Fork Tender Hickory Smoked Brisket Recipes

OH SO TENDER BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
• Coat the inside of an oven roasting bag with flour. Place brisket inside of bag. Pour liquid smoke over the brisket and sprinkle on garlic powder, dry onion soup mix, and ground black pepper. Seal bag. Using a fork, make two sets of holes in the top of the roasting bag.
• Lay bag in a broiling pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 6 to 8 hours.

FORK-TENDER SLOW COOKER BRISKET

Steps:

• Combine onion, liquid smoke flavoring, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, chili powder, celery seed, chipotle pepper, and salt in a bowl until marinade is smooth. Place brisket in a shallow glass dish and pour marinade over brisket. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape onion from the brisket, reserving onion and marinade. Cook brisket in the hot oil until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer brisket to a slow cooker on Low.
• Pour marinade with onion and vinegar into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook mixture until onion is tender and liquid is reduced by 3/4, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Mix vinegar-onion mixture, tomatoes, water, and bay leaves into slow cooker.
• Cook on Low until brisket is very tender, at least 6 hours.
• Strain liquids from slow cooker into a saucepan; bring to a boil. Whisk enough flour into liquid until desired gravy consistency is reached, about 5 minutes.
• Shred brisket with a fork and serve with gravy and tomato-onion mixture.

FORK TENDER HICKORY-SMOKED BRISKET

Steps:

• Wash brisket and pat dry with paper towels. DO NOT TRIM THE FAT - It will baste your meat as it cooks.
• Mix together the MARINADE ingredients in an air tight container or zip lock bag, add the brisket and let marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
• In a small bowl combine the DRY RUB seasonings. (Liquid smoke is used later in the recipe.) One (1) hour before cooking generously rub both sides of the brisket with this seasoning mixture; let stand at room temperature for an hour or so.
• Place the beef brisket, fat side up, on a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. (Make sure it is a large enough piece of foil to securely wrap the brisket.).
• Sprinkle brisket with the liquid smoke; wrap well and set into your crock-pot. (Slow-cook fat side up.) Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 12 hours (HIGH: 4 to 6 hours). SLOW AND LOW IS BETTER, THE MEAT WILL SHRED NICELY WHEN COOKED FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
• When done cooking, let the brisket stand - wrapped in the foil - for 20 minutes before carving or shredding.
• Serve one of two ways: (1) thinly slice the brisket across the grain OR.
• (2) shred the brisket with a large, 2-pronged fork.
• Drizzle beef brisket with the meat juices; delicious over mashed potatoes, egg noodles or polenta.
• If desired, serve with your favorite barbecue sauce. Horseradish also goes well with this slow-cooked brisket.

SMOKED CIDER BRISKET

Steps:

• Soak the hickory chips in water for 1 hour before grilling.
• For the brine: Combine the apple cider and water in a large, oval Dutch oven. Add the salt and sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add the black peppercorns and bay leaves. Add the brisket and let soak in the brine solution for up to 3 hours in the refrigerator.
• For the rub: Combine the salt, paprika, pepper, sugar, and onion powder together in a bowl.
• For the sauce: Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes so the butter can melt and the flavors can marry.
• For the brisket: Set up your smoker with charcoal and hickory chips using indirect heat. Heat the grill to 275 degrees F.
• Remove the brisket from the fridge. Drain from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a rimmed sheet tray. Rub the brisket with the spice mixture.
• Place the seasoned brisket fat cap side up on the grill and smoke for 2 hours with the grill lid covered. (Starting with the fat cap side up allows the fat to melt into the brisket, adding moisture and flavor.) Flip and smoke 2 more hours. Check and refill charcoal levels and hickory chips throughout the smoking process, keeping the temperature at a constant 275 degrees F.
• Remove the brisket from the grill and wrap in a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place back on the grill for 1 1/2 more hours.
• Remove the brisket from the grill, unwrap the foil, brush the brisket with sauce (or serve on the side), tent with foil, and let rest for 30 minutes before slicing across the grain. Drizzle more sauce when serving.

AMAZINGLY TENDER SMOKED BRISKET RECIPE

Steps:

