BBQ beef brisket on ciabatta bread! Don’t laugh, the crisp crust is a nice combination with the tender beef, and since the bread is thin there’s not a lot to get in the way of some good ‘cue.
Where did the brisket come from? From my smoker grill!
Good brisket starts the night before, with some hand mixed rub. I use sea salt, chile powder, sugar, cayenne pepper
, black pepper and cumin. I like to use coffee mugs sometimes when cooking. This one here is from yet another exotic travel destination.
This brisket is about 7.5 pounds, with a really nice slab of fat on one side. This is a must to get the meat tender and keeping it from drying out.
The bottom side is trimmed lean. This is the enamel pan I like to use, since it has low sides so the smoke gets to the meat easily, but still holds all the juices.
OK, I’ve added the rub so it’s time to put this bad boy in the fridge overnight.
Let’s light this candle! The last thing you want to have happen during a day of cooking brisket is to run out of charcoal or mesquite chunks/chips. I think I’m well stocked to make a huge carbon footprint.
And here we go. The coals are white and a few chunks of mesquite are smokin’, so let’s put the pan in. The rest is relatively easy if you are familiar with your grill or smoker, since they all have their own personalities. Just add more charcoal and wood chunks all day long, but manage the vent on the smoker box and the flue on the chimney to keep the cooking area from getting too hot. Don't forget to do some basting every now and then as the juices accumulate.
This particular smoker did not have a thermometer when I bought it over ten years ago, so I added one. A lot of guys say you can’t really trust those thermometers, and I’m inclined to agree, but keeping this setup at 250 degrees indicated seems to be the sweet spot.
The hardest thing during the day is to keep people from lifting the lid to see what smells so good. “If you’re looking, it ain’t cooking!”
And about 7 hours later we’re done. Oh noes, it looks burned to crisp!
Actually, the sugar in the rub had caramelized onto that thick layer of fat a bit. I probably did let the thing get too hot a couple of times while adding charcoal throughout the day. Let’s take it out, let it sit for about 15 minutes and see what we have.
Oh, is this tender!
^ Those pink edges are from the smoke and loaded with flavor. No sauce needed, but you can add some if you want. I have a few recipes for ketchup based sauce that are good with hickory, but I need to track down a good one for mesquite.
