Barbeque Brisket Texas Style

Posted by Margalit

Last July 4th my family and another family had a picnic at the park where our city's fireworks display is set off. In order to get a good seat for the fireworks, we try to get there early, which means either eating the food off the various trucks or bringing your own food. We bring our own! No great surprise there. I had a fairly large brisket in the freezer and decided that I would attempt to replicate a Texas Brisket like our local BBQ restaurant, the Blue Ribbon Barbeque. I've never made any kind of brisket except my standard Jewish holiday brisket, so this was unexplored territory for me. I searched high and low for a recipe that I liked, and finally adapted one from several different sources that sounded like it would work well. The recipe had both a rub that I marinated the brisket with for 24 hours prior to cooking, and a barbeque sauce that we painted on the brisket as it sat on the barbeque.

We used a Weber Kettle barbeque with woodchips on the lowest possible heat, with the heat source spread around the perimeter of the grill for indirect heat. The brisket cooked for many hours before we determined that were were so hungry we had to eat it soon! Oh, it smelled devine.

Cutting up the brisket and packing it in a container to take to the park was almost painful, it smelled and looked so good. But we did, and when it came time to eat it, we were all salivating. The wait was worth it as this was, by far, the best thing I've ever made for a first time. It was outstanding!

Why am I thinking about this today? Because I just got another brisket on sale, and it's screaming "Barbeque me, Margalit, Barbeque me now!" With ice on the porch, the brisket is going to have to wait a bit, but it is destined to hit the Weber Kettle as soon as it warms up a bit.

The Rub

1/4 cup Kosher salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup ground cumin
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup fresh cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sweet paprika (I use Hungarian)

The Sauce

1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 cups white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup dark molasses

Rub a 10 to 12 pound flat cut brisket with the rub 24 hours in advance of when you plan to cook. Place in a foil broiling pan and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

Prepare your BBQ with an indirect fire, spreading the coals around the perimeter of the kettle.

Place the brisket on the BBQ and cover, checking regularly to ensure that the fire remains hot enough. Add coals as necessary.

About an hour before the brisket appears to be done (depending entirely on size of the brisket and the heat of the fire) at around 130 degrees Farenheit, paint the brisket with the BBQ sauce. Continue to paint on the sauce at 15 minute intervals until the brisket reaches 150 degrees.

Take the brisket off the fire and let rest for at least an hour before slicing. Cut slices as thin as possible with a very sharp knife. For sandwiches, use challah rolls or large egg bread rolls. Use extra BBQ sauce to add to the sandwich.