Mother of All Briskets M.O.A.B.

Well here we are back again with the Brisket.  I knew it wouldn’t be long before we tried this again, only to try and perfect what we’d done a few weeks back.  It was actually a friend of ours that prompted a second try. Thanks Gio, and after last night I don’t think we let you down.

I’ve dubbed this one the M.O.A.B. given the size of the cut and the overall work that’s gone into preparing this epic meal.  I’d also like to acknowledge the source of my new inspiration to make a real Texas style brisket and that would be “Meathead” on www.amazingribs.com – here is the post that I used along with my own modifications to master the beast known as brisket! The new modifications I made to this brisket include:

• Injecting the brisket with beef broth prior to smoking
• A drip pan with water and beef broth
• 90 minutes per pound rule 90 x 6.7/60 = 10.05 hours
• Internal temperature thermometer
• The Texas Crutch
• Texas Barbecue Juice for steeping and serving along side the brisket
• Spicy Drop Biscuits

Truth be told,most of this can be found in Meathead’s article/recipe and I can’t do it any justice by trying to put it in my own words.  I really appreciated the help on this one as the last time we attempted a brisket it was good, but this time it had to be incredible!  We had a real Foodie coming over last night!

With the M.O.A.B., all of the other facts remain the same, i.e. I purchased the brisket from The Butcher (thanks Pete!) and I used my very own 19 spice rub and let the brisket sit in the fridge for over 30 hours.  I used mesquite chunks with a fully loaded Big Green Egg and I worked on my patience again…that’s probably the toughest thing I’ve had to do. Here are a few shots from the two-day adventure:

        

Here are a few chronological shots…Zero, Two, Four, Six and 10 Hours…

     

To add a real zing to the brisket meal, here’s the recipe for the Texas BBQ Juice – don’t be fooled because of the lack of “thinknicity” – apparently in Texas they don’t dig on sticky sweet sauces like they do up North.  I’ve also included some of my variants as well:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon of butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup Tiger Beer (Singapore’s finest)
1/4 cup Heinz ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons A1 steak sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Chipotle sauce to taste (start with 2 teaspoons of sauce for mild heat)
2 cups beef stock

Mix all the dry spices together and set it aside.  In a pan, melt your butter and sweat your onions until they become translucent.  Add your garlic and pepper and stir it around for a couple of minutes.  Then add your spices and give it a proper mix, ensuring you get an even coating.  Cook for about a minute or two and then add your beer and stock.  Let that all simmer for 15-20 minutes and you’re done!  I made my juice yesterday and it tastes amazing after a night in the fridge!

OK, so the next few steps kind of went by like a blur.  Along with the sauce, my buddy Brett came over to make his famous slaw and I tried my luck at drop biscuits.  Result! All done and prepped, all we needed now was for the thermometer to hit 190-195 and the brisket could rest for about an hour.  I packed away the hunk ‘o meat into a towel then into the trusty Coleman cooler box.  Guests arrived, the wine was poured and soon we were ready for the unveiling of what can only be described as THE BEST BRISKET EVER!!!!

I used the carving technique as described on amazingribs.com and it worked really well.  Brisket muscle grain goes in different directions and if you follow his steps, you’ll chop up the best slices ever. Seriously, we’ve had good brisket but this one, by a mile, was the ultimate and worthy of the title “The Mother of All Briskets!”

Thanks Barbara, Michelle, Gio, Brett, Heather and Kalyna for the excellent company and thanks for the inspiration Meathead!

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Overall Heather Rating: 9.5/10

Beef Brisket Finally!

We’re throwing a Saturday night Southern-style feast at our place.  We’ve got a few great surprises in store for our guest including 8-9 hour smoked beef brisket , Southern baked beans, Brett’s famous biscuits, corn on the cob, potato salad and to top it off, Heather’s pecan pie. There’s so much to do and prepare, I had to start the blog entry well before we even stoked the fire!

