American Style Beef Brisket
American Style Beef Brisket How to Buy Beef Brisket Always choose Prime Grade beef brisket. Make sure that is it a whole brisket, that hasn’t been trimmed too heavily, and contains a good quantity of meat and fat. FAT EQUALS FLAVOUR! A beef brisket is composed of two parts, the flat and the point, and they may have hard sections of fat on them. You will want to trim those out. The fat on top of the brisket is called the "fat cap" and should be white. The thickness of the fat cap varies, but ultimately you want it to be about 1/4 of an inch thick. Thicker is ok because you can trim it down. When purchasing a beef brisket, make sure the meat is a deep red colour, which will represent freshness, and make sure it has plenty of fat incorporated throughout the meat, not just on top. The combination of the deep red colour and the white fat of a brisket is called marbling, and is the key to choosing a good brisket to BBQ. The marbling will resemble the same patterns you see when looking at a slab of marble. The fat looks like veins running throughout the meat. Since the brisket is such a thick cut of meat, the fat located throughout the meat will help to keep the beef brisket moist while smoking. Make sure the brisket has not been frozen. A frozen brisket may not display a deep red colour, the fat may be darker instead of white, and the brisket will not turn out as tender and juicy as a fresh one after smoking it. When I choose a brisket, I lift the brisket in the middle to see how limber it is. I have seen briskets that are stiff as a board and some that bend over each side of my hand. The stiff ones have probably been frozen or they can be tough. I have noticed that a stiff brisket may not be as tender as a limber brisket. Some people disagree with this test, but I am a firm believer because of the results I get. The weight of the brisket should be between 4-6kgs. A larger brisket takes longer to cook, and the flat may become tougher because of the longer cooking time. The flat is thin and tends to cook faster. Remember, if you put crap into the BBQ, you’ll always get crap out of the BBQ.
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The Perfect all-purpose Beef Rub Ingredients - Makes enough for 1 Beef Brisket (approx. 3 kg) 5 Tbls Dark brown sugar 2 Tbls Smoked paprika 4 tsp Yellow mustard powder 2 tsp Onion powder 2 tsp Garlic powder 1.5 tsp Dried basil 1 tsp Ground bay leaf ¾ tsp Ground coriander seed ¾ tsp Ground savory ¾ tsp Dried thyme ¾ tsp Ground black pepper ¾ tsp Ground white pepper 1/8 tsp Ground cumin 1 Tbls Sea salt
Method 1. 2. 3.
Combine all ingredients in food processor and blitz until smooth and well combined. Taste and adjust as necessary Store in airtight container for up to 6 weeks in a cool, dry, dark place.
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Slow Smoked Texan Beef Brisket Ingredients – Serves 12 Cape Grim Beef Brisket – 4-6kgs 1 batch all-purpose beef rub Redheads charcoal Mesquite chips or chunks Vegetable oil
Method 1.
2.
3. 4.
5. 6.
7.
8.
9.
The night before you want to smoke the brisket, trim excess fat off the brisket so there is an even ¼ thick fat layer on it. Also, remove any extremely hard fat chunks. These chunks will not cook and will give the brisket a strange texture. Rub the brisket with a light coating of vegetable oil. Massage the oil into every part of the meat (including the fat). Apply dry rub generously to the brisket. Ensure that the rub forms an evenly distributed layer of seasoning all over the brisket. Wrap the brisket tightly in cling film and store in the fridge overnight. Take the brisket out of the fridge two hours before you want to cook it and allow it to come to room temperature slowly. Prepare the smoker for indirect heat and allow all charcoal to ash over before adding brisket to smoker. If using an indirect firebox, build a small fire with charcoal and mesquite to ensure even indirect heat and smoke throughout the BBQ. Place the brisket fat side up in the BBQ to allow the rendering process to drip the fat back into the meat and keep it moist. Cook the brisket at 120-150°C for 2 ¾ hours per kg. Many variables affect cooking time and temperature such as how many times the smoker is opened, how close the brisket is to the fire box, the type of smoker you are using, the weight and thickness of the brisket, etc. 120-150°C for 2 ¾ hours per kg puts you in the ballpark for a well-cooked brisket. Many people believe that when the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 85 degrees, it is done. This is partially correct. When the internal temperature of the brisket is around 72°C, the brisket may or may not be done and it depends on the fat content inside it. If you are cooking the brisket at a temperature between 65 and 70 degrees, pull it off the pit and put it in a cooler for 2 hours when the internal temp is 72°C. A brisket will stall, or the temperature will stop increasing when the brisket reaches 80°C or so. At this point, evaporation occurs, and helps cool the temperature of the brisket. The stall can be very confusing and frustrating for someone hasn't had that much experience cooking briskets because the temperature stops increasing and it can take longer to finish the brisket than expected. To help combat this, wrap the brisket very tightly in foil when the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 80°C. If there are no air pockets, the brisket won't steam, and the stall time is reduced significantly. When you wrap the brisket, use heavy foil wrapping it with two layers. Put it back on the pit fat side up and be careful not to tear the foil. The brisket will maintain this temperature for a while because the melting internal fat and outside cap helps cool it. Cooking through this point will help the brisket become tender. Sometimes I use a mop sauce on brisket when I am smoking it. This can keep the outside of the brisket moist and tender. It is important to keep the lid closed while smoking the brisket to reduce heat loss and maintain a constant temperature, so when I use a mop, I baste the brisket about every 45 minutes to 1 hour. If you don't use a mop sauce, wrap the brisket in heavy foil at 80°C An easy way to apply this mop is to put it in a spray bottle and simply spray it on the brisket. Remember this: More Mop = Less Bark. You can smoke the brisket the whole time without mopping it and it will turn out just fine.
