1st Brisket.... Learned some stuff

[earlyman55]

Hi Gang -

As promised, I made my first brisket this weekend. I bought a 10 lb packer at WalMart a couple weeks ago; I kept it in its cryovac package until the "sell by" date (which just happened to be Friday). After a bit of a trim (left the fat cap about 1/2 in thick, but removed the fat vein), I cut it into 2 pieces. One piece consisted of the flat, the other was mostly the point. I rubbed the flat with Webers Burgundy Beef rub (you gotta try this stuff) and the point I rubbed with Webers Smoky Mesquite rub. I have been making my own rubs from the tons of resources on the Web, but these rubs are really flavorful and reasonably priced - Sams carries a whole bunch of flavors.

After a night on the fridge, Saturday I fired up the Bradley to 220 with 3 hrs worth of mesquite (I've become a convert to this strange wood!  )  Now here's where it gets interesting.  I read an earlier post from another reader who followed WTS's recipe. When the IT of the brisket hit 190, he took it out and FTC'd it for a few hours, then ate it. He said that it only took about 6 hours to reach 190.  WTS, on the other hand, cooks his for about 14-16 hours.

Well, since I had 2 separate pieces, I thought I'd try them for both times.  The flat I smoked in the Bradley for 3 hours, then tented with apple juice in the oven at 220 for another 3-4 hours, until the IT hit 190.  I then FTC'd it for 2 more hours and then served it with some Texas Mop Sauce (recipe below).  The brisket was juicy, flavorful* and FIRM. It wasn't tough; after slicing very thin, individual pieces with a butcher knife, we could cut it with our butter knives, but the meat was quite dense.

The point I did the same way, but I left it in the oven overnight at 225. This morning I took it out. After 16 hours total cooking time, the IT was 195. When I removed it from the oven and unwrapped the foil a bit, I saw that it was very juicy and moist. When I pushed on the top of it with my finger, a piece broke off of it; it was so tender I could probably cut up the whole roast with my finger!

It is currently resting in my Coleman cooler, awaiting Dinner time. So it seems that both methods yield a good result; it's just a matter of opinion as to what consistency you like your brisket.  My wife sampled a bit of the 16 hour piece this morning and she prefers the melt in your mouth version over the firmer, shorter cooking time piece.

*Next time I make one, I think I'll up the smoke to at least 4 hours of mesquite, if not longer.  I didn't taste the smoke as much as I'd have liked to.

I got this mop sauce recipe from www.amazingribs.com. I didn't actually mop the brisket, I offered it as a side dish. However, after everyone tasted it, we all ended up pouring it over all of our brisket. The stuff is just that good!  The part I liked was that when I was mixing it up in an old cast iron saucepan, it looked like something you'd see bubbling up in a witch's cauldron!  Especially when I dumped in the beer!     Enjoy!

-E


Ingredients:

1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon of butter *
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup Lone Star beer (or any other lager). Drink any that is left over.
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons steak sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Hot sauce to taste (start with 2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce for mild heat)
2 cups beef, veal, or chicken stock
Note about the oil. Butter or margarine work fine, but to make it authentic, use rendered beef fat from the fatback of a brisket or use bacon fat.

Do this:
1) Mix the paprika, black pepper, chili powder, and cumin in a small bowl.
2) In a one quart saucepan, melt the butter or bacon fat and gently cook the onion over medium heat until translucent.
3) Add the garlic, bell pepper, and the spice mix you made in step (1). Stir, and cook for two minutes to extract the flavors.
4) Add the stock and the rest of the ingredients. Stir until well blended. Simmer on medium for 15 minutes.

[Mr Walleye]

Sounds great Earlyman!

Thanks for sharing the mop sauce, I'll have to give it a try.

Mike

[suprchunk]

I have found that the tip is always more tender than the flat. Cooked for the same amount of time with same temps, the tip will always be tender for me. A true test would've been to have to semi-identical briskets and try the methods you did. Or better yet, I will try it sometime in the future. I can never have too much brisket anyway.