For the brisket itself I wandered down the road to my buddies at “The Butcher” – As always, Peter and Jack were there with big smiles eagerly awaiting our stories and of course our next blog installment. For their part I can’t recommend these guys highly enough.  Meat is expensive in Singapore but quality meat is well worth it!  These guys are fantastic at what they do and most importantly, they treat their customers better than any other butcher I’ve ever gone to.  So guys… Ta, this brisket is going to be awesome!

The brisket itself is a five pounder with the fat cap on!

Now let’s move onto the 19 spice rub (Colonel Sanders, eat your heart out!) Always, always, always make your own as the store-bought stuff is expensive and not nearly as much fun as making your own.  Here are the steps in creating your brisket rub:

• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoon basil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dill
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon anise seed
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt (additional)
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

I mixed up all this lovely stuff on Thursday afternoon and let it sit in my trusty rub dispenser.  It wasn’t until Friday that I poured the rub mix into my spice grinder and pummeled the mix into a fine powder.  This helped the rub adhere to the brisket really nicely and the smell was unlike any other rub I’ve put together.  I’m really looking forward to the result!  Check out these shots…

     

Once I coated the brisket entirely in this crazy rub I wrapped the brisket tightly in cling film and popped it in the fridge.  24 hours should let all that rub penetrate nice and deep into the tissue.

Onto the main event!  Remove your brisket from the fridge (after more than 24 hours) and let it get up to room temperature.  In Singapore, that doesn’t take long at all! Once done, unwrap that beauty and give it a good look as in the next one hour, it will transform into a piece of art!

Make sure your grill is up and running.  I filled the Egg all the way up to the top to avoid any chance of running out of fuel.  I also added a mixture of hickory and mesquite chips that had been soaking for about 2 hours.   Wooosh and we were lit and ready to go.  I let the fire settle down for about 40 minutes before we put the grid on.  At this point, you want direct heat, that is, right over the flame/heat at 275 degrees F.  Once everything was stabilized it was time to put the brisket down for her first half hour.  Before I did that though, I scored the fat cap in a nice criss-crossed design, this will help render the fat and it looks nice in the end.

     

First half hour and then flip the brisket for another 30 minutes.  Honestly, it looks good enough to tuck into just now but we must restrain!  After the hour is up, remove the brisket, dawn your heafty gloves and remove the grid.  Add your plate setter to create an indirect heat source then return the grid on top.  Adjust your baffles and bring the temperature down to a balmy 225 degrees F.  Return the brisket and set your timer for 6 hours!  Grab a beer and write a blog entry!

  

So about 4 1/2 hours into the slow cook my temperature started to creep up. I caught it at 300 degrees F and climbing.  Nothing had changed so I’m guessing that more of the lump charcoal had ignited or started to burn hotter.  Either way, I bled off some of the excess heat and now back down to 225 F for the remaining time left.  I’ve also got the cooler ready to host a wrapped and toweled brisket once it comes off the grill.

So fast forward a few hours and fill your house with guests.  The usual suspects like Barbara and Brett were here and our new pals De & Adam!  Thanks for coming over guys and being our guinea pigs! I pulled the covered brisket out of the cooler and onto the chopping board.  All eyes fixed on the target, it looked like a charred piece of wood more than a succulent brisket.  However, the knife cut effortlessly through the outer “bark” only to reveal tender, stringy, moist and juicy beef inside.  The rub was a huge success and though I personally think there are a few areas to improve upon, for a first time brisket, this was a 100% success!  To quote our southern brother from Oklahoma…”you nailed this one out of the park!”

     

Thanks for the beans, biscuits, potato salad, corn and all that wine.  Of course I can’t thank Heather enough for the BEST pecan pie ever. One day she’ll share that recipe.

Happy times!

PS – Morning after addition – I just cut up what was left of the brisket end and OMG, it’s incredible.  Kind of a mixture between brisket, jerky and a smoked pastrami – just plain beef love… We’re on to something here! Check out the shot of this yummy wee beastie!

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Overall Heather Rating: 7/10