I found this
article to be funny and also offers a simple way for a new comer to dive into the pool that is brisket....
By: Kat Kinsman - Eatocracy managing editor
I've never had any complaints about my brisket. That could be because
no one is especially keen to rag on the crazy-eyed lady wielding a hot
pair of tongs and giving out free meat, but I'd like to think that it
had at least a little bit to do with quality.
Burgers, hot dogs, steaks and chicken are cookout classics for a
reason. They're crowd-pleasers and (with a little care) relatively
un-screwuppable. They're a safe bet, but for maximum impact, only a
giant hunk of meat will get the job done.
Consider the brisket. It's a big ol' flat, cut of beef from the chest
of a cow, and it's the stuff of Texas legend. It's bone-free and takes a
fairly long time to cook down under low, slow charcoal heat, but every
last stomach grumble is worth it.
While many weekend grillers think this sort of project is best left
to fifth-generation Texas pitmasters and smoke-soaked competition
barbecue acolytes with big, schmancy smokers, a succulent brisket is
achievable in your backyard grill.
Really. I promise. Here's how.
There are as many ways to tackle a brisket as there are burly dudes with
open beers in their hands - and they're all probably pretty good. This
method has worked for me, and I'm endlessly tweaking it, but it starts
out with a brisket with a good, solid fat cap on top. In this
health-conscious era, some butchers and supermarkets are trimming the
fat from meat and touting that as a selling point, but in this case,
it's a detriment. In times of desperation, I've patched denuded brisket
tops with strips of fatty bacon, but that was far from ideal.
A full brisket is often on the order of 18 to 20 pounds, which is an
awful lot of meat to address all at one time, and which will take more
time and cash than you're likely willing to spend on your first attempt.
Shoot for a trimmed brisket - around 5 to 7 pounds and back it up with a
slew of sides if you're expecting a lot of company. Haul that home
along with some beer, cider vinegar and wood chips and start your rub.
Ideally you'll have a few hours to let your brisket loll about in
these spices, but the barbecue deities are not always smiling their
brightest down upon us. You'll plan ahead next time, but for now, cobble
this together:
Basic Brisket Rub
1/4 cup Sweet paprika (or hot or smoked if that's more to your liking)
1/4 cup Kosher salt
1/4 cup Brown sugar
2 Tablespoons freshly-ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a bowl with your fingers, working out any brown sugar lumps.
From here, you can add your own personal twists – tablespoons or
teaspoons of dry mustard, coffee, celery seed, dried chiles, powdered
onion, garlic salt – up to you. Coriander and cumin play beautifully
with heady wood smoke like hickory or apple, but really - even if you
keep it super-simple, this brisket is going to be delicious.
Rub this on every surface of the meat and then wrap it and stick it
in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight), or go out and start
building your fire. Unlike a burger, steak or hot dog where flame
proximity is paramount, large cuts like briskets and pork shoulders fare
better under sustained, low, indirect heat.
Pour half a beer into a bowl and toss in a handful of wood chips.
You'll develop your own wood preferences the longer you're on the smoke
train, but fruit woods like apple and cherry are a solid choice, as are
mesquite and hickory. Don't fret. And don't guzzle the other half of the
beer; pour that into another bowl with a cup of cider vinegar, a pinch
or two of red pepper flakes and another each of salt and pepper. That
will be your mop sauce.
Light a charcoal chimney (
here's how),
and when the coals have ashed over, layer them evenly on one side on
the grill and place a drip pan on the other. Replace the grates on the
side over the drip pan and go fetch your meat.
Position the brisket as far from the coals as you can, grab some wet
chips and a few dry ones, carefully throw them atop the coals and close
the lid of the grill. Smoke will start to billow out of the vents and it
will smell like heaven.
Enjoy that for a few minutes, then check the grill's temperature.
You're aiming for 225°F; if it's lower, open your vents as wide as
they'll go (and add more coals if need be) and if it's too hot, ease
them closed. That may seem counterintuitive, but fire needs oxygen to
feed it. Otherwise - stop futzing with the grill. Temperature shifts are
the enemy of excellent smoked meat, and as the pitmasters are wont to
say, "If you're looking, you ain't cooking."
Your only excuses for opening the lid should be either the addition
of fresh coals or mopping your meat. To achieve the latter, grab that
beer and vinegar mixture, stir it up and brush it all over the meat once
an hour. Use that window of opportunity to throw on some more wood
chips, or rotate (not flip) the brisket half a turn once you're about
three hours in, but otherwise leave that meat alone.
By the way, gas grillers are not out of the brisket game. Just keep
the heat to 225°F, put the meat in a foil pan to shield it from the
direct flames, and place the chips in a foil pouch or metal smoker box.
After about five hours (with the trimmed brisket; on a full one
you're just getting started), the game changes a little bit. Whip out
your instant-read thermometer and get a reading at the thickest part of
the meat. If it's 185-190°F - congratulations; you've achieved brisket.
If it's not anywhere close, keep going, but if it's nearly there, check
every 20 minutes or so until it's up to temperature - and keep mopping.
Once it's sufficiently heated through and through, hoist that baby
onto a cutting board and smack away all greedy fingers attempting to
pick at it for the next ten minutes; it's been working hard and it needs
to rest. Then grab a sharp carving knife and slice in against the
grain.
Ideally, in a single slice, you'll see strata of bark (the dark outer
crust), deckle (a layer of fat), a pinkish smoke ring, and moist,
succulent meat. Stuff a few slices into your mouth and then feed your
guests.
If it doesn't look like that, it's probably still pretty good (and
again, you're giving people free meat and that is not to be
underestimated). But a few troubleshooting tips:
It's gone beyond bark and got burned
Not all briskets are shaped equally, and thinner parts, or spots with
less fat cook more quickly. Wrap those spots with foil or shield them
from the heat with bacon if you don't mind mixing meats.
It's dried out
For right now, offer a side of sauce or pan drippings if you have them.
In the future, spend some time getting to know your grill's vents and
hot spots, monitor the temperature closely throughout the process and
mop, mop, mop. Some grillers also keep a pan of water inside the grill
to maintain a moister environment. Others inject it with a marinade, but
that's always seemed a little fussy to me.
It's tough, but not burned or dry
Feed your guests some sides and keep cooking because it's just not done
yet. Grills and briskets vary mightily, and while some people go by a
rule of thumb - an hour to an hour and a half per pound - it might be
more and it might be less. Just listen to your brisket and keep your
trusty thermometer at your side.
I'm really tired of going out there and fussing with it
Aw, but that's the fun part! If you're truly having problems maintaining
temperature or are just getting antsy, pull the brisket from the grill
after two to three hours and finish it in a 225°F oven. Mopping and
temperature taking vigilance still apply.
Got a brisket question or methodology you'd care to share? Please
do so in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you and help/be
yelled at as needed.
Achieve grilling greatness – tips, recipes, advice and inspiration from professional chefs and backyard masters
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/05/28/risk-a-brisket-on-the-grill-this-summer/?hpt=ea_c1
