Real Texas Brisket Smoked Southwest Recipes

REAL TEXAS BRISKET (SMOKED) (SOUTHWEST)

Steps:

• Trim brisket leaving 1/2" layer of fat on top. Determine the direction of the grain of the meet and cut off a slice across the grain. This way when the meet is done, and covered with a dark brown crust, you'll be able to see which direction you should slice.
• Brush with 1/4 cup of lemon juice (bottle juice is fine).
• In a bowl, combine lemon pepper, oregano, celery salt, garlic salt, and seasoned salt.
• Rub brisket with 1/2 of this mixture, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
• Remove brisket and let it come to room temp before cooking. Putting a cold piece of meat in a smoker is a sure fire recipe for disaster--the meet will be very bitter.
• Prepare your smoker according to the manufacturer's direction. Heat the smoker to 225°F at the cooking level.
• Place the brisket in the smoker, fat side up.
• Keep the temperature as close to 200°F as you can for the first 2-3 hours by adjusting the air intake, and adding small pieces of wood every 30 minutes. Do not adjust the out vent, it should always remain full open. You know your cooking properly when there is very little smoke coming out of the smoker, and the hot air coming out of the top vent is clear for the first foot, then it turns to a grayish white smoke. If smoke is billowing out of every opening, the smoke is cold and the air flow is too low--your brisket will taste like tar. You can let the temperature creep up to 225°F , but not much over that.
• In a small bowl, combine the Worcestershire sauce, and remaining lemon juice and rub mixture.
• Mop on the sauce every hour as you turn the meat. Be sure to turn the meat over and also rotate to ensure even cooking. This should be the only time you open the cooking area.
• Smoke 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours per pound, until the internal temperature is 190°F . If you go much past that, your brisket will not slice up, and you'll have pulled beef.
• Remove and wrap in aluminum foil. Let the meat rest for about 1 hour.
• Cut the point (the pyramid shaped portion) off following a natural fat layer between the point and the flat.
• Trim off excess fat.
• Slice the brisket across the grain, using the starter slice you should have done at the beginning as a guide. Slices should be 1/4" thick. If a portion of brisket is falling apart rather than slicing, don't despair. Save the shredded portions and the burnt ends. They will make the best BBQ beef sandwiches later, when chopped and mixed with BBQ sauce.

SOUTHWESTERN BEEF BRISKET

Steps:

• Season beef with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven, heat oil; brown beef on both sides. Meanwhile, combine the next 11 ingredients. Pour over meat. Cover and bake at 325° for 2 hours. Add red peppers and carrots; bake 1 hour longer or until meat is tender. Remove meat from the pan; allow to stand 15 minutes before cutting. To thicken juices, bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, 13-15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

ANOTHER GREAT SMOKED BRISKET RECIPE (SOUTHWEST)

Steps:

• Marinade: In a bowl, whisk all the ingredients until well blended.
• Rub: Combine all in a bowl. Triple or quadruple the recipe and keep the rest in a zip lock bag for future briskets.
• Brisket Prep: Cut a hole in the top of the vacuum pack and drain out the blood.
• Using a funnel, pour in the marinade, working it around until all of the brisket is covered. You should still have about 1/2 the marinade left. That will be used as a basting sauce when you smoke the brisket.
• Patch the whole with duct tape.
• Marinate in the refrigerator for up to 2 days--overnight as a minimum.
• Remove the brisket from the bag, pat dry.
• Determine the direction of the grain and slice a piece across the grain. This will help you later when it comes time to slice and serve--it's more difficult to tell later when the brisket is cooked.
• Coat brisket generously with the rub.
• Allow the brisket to come to room temperature before putting in the smoker. I place the brisket in a low oven (200 degrees F) while I get the smoker going.
• Smoking the brisket: Fire up the smoker according to the manufacture's instructions. Bring it up to 225 degrees F.
• Place brisket in smoker at the level of the thermometer, be sure there is not direct heat hitting the brisket.
• For the first two or three hours it is best to keep the heat between 190 to 220 degrees. It can gradually get hotter up to a max of 250, but lower for longer is always better. It will take approximately 8-10 hours.
• Turn, rotate, and baste every hour. Add wood to smoker every 30 min (as required) to keep the heat at a constant temperature. I use hickory or pecan.
• Check the internal temperature, at the thickest part of the brisket after about 8 hours.
• When brisket has an internal temperature of 190 degrees F. it's done. If you go much beyond that, the brisket will shred rather than slice. Remove and wrap in aluminum foil. Let rest for at least 1 hour before slicing.
• Slice the point off the brisket. There is a natural division of fat between the point and the flat to slice along.
• Working with the flat, slice 1/4 inch slices across the grain starting at the starter slice you made before smoking.
• Determine the direction of the grain on the point, and slice across the grain just as before.

NEVER FAIL TEXAS BBQ BRISKET

Steps:

• You are going to need a large pit BBQ with a cover to completely cook outside- or you can finish this off in the oven.
• Completely cover the brisket with the steak seasoning- don't be stingy- and pat in well or"rub" as we do here in Texas.
• Seasoning layer should be thick.
• Place brisket over coals located on one end of pit or in BBQ and sear all sides of brisket, watching for flame ups, for 2 hours.
• Use heavy duty foil and completely wrap brisket, placing in a pan that brisket fits comfortably Move pan to the side of the pit without the coals- or to your oven, set at 325 degrees- and let cook for 3 hours, replacing coals to keep temp in your pit at about 325-350 degrees.
• Remove pan and let brisket set for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
• Be sure that you slice against the grain of the brisket or it will be tough.
• There will be lots of wonderful au jus in the foil, be sure to pass that with your brisket and serve with pintos, cornbread and slaw.