Smoked Brisket

[KenP]

Originally Posted by TXSUT

Inject a brisket = BLASPHEMY! Easy on the basting, too; basting a brisket is for pussy Yankees.

When the meat comes off the grill, wrap in foil and let rest for 20-30 minutes. As for how to serve, unwrap the bitch, slice it, and eat it.

I was hoping you'd respond, being from TX and all. That's the way I'll do it. Thanks.

[TXSUT]

Originally Posted by KenP

I was hoping you'd respond, being from TX and all. That's the way I'll do it. Thanks.

Well, if you'll recall, I'm actually from south Louisiana (but been in TX since '89), so when you want to boil some crawfish or deep fry a turkey, give me a shout. But I do enjoy smoking my own briskets.

In addition to smoking, which I have indeed done on a standard Weber (indirect heat), I have another method for cooking brisket that is always a hit. It entails "stuffing" the brisket with chopped jalapenos, chopped yellow onion, chopped shallots, and garlic, and seasoned with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. BUT, you'll take issue with the fact that it gets cooked for about 3 hours in the oven, and the 4th hour on the grill is only for char-broiling and getting a little smokey taste to it. The drippings collected in the oven pan make for one hell of a great stock for gravy to be served over white rice and black-eyed peas.

[KenP]

No oven! No oven!

After Que'ing it to 160* I'm going to pull it off, foil it and put it in a cooler for an hour before slicing it. That seems to be the method recommended by many on one of the smoker forums.

Rox, my first Father's Day is coming up and I told CP I wanted either a big tool box or a smoker. Well, she's already gotten me Duquane natural gas grill and the Weber Performer, and she's not too hip on the tool box thing, so maybe I'll get a gift card.

How does Trent like his Traeger? I assume he got the offset box, but which model did he get?

[Big Dad]

Originally Posted by TXSUT

I have another method for cooking brisket that is always a hit. It entails "stuffing" the brisket with chopped jalapenos, chopped yellow onion, chopped shallots, and garlic, and seasoned with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. BUT, you'll take issue with the fact that it gets cooked for about 3 hours in the oven, and the 4th hour on the grill is only for char-broiling and getting a little smokey taste to it. The drippings collected in the oven pan make for one hell of a great stock for gravy to be served over white rice and black-eyed peas.

I assume it's on a rack, I'm down with trying this one. Will do this weekend. What oven temp and quantity of ingredients for the stuffing? Are there any other particulars I need to know about?

[KenP]

Originally Posted by Big Dad

I assume it's on a rack, I'm down with trying this one. Will do this weekend. What oven temp and quantity of ingredients for the stuffing? Are there any other particulars I need to know about?

Who cares. Just stuff some junk in there and turn the oven on low. sheeezzz....

[Big Dad]

Originally Posted by KenP

Who cares. Just stuff some junk in there and turn the oven on low. sheeezzz....

Ok brain! I'll just shove stuff in it.... And hope!

I'm thinking 325 degrees should do the trick. Then I'll throw it on a smokey grill for an hour.

[KenP]

Originally Posted by 2-H2's

For the serious smokers out there...


www.pittsandspitts.com

you'll pay dearly, but will not be disappointed...

I'm hungry

WAY too expensive! Holy crap! You can get a good 16"-20" with offset box with 1/4" steel that's tunable for around half that if you look. On the otherhand, custom pieces are pretty sweet.

I mentioned wanting one again and that idea was very, very quickly nixed. I guess practice for a BBQ cookoff is going to be trickier than I thought.

After doing some reading tho, it appears a cheap bullet smoker with mods to the door to seal it better work decent for overnighters. Even the cheapest of models, like KMart/Sears, will work alright and cook for maybe 8 hours on one load of charcoal holding temps around 250* without having to constantly watch it. That can be harder with an offset.

The more expensive bullets like the Weber SM, still under $200, can go 12+ hours with NO mods. They're ready out of the box, but I'd need that permission thing again....

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

Originally Posted by KenP

WAY too expensive! Holy crap! You can get a good 16"-20" with offset box with 1/4" steel that's tunable for around half that if you look. On the otherhand, custom pieces are pretty sweet.

I mentioned wanting one again and that idea was very, very quickly nixed. I guess practice for a BBQ cookoff is going to be trickier than I thought.

After doing some reading tho, it appears a cheap bullet smoker with mods to the door to seal it better work decent for overnighters. Even the cheapest of models, like KMart/Sears, will work alright and cook for maybe 8 hours on one load of charcoal holding temps around 250* without having to constantly watch it. That can be harder with an offset.

The more expensive bullets like the Weber SM, still under $200, can go 12+ hours with NO mods. They're ready out of the box, but I'd need that permission thing again....

OK KEN !!!

ALL the men on the forum give you their permission...!

[TXSUT]

Originally Posted by Big Dad

Ok brain! I'll just shove stuff in it.... And hope!

I'm thinking 325 degrees should do the trick. Then I'll throw it on a smokey grill for an hour.

For a 5-6lb brisket:

1 cup of chopped jalapenos, 1 cup of chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped shallots, two cloves minced garlic. Mix all together in a bowl. Slice the brisket along its full length (butterfly style), and open it up. Spread the mixture evenly on one side and fold the other side back over (close the butterfly). Tie the brisket with cotton cooking twine. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and cayenne to your liking. Place on rack in pot (dutch oven or similar baking pan), cover, and cook in oven at 325 for 3 hours. Remove brisket from pot and place on grill for about an hour. I like mine charred on the outside, so I usually put it over direct heat for the last 30 minutes or so. Be careful because even after only 3 hours in the oven, the brisket can sometimes start to fall apart, making the transition to the grill messy. Remove from grill, wrap in foil and let rest for 2-30 mins.

Disclaimer: I came up with this method and the ingredients on my own, so your results may vary.

As for making the gravy, I pour the drippings into a sauce pan, bring to a simmer, add a tablespoon or so of flour, and continue stirring/cooking on a low fire until it tastes right. Usually have to add a little salt and black pepper.

Good luck!

[Big Dad]

Originally Posted by TXSUT

For a 5-6lb brisket:

1 cup of chopped jalapenos, 1 cup of chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped shallots, two cloves minced garlic. Mix all together in a bowl. Slice the brisket along its full length (butterfly style), and open it up. Spread the mixture evenly on one side and fold the other side back over (close the butterfly). Tie the brisket with cotton cooking twine. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and cayenne to your liking. Place on rack in pot (dutch oven or similar baking pan), cover, and cook in oven at 325 for 3 hours. Remove brisket from pot and place on grill for about an hour. I like mine charred on the outside, so I usually put it over direct heat for the last 30 minutes or so. Be careful because even after only 3 hours in the oven, the brisket can sometimes start to fall apart, making the transition to the grill messy. Remove from grill, wrap in foil and let rest for 2-30 mins.

Disclaimer: I came up with this method and the ingredients on my own, so your results may vary.

As for making the gravy, I pour the drippings into a sauce pan, bring to a simmer, add a tablespoon or so of flour, and continue stirring/cooking on a low fire until it tastes right. Usually have to add a little salt and black pepper.

Good luck!

Pete,

Thanks so much for responding, that sounds awesome!

The only way I might tweak your recipe -- no disrespect -- is by adding some butter to the drippings for the roux/gravy.

I'll let you know how it turns out!

Jeff