Guru
Bad to the Bone Brisket
Our BTB Brisket will shave some time off your grill/smoke session and take you down the path of fame among your neighborhood grillmasters.
Equipment
- 1 13 by 9-inch disposable aluminum roasting pan
Ingredients
- 1 6-8-pound beef brisket, trimmed
- 2/3 cup sea salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- 3 cherry wood chunks preferably hickory, or 2 cups wood chips (if using gas)
Instructions
- Lightly score remaining fat cap in 1-inch crosshatch pattern, being careful not to cut into meat. Dissolve salt and 1/2 cup sugar in 4 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge brisket in brine. Cover and refrigerate for two hours.
- While brisket soaks, add wood chunks into a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Cut 2 evenly spaced 2-inch slits on top of wood-chunk packet.
- Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, kosher salt, and pepper in bowl. Remove brisket from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and rub salt mixture over entire brisket and into slits.
- Open bottom vent halfway and place disposable roasting pan on 1 side of grill. Add 2 cups warm water to pan. Arrange charcoal banked against other side of grill. Light large chimney starter two-thirds filled with charcoal.
- When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour on top of unlit charcoal to cover one-third of grill with coals steeply banked against side of grill. Place wood-chunk packet on top of coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway.
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place brisket on indirect side of grill, fat side down, as far away from coals and flames as possible with thickest side facing coals and flames. Cover (position lid vent over meat if using charcoal) and smoke for 3 hours.
- Check water pan and add spritz brisket with dark beer, such as Abita Turbo Dog. Smoke another two hours or until internal thermometer reaches 202 degrees.
- Transfer brisket to a cooler and let cool down. Once cooled, transfer the brisket to a chopping board. Slice brisket against grain into long, thin slices and serve.
Notes
Start to finish: 7 hours and 15 minutes, plus 90 minutes to rest towel-wrapped brisket in a cooler.
Let's Dance: Some of the traditional accompaniments to barbecued brisket include barbecue sauce, sliced white bread or saltines, pickle chips and thinly sliced red onion.
Nutrition information per serving: 451 calories; 260 calories from fat; 29 g fat (10 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 120 mg cholesterol; 1833 mg sodium; 3 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 45 g protein.
Lauren Cook
