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Permalink Reply by Dan Bettan on August 10, 2009 at 12:49pm

Yeah, I know it's an uphill climb for sure. Doing a test run next Tuesday (8 days from now) and seeing if I can pull this off. Right now anything I am familiar with would be a huge departure from the norm so we'd have to see if I grow comfortable doing this one. Still, if I can figure out a way to pull this off I'm gonna try.

Permalink Reply by rob jarbadan on August 10, 2009 at 5:45pm

something that may be worth trying is cooking with indirect heat using a mix of regular and natural wood charcoal. never done a brisket this way, but i've used a 2-to-1 ratio, regular-to-wood, with ribs before and the smokiness was subtle but still present. the wood tends to burn longer (at least in my experience) so some creative coal management may be in order. whatever you decide to try, i'm curious to see how it all turns out...

Permalink Reply by Dan Bettan on August 23, 2009 at 8:09pm

So, I ended up coming up with a recipe that's very ketchup based. That's what I grew up with. And it came out delicious. If you like bark, this isn't the brisket for you. But that's not what a Jewish family would expect on the high holidays in my opinion. Apple &/or honey flavors are utilized in every step of the process.

I essentially used Steven Raichlen's Smokelahoma brisket recipe as my template and changed up the ingredients a bit to make them more holiday friendly. I don't know for sure if I list recipe's here or somewhere else. So I'll list the technique here and the recipe only if people request it.

The Night Before:
1) I had about a 4-5 pound "Flat Cut" brisket that I rinsed and set in a glass dish. For the holidays, I plan on making an entire brisket. One part on each layer in my 22" Smokey Mountain Grill.

2) I applied half of the ketchup-based paste liberally on both sides and let it set for fifteen minutes, and then applied the remainder of the paste.

3) I then applied the rub after another 30 minutes of letting the paste set. The rub doesn't contain anything too spicy at all. Have to remember your audience at all times when making this.

4) Let the whole thing sit overnite.

The Day of:
1) Using the minion method, I got my fire going. One chimney starter's worth unlit, and 2 starters worth heated up.

2) I threw in a handful of apple wood. I added a second handful about an hour later and that was it for smoke.

3) Fill up the bowl with apple juice. Make sure you fill it up high. This really helps keep the heat down around the 225 region for a lot longer.

4) Throw on the brisket

5) Applied the mop sauce every hour after the second hour. Very basic mop sauce that comes straight from the Smokelahoma recipe. The BBQ sauce I used was Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ.

6) I hit an internal temp of 165 degrees in just 3 hours so I had to really damper and manage the heat here but I was able to keep things going at 160-165 internal temp until about the 5.5-6 hour mark. Which is where I wanted to hit 165 degrees in the first place.

7) I wrapped the brisket in aluminum foil (told you no bark) and covered it completely in a BBQ sauce on all sides that is so delicious I can't believe it. Cooked until I hit 190 degrees internal temp.

8) Removed the brisket, let it sit for 25 minutes, and served. It was just yummy, and I think it's going to be a very sweet year indeed.

OK, I lied, here's the ingredients I used. I hope it's ok to include that here:

Paste - 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 2 tbsp apple cider, 1.5 tsp onion powder, 1.5 tsp garlic powder
Rub - 2 TBSP each of coarse sea salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder. 1 TBSP each of ground black pepper, ground mustard. 2 tsp oregano.
Mop - 1 quart cider, 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 TBSP salt, 1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ Sauce.
BBQ Sauce - 1 cup apple cider, 1.5 cups of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ Sauce, 1 stick of salted butter, 1 TBSP worsteshire sauce, 2 TBSP honey. Heat this all together so the butter melts and makes an incredibly rich sauce.

So again, I give all credit to Raichlen as this entire process is stolen from him. I think I changed it up a lot because I used much less smoke and the recipe is no longer regional and is very much in keeping with the holidays. I would love to hear anyone's thoughts on this. And if anyone tries this, please let me know how it works out for you.I have to say that it is delicious and I cannot wait to make it for everyone in my family. I think a new tradition is about to be born.

Interesting footnote: We removed a large tree from our yard that really shaded the area I use to grill & smoke. Lots of sunlight now hits my smoker, and it was trying to cook way hotter then I wanted it to or expected it to. When they say that sunlight can greatly effect the temperature inside the smoker, they ain't lyin'.

Permalink Reply by Dan Bettan on November 30, 2009 at 1:55pm

Hey, no problem man. I'd love to hear about the results on your end when you cook it up.