Barbecue brisket

Ingredients

Brisket

• 1whole packer brisket, 5–6 kg, point and flat attached, with a good fat cap

Rub

• 4 tbspcoarse black pepper, 16 mesh
• 4 tbspcoarse salt
• 1 tbspgarlic powder (optional)

Fire

• post oak, hickory or a mix, split
• a spray bottle of water or cider vinegar
• unwaxed butcher paper

Directions

1. Trim the fat cap to an even 6 mm across the whole brisket, and round off the thin edges of the flat so nothing burns. Remove the hard deckle fat between point and flat where you can reach it.
2. Season heavily on all sides with equal parts coarse salt and pepper. Texas brisket is a salt-and-pepper dish; there should be a visible, even crust of rub with no bare patches.
3. Rest at room temperature for an hour while the smoker comes up to 110°C (225°F) with clean, thin blue smoke. Thick white smoke is unburnt fuel and gives an acrid, sooty flavour.
4. Put the brisket on fat side up, thickest part toward the fire, and leave it alone for the first 3 hours.
5. Spray lightly with water or vinegar every hour after that, only to keep the surface from drying.
6. At around 70°C (160°F) internal the temperature will stop climbing for several hours. This is the stall, it is evaporative cooling, and it is normal — do not raise the heat to push through it.
7. When the bark is deep mahogany and does not smear when touched, usually 6–8 hours in, wrap tightly in butcher paper and return it to the smoker.
8. Cook to about 96–99°C (205–210°F) internal, but judge by feel rather than the number: a probe should slide into the thickest part of the flat with no resistance, like pushing into soft butter. Temperature varies from brisket to brisket; tenderness does not.
9. Rest wrapped, in a cooler or a switched-off oven, for at least 2 hours and preferably 4. This is as important as the cook, and slicing early loses all the juice onto the board.
10. Separate point from flat, then slice the flat across the grain in pencil-thick slices, and cube or slice the point. Serve with white bread, pickles and raw onion.

Technique

• Feel, not temperature, decides doneness. Every brisket probes tender at a slightly different reading.
• Do not wrap early to save time. Wrapping before the bark has set steams it soft and you lose the crust entirely.
• The grain changes direction between the point and the flat, which is why they are separated before slicing.

Substitutions

• Foil instead of butcher paper — faster and more tender, but it softens the bark. Known as the Texas crutch.
• A flat alone, about 2.5 kg, cooks in 7–8 hours for a smaller crowd.

Variations

• Central Texas, salt and pepper only; Kansas City, with a sweeter rub and sauce.
• Burnt ends, the cubed and re-smoked point, sauced and returned to the fire.

History

Czech and German butchers in Central Texas meat markets smoked unsold brisket and sold it by the pound on butcher paper to cotton-gin workers.

Frequently asked questions

What is Barbecue brisket?

Barbecue brisket is a main from United States: beef brisket smoked low and slow, Texas style. Czech and German butchers in Central Texas meat markets smoked unsold brisket and sold it by the pound on butcher paper to cotton-gin workers.

How long does Barbecue brisket take to make?

Barbecue brisket takes 30 min plus overnight rest of preparation and 12 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 10–12 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Barbecue brisket?

Yes, within limits. Foil instead of butcher paper — faster and more tender, but it softens the bark. Known as the Texas crutch. A flat alone, about 2.5 kg, cooks in 7–8 hours for a smaller crowd.

What is the most important thing to get right in Barbecue brisket?

Trim the fat cap to an even 6 mm across the whole brisket, and round off the thin edges of the flat so nothing burns. Remove the hard deckle fat between point and flat where you can reach it.