Nothing is more intimidating in my life than getting a call from my wife saying, “I’ve just spent a lot of money on this one hunk of meat from The Organic Butcher for you to cook for company!”
A few weeks ago, Stacy came home with a giant ten pound whole beef brisket for me to smoke for our Independence Day party. It was especially important for me to make it right because Russ from The Domestic Man and Jennifer from Predominantly Paleo were coming and both of them have discerning palates, and both have brisket recipes of their own.
In the past, I have tried this with trimmed half briskets and failed spectacularly. I ended up with dry, tasteless brisket that no one really wanted to eat. But this time? Stacy talked to the Butcher and got a great recommendation for the right cut ideal for smoking. Then, I spent hours researching, and asking around and I have come up with a great brisket recipe for you!
Of course, right after this party, Stacy started a new job after her long vacation and the boys were out of school and we somehow misplaced the SD Card that featured the photos of this brisket. Rather than make you wait for more weeks as we searched for it, we figured we could simply share the plethora of photos that our guests had shared on media that day!
Photo courtesy of The Domestic Man’s Instagram feed!
Here is my awesome Smoke Vault by Camp Chef doing work on my beef brisket! This thing is absolutely amazing and, as you can see, well loved. The other piece of meat is a pork shoulder we also had that day.
Photo courtesy of The Domestic Man’s Instagram feed!
The scene looked like it was straight out of a Texas BBQ, including perfectly juicy pink smoke rings, and the brisket was gone before all of the party attendees even arrived!
Photo courtesy of Samantha’s Instagram feed!
Seriously, people had to stand around for 20 minutes waiting for Russ, Nicole, Stacy, Sam, Brent & Heather, and Jennifer to finish taking the above pictures.
As our guests began devouring the holiday spread, Jennifer proclaimed that the brisket tasted as good as Franklin’s, which is the highest compliment because she is the Queen of southern cooking!
When it came out so perfectly and delicious, I heard literal oohs and ahhs and had to shove people’s fingers out of the way of my knife. I daresay this is barbecue just as worthy as those long line we wait in while in Austin! Best of all, I didn’t have a seriously embarrassing moment; instead, I get to live in the glory that is this BEST BRISKET EVAR (Stacy’s quote, obviously not mine).
Ingredients
- 8 - 10 lbs. beef brisket - specifically, you want a WHOLE brisket WITH the fat
- 3 Tbsp salt
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp palm sugar
- 1 tsp dried majoram
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
- Dry brisket thoroughly with towels.
- Combine spices in a small bowl and rub thoroughly on all sides of the meat.
- Wrap tight with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours or more.
- Soak wood chips (we like cherry) in water for 30 minutes.
- Preheat smoker until it reaches 225 and place handfuls of wood in the smoking tray. You can do this is a regular grill as well by placing wood on a pie plate and placing the meat of an upper rack or an unheated side of the grill.
- Put meat in the smoker, fat side up so the fat can drip down to moisten the rest of the meat, and smoke for 4 hours at 225 degrees.
- Remove from the heat, wrap tightly with aluminum foil and return to the smoker for 2 more hours.
- After smoking has finished, allow to rest for 30 minutes before discarding the foil and slicing to serve.
Finding authentic southern eats outside of the southern states is no easy feat, so I am sure you can imagine how proud we felt as we enjoyed our perfected recipe. While every guest will enjoy this brisket, pay close attention when you serve this dish to your Texan friends – you will likely notice a tear or two streaming down their cheek as they enjoy the authentic savory meat that makes them feel like they are back home!
