Texas-Style BBQ Beef Brisket (Smoked)

Beef Brisket (about 10 lbs.)

1 Package of Big Daddy's Butt Rub

1 good size brisket will serve about 10-12 people.

Trim as much of the fat from your brisket with a sharp knife.  You can leave a little fat for moisture.  Apply Big Daddy's Butt Rub (the entire package) rub heavily onto both sides of the brisket.  Cook fat side up.

GET SMOKING:The key to good brisket is to slow cook over smoke.  No direct heat is applied.  If you have pit that smokes meat.  Cook for about 6 to 8 hours at about 160-250 degree heat.  During last ½ hour add your barbecue sauce or just wait and add after you slice it.   Always slice it against the grain, into thin slices.  Of course I always cook mine until it is ready to fall apart when you stick a fork in it.    I prefer to use mesquite or oak wood*. See below for getting your fire ready.  

Cooking in your oven (Great for winter time and overnight cooking, when you can't sit with the fire):  After you trim and season your brisket, add 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke to your brisket.  Wrap tightly in foil (make sure you have a tight seal and no steam can escape) and place on cookie sheet.  Cook at 250 degrees for about 5 to 6 hours.  Check to make sure done and tender with fork.  Save dripping and add to your sauce after cooking.  You should be able to pull apart with a fork.  Serve on buns or with sliced white bread.

HALF & HALF METHOD: Cooking your brisket half way for about 2-4 hours over a wood smoke, then transfer it to foil and tightly wrap and put in the oven for about 3-4 more hours on 250 degree oven. This is our preferred way when we're making more than one brisket for a crowd.  We've made about 8 briskets at a time this way in our catering.  You can keep briskets coming and going out of one little New Braunfels smoker like this and serve 500 people a day.  Of course you will need 2 to 3 ovens as well.  

**Getting your fire right:  It's best to smoke brisket with indirect heat and smoke, meaning your fire is on one side and the smoke and heat have to travel indirectly across the meat to escape out the smoke stack.  You can use charcol to get your fire going to.  Since Phil is a carpenter we always get scrap oak, but you can get wood chips of mesquite or oak at the store.  I use charcoal mixed with wood to get a big (about 12 inches diameter) good hot fire going, before I put the meat in the smoker.  Really hot just burning smoke tastes awful and can ruin your meat, making it taste rancid.  The sweet smoke comes from slow burning embers.   After my fire has burned down for about 10-15 minutes and you have good red hot coals burning, you can put your meat on the pit.  Best fat side up, because fat drips down and will help keep the meat moist.  In the smoker keep a pan of water.  The water will evaporate and also keep the meat moist.  Every 15-20 minutes add chunks of wood to keep the smoke going and keep the temparature of the pit between 160-250 degrees, closer to 250 if you are impatient.  If it gets too hot open smoker and let a little of the heat out.  After a couple of hours you will start to see a beautiful red-pink outside of the meat and it will start to smell sooo good.  Make sure to check your water and replace with hot water to keep the moisture in the smoke.  After about six - 8 hours of cooking like this your meat will be ready.  Take off the pit and wrap tightly in foil.  let it sit about 15 minutes before slicing (after you tear off a bite to taste).  Always slice brisket against the grain.  you will see the muscle grain goes one way, slice across this for a melt in your mouth tender piece. 

Brisket is so good just like this, but I always reserve a little juice to pour over the meat.  If you want you and chop and fork tear for chunked BBQ sandwiches.

Our Sweet & Smoky BBQ sauce is so good on this.  Ya'll Enjoy!

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