• Inject the Brisket I don't inject every brisket that I cook but I figure it can't hurt anything and since we are aiming for the juiciest and most tender smoked brisket known to man, let's just do it! To make the injection marinade, I run some of my rub through a coffee grinder to "powder" it real fine. I then mix about 3 tablespoons of this ground rub with about 14 oz of beef broth. I usually place the 3 tablespoons of ground rub into a pint jar then fill it the rest of the way with beef broth. Stir often while using to keep it mixed up. Place the brisket fat side down in a foil pan to catch the juice that runs off. Fill the meat injector with the injection marinade and inject the marinade into the brisket about every 2 inches or so in a grid pattern. Some people will tell you how many ounces to inject but my method is to inject in each spot until it squirts out then move to the next one. I do recommend that you wear an apron and perhaps a face mask as it can get messy. Push the injector into the meat at an angle (45 degrees or so) and depress the plunger as you slowly pull the injector out. If the plunger won't push in then you have a clog and you'll need to clear it before moving on. This should not be a problem if you grind the rub really fine. Season the Brisket Generously When you are finished injecting the brisket it is time to season the outside of the brisket generously with rub. In times past, I have recommended placing rub on the top, bottom and sides of the brisket and even scoring the fat so the rub can get down to the meat but on this one, I will just season the top side (meat only side) since it will be sitting in juices and the rub would just wash off of the bottom and sides. The top of the brisket will be wet from the injection marinade and so I don't think it's necessary to add mustard to help the rub to stick. Feel free to do this if you like but I chose to skip that step. After about 10 minutes, the rub will start to get a wet look as it absorbs the juices on the outside of the brisket. Get the Smoker Ready - I say this often but it bears repeating and especially for those who are new to the newsletter and smoking: You can use ANY smoker for my smoking instructions whether it is electric, gas, charcoal or wood. A smoker, in its' most basic form, is simply a heat source with wood smoke. I use all kinds and I get very good results regardless of the heat source and so can you. If someone ever tells you that you are not really smoking meat properly unless you are using a stick burner (an all wood smoker) then realize that you have just met a smoker snob and they will probably be of no use to you in your learning. Whatever smoker you happen to have must be setup for smoking low and slow. In this set of brisket instructions, I recommend maintaining around 200 degrees and using oak wood if you have it. If you do not have oak and can't find it, any good robust hardwood fit for smoking will work such as hickory, mesquite, pecan or even fruit woods like cherry or apple. Also, if your smoker will not maintain a heat as low as 200 degrees then you will have to just cook it as low as you can. The recipe will work but it will probably get done faster than mine did. Once your smoker is maintaining 200 degrees, you are ready to place the brisket in the smoker. Smoke the Brisket Place the brisket directly on the smoker grate with the fat side down. Maintain 200 degrees F throughout and keep the smoke going for at least 6 hours if you are not using a stick burner. If you have a water pan, use it. If your smoker does not have a water pan, you can either not worry about it or you can place a metal pan of water next to the area where the heat enters the smoke chamber or on a lower grate over the heat. Leave the brisket alone and keep the door/lid closed as much as possible during the cooking time so as to not lose any heat and further prolong the cooking time. Once the brisket has cooked for about 6-8 hours, put about 1 cup of beef broth and a few tablespoons of my rub in a foil pan. Place the brisket fat side down in the pan and cover it with foil to allow it to continue cooking while the steam inside the pan tenderizes it. If you have a digital probe meat thermometer, be sure to place it in the brisket just before you cover it with foil so you can know what's going on in the pan temperature wise. A Few Words on Thermometers - If you do not have a digital probe meat thermometer then you are really missing out on a tool that will change the way you cook. If you can swing it, get a remote version such as the Maverick ET-732 so you can carry the receiver with you around the yard and even into the house and you can do other equally important things and still know what is going on in the smoker. Finishing Up the Brisket The brisket is done and only done when it reaches 195-200 degrees. With large cuts like brisket, the "safe-to-eat" temperature is not the same as the finish temperature. It is safe to eat early on in the game but it will be as tough as shoe leather unless you let it reach that 195-200 degree mark in temperature. We use 1.5 hours per pound to estimate how long it will take but that is as far as we go with time. Once the cooking begins, it is all about the temperature. Once the brisket reaches 195 degrees, poke it with a toothpick or other thin, sharp object of a similar size and it should have little to no resistance. If it does, let it cook another 30 minutes and check it again. Repeat if necessary. Once it is finished cooking, it is time to let it rest and finish tenderizing. Rest the Brisket in a Cooler This is a very important step in my opinion. Take an empty ice chest and line the bottom with heavy duty foil. Place the smoked brisket into the cooler and fold the foil down onto and around the brisket. Place another piece of foil over the top of the brisket to cover it. Place thick towels into the cooler to fill in any remaining space and close the lid. Let the brisket rest in this configuration for about 2 hours. Saving the Juice is Optional but Recommended. I like to save the juice, de-fat it and then use it to juice the meat back up when reheating the brisket but that is entirely up to you. Pour the juices into a quart jar and notice how the fats float to the top. Place the jar in the fridge and once the fat at the top goes solid, it can be scooped out and discarded leaving you with wonderfully tasty brisket juice.

BEST BARBECUE HICKORY-SMOKED BRISKET

Steps:

• Place brisket on large piece of foil.
• Sprinkle with onion seasoning and pour liquid smoke over, fold brisket in half if needed to make a compact packet that will fit in the crock pot.
• Seal foil, place brisket in refrigerator overnight.
• In the morning, place brisket in the crock pot on low heat, cook 8 hours.
• Remove brisket, strain broth into glass jar.
• Place brisket and broth in refrigerator and allow to cool completely.
• Skim fat from broth and mix 1 1/2 cups broth with barbecue sauce.
• Return the sliced brisket to crock pot and pour sauce over.
• Turn on low and allow to cook for 4 to 6 hours.