BBQ Brisket

Courtesy of Jon Kennet

You start out on the grill for 2 to 2.5 hours and then finish it in the oven about 3 hours.  This recipe calls for a full brisket (10 lbs) which will feed 18 to 24.  I typically cook a half brisket.  I have used the below rub.  I have also used pre-made rubs from different stores.  Both work fine.  The key that I find is you want to use heavy duty foil and you want to put a tight seal on the brisket when you move it to the oven.  I don't think you need to use wood chips if you don't want.  Chips can get messy on a grill.  I think de-fatting meat juice and adding it to your bbq sauce as it says in step 6 is a great idea and it thins out your store bought sauces.  Finally you want to cut it in a vertical fashion like slicing a loaf of bread in 1/4" (thin) slices.  You can either serve as is or make sandwhiches.  Both are good.  Note you can put the rub on and put in the fridge for up to 2 days in advance.  Enjoy.

Recipe

Cooking a whole brisket, which weighs about 10 pounds, may seem like overkill. However, the process is easy, and the leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. (Leave leftover brisket unsliced, and reheat the foil-wrapped meat in a 300-degree oven until warm.) Still, if you don’t want to bother with a big piece of meat or if your grill has fewer than 400 square inches of cooking space, barbecuing brisket for less than a crowd is easy to do. Simply ask your butcher for either the point or flat portion of the brisket, whichever cut you prefer. Then follow the master recipe, reducing the spice rub by half and grill-smoking for 1 1/2 hours. Wrap the meat tightly in foil and reduce its time in the oven to 2 hours. No matter how large or small a piece you cook, it’s a good idea to save the juices the meat gives off while in the oven to enrich the barbecue sauce. Hickory and mesquite are both traditional wood choices with brisket.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. For Spicy Chili Rub: Mix all ingredients in small bowl.
2. Apply dry rub liberally to all sides of brisket; wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 and up to 48 hours.
3. For Brisket: About 1 hour prior to cooking, remove the brisket from the refrigerator, unwrap, and let it come up to room temperature. Soak the wood chips in cold water to cover for 30 minutes and drain. Place them in a foil tray, (see illustration below).
4. Place the tray on top of the primary burner. Light all the burners and turn to high, cover, and heat until the chips are smoking heavily, about 20 minutes. Scrape the cooking grate clean with a grill brush. Turn the primary burner down to medium and turn off the other burner(s). Position the brisket, fat side up, over the cooler part of the grill. Cover and barbecue for 2 hours. (The temperature inside the grill should be a constant 275 degrees; adjust the lit burner as necessary.)
5. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Attach 2 pieces of heavy-duty foil, 4 feet long, by folding the long edges together 2 or 3 times, crimping tightly to seal well, to form an approximately 4 by 3 foot rectangle. Position the brisket lengthwise in the center of the foil. Bring the short edges over the brisket and fold down, crimping tightly to seal. Repeat with the long sides of the foil to seal the brisket completely. (See illustrations below.) Place the brisket on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the meat is fork-tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
   
   
6. Remove the brisket from the oven, loosen the foil at one end to release steam, and let rest for 30 minutes. If you like, drain the juices into a bowl and de-fat the juices in a gravy skimmer.
   
   
7. Unwrap the brisket and place it on a cutting board. Separate the meat into two sections and carve it on the bias across the grain into long, thin up and down slices.  Serve with plain barbecue sauce or with barbecue sauce that has been flavored with up to 1 cup of the de-fatted brisket juices.