents to maintain a temperature between 200 degrees F and 250 degrees F. Cook until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the brisket registers 185 degrees F to 200 degrees F, 7 1/2 to 10 hours. Rotate the brisket every few hours and add more charcoal and wood chips every 45 minutes to keep the temperature steady (use dry wood chips if you need more).
• Remove the brisket from the grill, wrap in foil and let rest 45 minutes to 1 hour. Pour the drippings from the drip pan into a bowl; let them settle, then skim off the fat.
• Meanwhile make the sauce: Combine the vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, paprika and 1 teaspoon salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, whisking, until hot but not boiling, about 3 minutes. Let cool; season with salt.
• Slice the brisket against the grain. Serve with the pan juices and sauce.

Steps:

• Trim brisket leaving 1/2" layer of fat on top. Determine the direction of the grain of the meet and cut off a slice across the grain. This way when the meet is done, and covered with a dark brown crust, you'll be able to see which direction you should slice.
• Brush with 1/4 cup of lemon juice (bottle juice is fine).
• In a bowl, combine lemon pepper, oregano, celery salt, garlic salt, and seasoned salt.
• Rub brisket with 1/2 of this mixture, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
• Remove brisket and let it come to room temp before cooking. Putting a cold piece of meat in a smoker is a sure fire recipe for disaster--the meet will be very bitter.
• Prepare your smoker according to the manufacturer's direction. Heat the smoker to 225°F at the cooking level.
• Place the brisket in the smoker, fat side up.
• Keep the temperature as close to 200°F as you can for the first 2-3 hours by adjusting the air intake, and adding small pieces of wood every 30 minutes. Do not adjust the out vent, it should always remain full open. You know your cooking properly when there is very little smoke coming out of the smoker, and the hot air coming out of the top vent is clear for the first foot, then it turns to a grayish white smoke. If smoke is billowing out of every opening, the smoke is cold and the air flow is too low--your brisket will taste like tar. You can let the temperature creep up to 225°F , but not much over that.
• In a small bowl, combine the Worcestershire sauce, and remaining lemon juice and rub mixture.
• Mop on the sauce every hour as you turn the meat. Be sure to turn the meat over and also rotate to ensure even cooking. This should be the only time you open the cooking area.
• Smoke 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours per pound, until the internal temperature is 190°F . If you go much past that, your brisket will not slice up, and you'll have pulled beef.
• Remove and wrap in aluminum foil. Let the meat rest for about 1 hour.
• Cut the point (the pyramid shaped portion) off following a natural fat layer between the point and the flat.
• Trim off excess fat.
• Slice the brisket across the grain, using the starter slice you should have done at the beginning as a guide. Slices should be 1/4" thick. If a portion of brisket is falling apart rather than slicing, don't despair. Save the shredded portions and the burnt ends. They will make the best BBQ beef sandwiches later, when chopped and mixed with BBQ sauce.

Steps:

• Mix/blend all rub ingredients in small food processor or spice grinder. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the rub.
• Trim brisket of any discolored fat, hard fat, or fat between flat and flap. Leave most of the fat cap on one side.
• Apply 1-1/2 cups of the rub liberally to both sides of brisket. Wrap with plastic wrap or cover on sheet pan. Place in refrigerator at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Combine all steam pan ingredients. Whisk to combine. Reserve 2 cups of sauce. Combine this with reserved rub. Whisk. Use this as the mop sauce.
• Add hardwood chips to smoker box. Fill steam pan with Preheat smoker to about 200 deg farenheit. Place brisket in smoker, fat side up, when smoke is good and thick. Mop every 30 to 45 minutes or as needed.
• Maintain smoker box and steam pan. If you need more liquid that recipe makes, use apple juice and beer.
• When brisket reaches internal temp of about 145-150 degrees (about 4-5 hours), wrap in double thickness of tin foil. (At this point, smoke and flavored steam are not needed, but don't let steam pan go dry). Put brisket back in smoker or in an oven. Maintain cooking temp between 200 and 225 degrees until internal temp reaches 190-195 degrees.
• Allow brisket to rest in foil pouch on cutting board for 15-20 minutes. The meat will stay warm. Be careful when unwrapping brisket as there will be a large amount of liquid in the foil pouch. This can be discarded or poured over sliced meat.

Steps:

• Gently toast the cumin, chilli flakes, peppercorns, fennel seeds and thyme in a pan over a low heat until aromatic. Grind to a fine dust with the demerara sugar using a spice blender or pestle and mortar. Tip into a bowl and mix in the remaining rub ingredients.
• Season the brisket generously with the rub and leave to stand at room temperature for up to an hour. Prepare the smoker for indirect cooking at 120-130C. Once ready, place the seasoned brisket on the smoker, fat-side up. Leave for 10 hrs or until the outside is a dark, mahogany colour. Top up the smoker as needed.
• Remove the brisket and wrap in butcher paper. Return to the smoker and continue to cook for 2-3 hrs until the meat reaches 93-94C when probed with a thermometer. Allow to rest for 40 mins before slicing and serving with charred greens and salsa rossa.