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The Perfect all-purpose Beef Rub Ingredients - Makes enough for 1 Beef Brisket (approx. 3 kg) 5 Tbls Dark brown sugar 2 Tbls Smoked paprika 4 tsp Yellow mustard powder 2 tsp Onion powder 2 tsp Garlic powder 1.5 tsp Dried basil 1 tsp Ground bay leaf ¾ tsp Ground coriander seed ¾ tsp Ground savory ¾ tsp Dried thyme ¾ tsp Ground black pepper ¾ tsp Ground white pepper 1/8 tsp Ground cumin 1 Tbls Sea salt
Method 1. 2. 3.
Combine all ingredients in food processor and blitz until smooth and well combined. Taste and adjust as necessary Store in airtight container for up to 6 weeks in a cool, dry, dark place.
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Slow Smoked Texan Beef Brisket Ingredients – Serves 12 Cape Grim Beef Brisket – 4-6kgs 1 batch all-purpose beef rub Redheads charcoal Mesquite chips or chunks Vegetable oil
Method 1.
2.
3. 4.
5. 6.
7.
8.
9.
The night before you want to smoke the brisket, trim excess fat off the brisket so there is an even ¼ thick fat layer on it. Also, remove any extremely hard fat chunks. These chunks will not cook and will give the brisket a strange texture. Rub the brisket with a light coating of vegetable oil. Massage the oil into every part of the meat (including the fat). Apply dry rub generously to the brisket. Ensure that the rub forms an evenly distributed layer of seasoning all over the brisket. Wrap the brisket tightly in cling film and store in the fridge overnight. Take the brisket out of the fridge two hours before you want to cook it and allow it to come to room temperature slowly. Prepare the smoker for indirect heat and allow all charcoal to ash over before adding brisket to smoker. If using an indirect firebox, build a small fire with charcoal and mesquite to ensure even indirect heat and smoke throughout the BBQ. Place the brisket fat side up in the BBQ to allow the rendering process to drip the fat back into the meat and keep it moist. Cook the brisket at 120-150°C for 2 ¾ hours per kg. Many variables affect cooking time and temperature such as how many times the smoker is opened, how close the brisket is to the fire box, the type of smoker you are using, the weight and thickness of the brisket, etc. 120-150°C for 2 ¾ hours per kg puts you in the ballpark for a well-cooked brisket. Many people believe that when the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 85 degrees, it is done. This is partially correct. When the internal temperature of the brisket is around 72°C, the brisket may or may not be done and it depends on the fat content inside it. If you are cooking the brisket at a temperature between 65 and 70 degrees, pull it off the pit and put it in a cooler for 2 hours when the internal temp is 72°C. A brisket will stall, or the temperature will stop increasing when the brisket reaches 80°C or so. At this point, evaporation occurs, and helps cool the temperature of the brisket. The stall can be very confusing and frustrating for someone hasn't had that much experience cooking briskets because the temperature stops increasing and it can take longer to finish the brisket than expected. To help combat this, wrap the brisket very tightly in foil when the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 80°C. If there are no air pockets, the brisket won't steam, and the stall time is reduced significantly. When you wrap the brisket, use heavy foil wrapping it with two layers. Put it back on the pit fat side up and be careful not to tear the foil. The brisket will maintain this temperature for a while because the melting internal fat and outside cap helps cool it. Cooking through this point will help the brisket become tender. Sometimes I use a mop sauce on brisket when I am smoking it. This can keep the outside of the brisket moist and tender. It is important to keep the lid closed while smoking the brisket to reduce heat loss and maintain a constant temperature, so when I use a mop, I baste the brisket about every 45 minutes to 1 hour. If you don't use a mop sauce, wrap the brisket in heavy foil at 80°C An easy way to apply this mop is to put it in a spray bottle and simply spray it on the brisket. Remember this: More Mop = Less Bark. You can smoke the brisket the whole time without mopping it and it will turn out just fine.
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