Its Not A Secret Brisket Food

THE BEEFIEST, JUICIEST BRISKET WHAT AM! THE SMOKYOKIE METHOD

Steps:

• Select the best brisket by wiggling the brisket back and forth@ the middle of the point end. This will tell you how fatty the point cut is, and how much fat layer there is between the point and flat cut. The easier it wiggles, the better. Buy the cheapest grade you can get. We want as little marbling as possible. Be sure you have a whole "packer trim" brisket, and not a flat cut or point cut. 12-13# is optimum for this application.
• 1-2 days before, rub brisket well with rub, and wrap tightly with H.D. plastic wrap, place in pan and refrigerate, or place in ice chest.
• The day of the cook, start early by moving the brisket out of the fridge and packing it with black pepper.
• Prepare your fire for the smoker, and, on a separate grill, prepare a VERY hot fire for searing the brisket.
• When smoker is up to temp(250*-275*) sear brisket thoroughly on all sides and ends as well. We're talking so black that it looks like it's ruined, but don't worry, it's not. While it's OK to pierce the meat with a fork 2 this point, it's preferable not to. You may need help turning it w/ tongs.
• Once seared, place brisket in foil pan, fat side up, and smoke, uncovered for 2 hours.
• Flip brisket and smoke for 1 hour. At this point, the juices inside are under a fair amount of pressure. It is important not to pierce the meat from this point until it is done.
• Flip brisket back to fat side up, and cover with foil.
• Continue to smoke until internal temperature of 200* is obtained. There will come a point where the temp won't go up no matter what you do. This is normal. Resist the temptation to kick up the temp in your smoker. Time remaining to achieve 200* should be 5-9 hours. The reason for such a large variable is that smoker temps are not precise, and amount of "open time" will vary from cook to cook.
• When 200* is obtained, remove from smoker, and allow to cool until it is safe to handle, then carefully lift brisket out and remove to a cutting board, and tent w/ foil. A long spatula, or some other long support will be helpful, because it will probably try to break up on you. Run pan juices through a grease separator, and freeze smoky grease in ice cube trays for baked bean seasoning (folks that've never had beans that way will be in awe). Reserve pan juice to serve over brisket.
• Once cooled enough, separate the point from the flat. There will be a fairly easy to follow fat layer separating the two. Just gently slide a knife through the fat and lift and pull the point away as you cut. If you accidentally cut into the meat, it's no tragedy, just back up a little, and go at it again.
• Once separated, slice the point cross grain, trimming off excess fat as you go. You will likely find several slices that are too fatty to serve, or maybe some of the outer shell that's too dry to serve. Reserve this meat, chop it fine, freeze, and save for baked bean seasoning.
• If you look at the flat, you will see that the grain of the meat changes direction about in the middle of the cut. Cut the flat in half at this point, and slice cross grain in 1/2#-3/4# slices.
• Reheat the pan juices. There should be adequate juices to saturate the brisket. If not, supplement with store bought au jus.
• Place sliced brisket in pan or dish with slices in the same shape as they were before slicing, and pour juices over the top.
• Serve open faced on white bread with a little extra au jus over the top.
• You should not need knives. In fact, our motto is "You Don't Need Teef To Eat Our Beef.
• I know this is somewhat long and wordy, and may seem a little over simplified to the experienced pit meister, but we've tried to put it in a form that all can benefit from. Good tender, juicy smokey, brisket is to good a thing to only be enjoyed by a few, and is very hard to come by at BBQ joints.

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH OVEN COOKED BRISKET

Steps:

• Combine ketchup, water, dehydrated onion, garlic, wine and chicken base and mix to combine.
• Slather this beautiful mixture onto the brisket sneaking it into each nook and cranny.
• If you have time let stand in refrigerator for 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350-degrees and place remaining ingredients over brisket in a tightly sealed roasting pan into the oven.
• Cook for 3-4 hours. Typically the rule of thumb is an hour a pound. But the true test is when it pulls apart with two forks..
• Place in refrigerator over night to cool.
• Remove fat and cut against the grain NOT with the grain.
• Place sauce over sliced meat and put into 350- degree oven to warm the meat and sauce.

CLASSIC BRAISED BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Pat the brisket dry and sprinkle liberally on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a roasting pan over 2 burners on medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until hot. Sear the meat, fat-side down, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Carefully flip and sear on the second side until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the brisket to a platter or baking sheet. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan.
• Add the sweet onions to the pan and cook, scraping the bottom, until just starting to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook until reduced by about a third, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth, garlic cloves and thyme. Return the brisket and any juices to the pan, cover tightly with foil, transfer to the oven and cook for 3 hours.
• After 3 hours, check to make sure there is still liquid in the pan. If not, add another cup of chicken broth. Re-cover tightly with the foil and cook for another 1 1/2 hours.
• Arrange the pearl onions and leeks around the meat, re-cover with the foil and cook until the meat is very tender, 1 to 1 1/2 more hours. Carefully remove the meat to a platter.
• Stir the honey into the roasting pan, place the pan over 2 burners on medium heat and reduce the liquid by about a third, 6 to 10 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs. Spoon off any oil from the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. At this point you can serve the brisket or refrigerate overnight (see below).
• Toss the parsley, mint, scallions and shallots with the vinegar in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• Spoon some of the sauce with the sweet onions, leeks and pearl onions onto a large platter. Cut the brisket across the grain into thin slices and lay them on top of the sauce. Spoon over more of the sauce and mixed onions and top with the parsley mixture. Serve the remaining sauce and onions on the side
• Make Ahead: You can refrigerating the brisket overnight before serving. Remove the sweet onions, pearl onions and leeks from the sauce and refrigerate separately. The fat will harden as the brisket and sauce chill, making it easy to spoon out. To serve, remove the brisket to a cutting board while cold. Thinly slice and return to the sauce along with the mixed onions. Cover and reheat in a 325 degree F-oven for about 45 minutes.

A GREAT BRISKET (NOT SMOKED)

Steps:

• Generously salt and pepper brisket and rub it in good.
• Put the brisket in the bag and pour the whole bottle of Liquid Smoke over it and rub it in good too.
• Pour the 2 cans of consumme over the meat.
• Pour BBQ sauce over the whole mess and tie up the bag and follow bag directions.
• Bake at 250 or 300 degrees for 5 or 6 hours.
• Be sure that the fat side of the brisket is on top so it can baste itself.

MY FAVORITE BRISKET (NOT TOO GEDEMPTE FLEYSCH)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Sprinkle the salt and pepper to taste over the brisket and rub with the garlic. Sear the brisket in the oil and then place, fat side up, on top of the onions in a large casserole. Cover with the tomatoes, red wine, celery, bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary.
• Cover and bake in the oven for about 3 hours, basting often with the pan juices.
• Add the parsley and carrots and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes more, or until the carrots are cooked. To test for doneness, stick a fork in the brisket. When there is a light pull on the fork as it is removed from the meat, it is "fork-tender."
• This dish is best prepared in advance and refrigerated so that the fat can be easily skimmed from the surface of the gravy. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350°F. Reheat the gravy in a pan on the stove. Some people like to strain the gravy, but Joan prefers to keep the onions because they are so delicious.
• Trim off all the visible fat from the cold brisket. Then place the brisket, on what was the fat side down, on a cutting board. Look for the grain-that is, the muscle lines of the brisket-and with a sharp knife, cut across the grain.
• Put the sliced brisket in a roasting pan. Pour the hot gravy on the meat, cover, and reheat in the oven for about 30 minutes.