Tender Beef Brisket

This is an improved brisket recipe. It comes out tender and takes forever. The last time I cooked it, I put it in at noon. Sometime in the early evening, 7 or 8 hours later, I wrapped it in foil and turned up the heat a bit. It was finally done at 5 a.m the next morning when I put it in the insulated box to rest until noon. I think it would have been ok if cooked a couple of hours less but its not particular. Grand total: 24 hours but oh, so tender.

The cooking temperatures are barely above the point where water boils. That makes it slow cooking but hard to burn anything.

Ingredients

• 1 12-16 pound whole brisket
• brisket rub. (You can use the previous recipe or the one at the bottom of this page. Or just use salt and pepper.

Instructions

• I bring brisket home from the grocery store when it's on sale. I put it in the freezer until it’s time to cook. Well … until its 36 hours before time to eat.
• Take it out and let it thaw 10-12 hours at room temp. Or let it thaw in the refrigerator for a longer time. Don't cook it if it is still partly frozen.
• Once it’s thawed, store your brisket in the refrigerator until you are ready.
• A whole brisket has 2 parts. The flat which is long and square muscle. The flat side doesn't have much fat showing. The point is an oddly shaped, almost triangular muscle. The point side has a thick layer of fat plus there is fat between the flat and point. The flat is always longer.
• Then is the time to start trimming. If you are new at this, Google for "aaron franklin trim brisket video" and watch how Aaron Frankin does it.
• Cold briskets are much easier to work with since the fat cuts more evenly. Flip your brisket over so the point end is underneath which leaves the thick fatty side down. Remove any silver skin or excess fat from the flat muscle. Trim down the large crescent moon shaped fat section until it is a smooth transition between the point and the flat. Trim any excessive or loose meat and fat from the point. Square the edges and ends of the flat. Flip the brisket over and trim the top fat cap to about 1/4 of an inch thickness across the surface of the brisket.
• The end result has tough silver-skin removed, fat reduced to 1/4 to 1/2 inch all around, some of the thick fat between point and flat removed and the edges evened out to prevent burning small bits of meat that are no longer sticking out.
• In a mixing bowl or empty spice container, mix the brisket rub. Shake over the brisket to evenly distribute the spices on all sides--top, bottom and all 4 edges. Some people say to rub it in with your hands but it doesn't much matter.
• Place the brisket in the oven. I use a rack sitting in a large sheet pan lined with foil. Close the door and cook at 215 degrees F until an internal thermometer reads 165 degrees F (maybe takes around 8 hours).
• On a large work surface, roll out a big piece of butcher paper (or foil) and center your brisket in the middle. 
• Taste a shot of Jim Beam Bourbon for quality control and pour 2 shots more over and around the meat. Keep the wrapping up so it doesn't run out.
• Wrap the brisket by folding and rolling edge over edge, creating a leak proof seal all the way around. Return the wrapped brisket to the oven, seam side down so the weight from the brisket crimps the edges of the paper wrap down tight. (With foil, I seal the foil edges on the sides and the top. That makes it easier to keep the bourbon from spilling.)
• Close the door and, change the oven to 222 degrees F, continue cooking until the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 205 degrees F in the thickest part of the meat (takes anywhere from 5-8 hours). Use an instant read thermometer or electronic probe to measure. 
• Remove the brisket and unwrap. Be careful to not make a mess with the accumulated oil and juices.
• Fold the brisket up in a new piece of foil. Do use foil this time. Use two layers if needed to seal it.
• Place the brisket in an ice chest (with no ice) or insulated box for anywhere from 4-8 hours to rest. Some people call it a cooler but the purpose is to keep it warm. It only loses heat slowly. The temperature of the meat will decline steadily. Do not let it get to room temp. I've seen it work with the rested temp between 120 and 150. This part isn't rocket science. You can adjust this time to fit your eating schedule.
• When I remove it, I remove the foil and usually separate the point and flat removing any thick fatty layer in between. Take note of how the grain runs so you can slice both parts across the grain. A good plate has some of both.
• Serve

Dry Rub:

I made up this rub recipe after watching the gentleman at KC Woodhouse on Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives mix up his BBQ rub. I like it on brisket and ribs. That video did not show proportions so don't complain if you eat there and this is not like it.

I like it. You might. If you prefer just use equal parts salt and pepper for your rub. 2 Tbsp each is about enough for one brisket.

Mix the following in a bowl. If you use whole spices, then you can grind it. Put it in an old spice jar with a shaker lid to apply it over the brisket. Or just use your hands. It smells wonderful.

• 2 parts ground turmeric
• 1/2 part ground black pepper
• 1/2 part ground white pepper
• 1 part paprika (I have used Hungarian and plain paprika. I never tried smoked.)
• 1/2 part ground cloves
• 1/2 part garlic powder (not garlic salt)
• 1/2 part green cardamom ground
• 1/2 part black cardamom ground
• 2 parts kosher salt

If you make it with 1 part equal to 1 Tbsp it’s almost enough for 2 briskets. If you make it with 1 part equal to 1 tsp it’s not enough for 1 brisket. Sorry if this requires you to multiply or do anything mathy. 

You can use the ground spices as described above. I typically use the same measurements of whole spices and then grind them after mixing. Its a bit fresher and stronger when freshly ground but it’s a bit less actual quantity so that works.

Making Tallow

This has nothing to do with cooking a brisket but does allow you to make use of some of the leftovers you created while preparing your brisket.

Tallow is an almost liquid fat made from beef fat. If you trim a brisket you end up with enough fat to make a nice pot of tallow. French fries cooked in tallow are not so very healthy but they taste wonderful.

There are probably better ways to do this but here is what I did. Partly, I did it this way, because my large skillet was out and I didn't want to get my large pot dirty.

All the fat you trimmed off the brisket should be kept cold. You can put it in the freezer to cool quickly but frozen fat is not so easy to deal with.

Cut all the fat into 1/2 inch cubes. Again, its not rocket science. If they are not cubes or are a little larger or smaller, it doesn't matter. I pick out the pure meat bits but I doubt that matters either.

Add a layer of fat cubes to a skillet. You want enough to completely cover the bottom but not be piled higher than one layer. Heat the skillet and the fat will start to render out. You want the fat around 300 to 350 degrees F. But you have to guess at first as there is no fat to put your thermometer in.

I use a med to med-high temp on my stove.

Do not let it burn. When the cubes shrivel up and turn brown and before the liquid fat burns, remove all he crispy cubes. I put them on a cookie sheet. We are going to throw them away when they cool. We are also going to collect any liquid fat from the cookie sheet to use.

Now, repeatedly add another layer of fat cubes, let cook at 300-350 until crispy and remove to the cookie sheet. I had to keep an eye on the volume of liquid fat in the skillet and move some of it to a metal container if it got too full. When the skillet is half full as you add a new bunch of fat cubes, that’s when spooning out the oil seems to work best. I had to fool with the burner temperature as I watched the temperature of the fat.

When all the fat cubes have been rendered, turn off the heat and let it cool. Collect all the fat for making french fries. I use old glass jars. I doubt it matters much. You don't need to refrigerate but it will only last a few weeks safely. Use your own good sense there and don't use it if it smells rancid. Also collect the liquid fat from the bottom of the cookie sheet as you dispose of the cooled crispy fat bits. I don't know a use for them. Comment if you do.

One brisket will yield a cup or two of tallow. Use it just like any frying fat. I recommend the french fries.