Southern BBQ Brisket

This is a recipe my brother posted on my family's blog. He served his mission in Texas and thus loves Southern style meat. We tried it out tonight and really enjoyed it. It is a really great Sunday meal (start before you leave for church and let it cook all day sort of deal). I simply cut and pasted from my family's blog and then at the end I have added my thoughts and alterations.

"Since brisket is a tough piece of meat, you have to be careful how you prepare it, but by far our favorite way to cook it is braised in the oven into a type of oven bbq brisket—it kind of reminds me of Texas, but the whole family loves it, too, not just me. I got this recipe from the My Mother’s Southern Kitchen by James Villas—a book which Mom used to have until I stole it (and then Mom bought me a copy for Christmas, making me feel even worse for my theft. I think I returned it a couple of years later as part of the repentance process). It is a book worth buying if you like southern food--the paper bag chicken is really good, too.

Dry Rub

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp pepper

1 tbsp dry mustard

1 tbsp paprika

Cooking Liquid

1/4 c butter

1/2 c Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 c white vinegar * I would do half beef broth and half vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 or 2 tbsp Tabasco sauce* my brother uses Chipotle Tabasco sauce which adds a "wonderful smoky taste"

1tbsp liquid smoke* brother's addition not sure if you can even taste it though

1.) Mix the Dry rub, and apply liberally to all sides of the brisket. Don’t skimp. I usually use all of the rub on a 4-5 pound brisket. Sear all sides of the brisket in a hot pan with oil and/or butter until the meat is well browned.

2.) Mix the cooking liquid, bring to a boil, and simmer for five to ten minutes. Be sure to use enough Tabasco. It tends to mellow the vinegar and bring the other flavors together.

3.) Put brisket in a roasting or casserole pan, FAT SIDE UP, and pour the hot cooking liquid over the meat (make sure the meat is resting in the liquid). Cover the pan with heavy foil to keep as much of the liquid in as possible while cooking.

4.) Cook the brisket at 300 for FOUR hours, then remove the foil and cook for ANOTHER hour, adding water to the liquid if necessary, and basting the roast occasionally after removing the foil. You can also experiment by cooking the meat longer at lower heat, but 225 is about as low as I would go. It should be fork tender.

5.) After the roast is done, let it rest for around 15-20 minutes out of the liquid and covered, then trim most of the fat off of the brisket, and slice ACROSS THE GRAIN when ready to serve (if you do not slice across the grain, it will be pretty awful to chew).

Feel free to thicken the cooking liquid with some corn starch or flour and serve as a sauce on the side. I usually serve it with some lightly sautéed onion slices and some sandwich bread and the sauce to pour over it all. It tastes fantastic, and gives us up to four meals at $5-7 a meal. Because the brisket is so lean, it doesn't really shrink in cooking, so a 4-5 pound brisket is almost that much cooked meat--which means we usually have quite a bit left over for sandwiches or other meals later that week."

What I did with it. I skimmed off the fat from the liquid and then I sauted an onion in 2 Tbsp butter. When it was soft and caramelized I added 1 tsp liquid smoke and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce. When that was incorporated I added 3 tbsp flour. I mixed that in well with the onions and let the flour brown a bit. I then slowly added about 1/3 of the broth stirring constantly as I did so. I let it simmer until it was thicker. It was so tart and little too salty so I added some whole milk to it which cooled the strong flavors well. I served the brisket with the dipping sauce on the side. I also had potatoes, a great salad, and a side of green beans. I plan on using the left over meat to do sandwiches like my brother suggested. It think it will be great! (yeah I shredded it and then baked some French bread and put cheese on top and had my gravy type sauce on the side and it was divine! So dang good!

This has a really tart taste due to the large amount of vinegar in the cooking liquid. Next time I make it I will do half beef broth and half vinegar. I wouldn't totally eliminate the vinegar because I think it helps tenderize the beef and gives it a little something that other roasts don't have.