Searing a Brisket for Maximum Flavor

October 24 , 2007 | Issue 39 | Download PDF Version

Hello friends and welcome to this special October edition of the Smoking Meat newsletter.. I say special and of course, I think they are all special but for the first time I have not written the article myself but rather had a buddy of mine write it instead and with good reason.

I felt like you could benefit from his unique style of preparing and smoking brisket and if you have to know.. it is probably the best tasting brisket I have had (outside of my own of course).

If you are a cook at all, you have to like your own cooking better than anyone else's and if you don't then keep perfecting it until you do. If that takes a lifetime then that is a lifetime of good eats at any rate;-)

Tim a.k.a SmokyOkie at the Smoking Meat Forums (SMF) has been smoking briskets for better than a couple of decades and when he first mentioned searing a brisket until it was black on the outside, I really thought he was crazy.

Trust me when I say.. don't let this crazy idea keep you from enjoying a great brisket that is so full of flavor you might just do what others have done and decide to never do them any other way!

• The SmokyOkie Brisket Smoking Method
• About the Upcoming Turkey Day
• Buy the Recipes - Support the Site
• Upcoming Barbecue Competitions
• Joke of the Month

Before we get started, here are some helpful links from out websites:

The SmokieOkie Brisket Smoking Method

Part I


Part II


Part III

This is actually more of a cooking method than a recipe. If all steps are followed, you will not have any problem with any of the assertions in the name. You will get melt in your mouth brisket that is so juicy it won't hardly accept any BBQ sauce, but the flavor will be so good that you probably won't want any. If you want burnt ends, you can certainly make them, but it's doubtful that you will want to. You will need a hot charcoal fire, extra long handled tongs, a smoker large enough to accomodate the meat, a large H.D. foil pan large enough to accomodate the brisket, 8-12 hours, smoking wood (We prefer hickory or mesquite), your favorite BBQ rub.

Ingredients:

12 1/2 lbs beef brisket
6 ounces of your favorite barbecue rub

How it's done:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. The day of the cook, start early by moving the brisket out of the fridge and packing it with black pepper.

4. Prepare your fire for the smoker, and, on a separate grill, prepare a VERY hot fire for searing the brisket.

5. 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.

6. Once seared, place brisket in foil pan, fat side up, and smoke, uncovered for 2 hours.

7. 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.

8. Flip brisket back to fat side up, and cover with foil.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. Reheat the pan juices. There should be adequate juices to saturate the brisket. If not, supplement with store bought au jus.

15. Place sliced brisket in pan or dish with slices in the same shape as they were before slicing, and pour juices over the top.

16. Serve open faced on white bread with a little extra au jus over the top.

17. You should not need knives. In fact, our motto is "You Don't Need Teef To Eat Our Beef.

18. 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 too good a thing to only be enjoyed by a few, and is very hard to come by at BBQ joints.

Thank you Tim for that enlightening article!

Please see my special all night brisket smoking recipe for more information on smoking brisket

Upcoming Turkey Day

I will be sending out the November edition of the Smoking Meat newsletter in mid November and it will include my special tips on smoking the perfect turkey. It is not difficult and in fact, even if you have never smoked anything in your life, you can smoke the turkey this Thanksgiving using my complete instructions.

If you happen to need to buy your turkey ahead of time, be sure to buy one that says, 'MINIMALLY PROCESSED" if at all possible and get one that is 12 pounds or less.

If you need more than 12 pounds of turkey due to lots of family and/or friends coming in, simply buy 2 similar sized turkeys that equal the amount of turkey you need to serve.

November Barbecue Competitions

11/02/07
Hog Happnin' Shelby, NC
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Contact: Jerry Gardner, 1710 Troy Road, Shelby, NC 28150.
Phone: 704-482-4202. Fax: 704-482-4202. hoghappnin@carolina.rr.com
KCBS Reps: HAMRICK HARVEY, HARWELL RON, MAGNUSSON ED

11/09/07
Southwestern International BBQ Cookoff Chandler, AZ
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Contact: Ryan Gielow, 8468 W. Audrey Lane, Peoria, AZ 85382.
Phone: 602-550-1932. Fax: 623-825-8569. ryan@arizonaautismsupport.org
Contact: Michael Reimann, PO Box 1007, Sun City, AZ 85372.
Phone: 602-363-5196. michael@azbarbeque.com
KCBS Reps: WHITEBOOK MERL, WHITEBOOK CAROL

11/09/07
Carolina Smokin' Fall Fling Lumberton, NC
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Contact: Mitchell Mercer, 1027 Hwy 74 East, Lumberton, NC 28358.
Phone: 910-618-5699. Fax: 910-618-5706. mgrain@weblnk.net
KCBS Reps: HARWELL DON, HARWELL DEBBY

11/16/07
Plant City Pig Jam Plant City, FL
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Contact: Amy Nizamoff, 106 North Evers Street, Plant City, FL 33563.
Phone: 813-754-3707. Fax: 813-752-8793. amy@plantcity.org
KCBS Reps: WELCH CLIFTON, SMITH STEPHEN R

To find more competitions such as these be sure to check out the events calendar at http://www.kcbs.us

Joke of the Month

Tequila Christmas Cookies

Thank you "Phil S " from SmokingMeatForums.com for this joke!

Feel free to submit jokes to the forum in the "Jokes" category for all of our entertainment and for possible inclusion in the monthly Smoking Meat Newsletter .

Cajun Seasoning that goes Beyond Good!

My buddy Bruce at www.CrazzyCajun.com has some of the best cajun seasoning you have ever laid 'yer tongue on and that's a fact with my hand up!

My family and I use it on almost everything and you will too if you give it a try. Go to his website today at http://www.CrazzyCajun.com to find out how to order.

Word of Mouth is the Best Salesman!

If you enjoy this website and the forum at www.smokingmeatforums.com along with all of the perks like this free monthly newsletter then be sure to tell all of your friends about it!

We are the fastest growing Smoking Meat network online and we are STILL NUMBER #1 in Google for the keyword "Smoking Meat" for more than a year now as well as quite a few other major keywords too.

That is BIG news folks and just further proof that you are a part of the VERY BEST!

Be contagious and tell everyone about it!

Closing Remarks

I am so happy that you are a subscriber.. please send all correspondence to my email address at jeff at smoking-meat dot com and be sure to check out the forum at smokingmeatforums.com for answers to all of your smoking meat questions and more.

Have a wonderful Day and God Bless!

Note: This newsletter can be freely reprinted or used without permission as long as it stays intact, as is and is not changed in any way from the format in which it was set by the author and/or editors of this publication.

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