I had a friend visiting for Christmas that loves BBQ brisket so it was easy to figure what to make for dinner December 25th 2021. Here is how I cooked it.
This was a small flat brisket cut. It was about 3 1/2 pounds.
I rubbed on some “blue label” original Susie Q’s Santa Maria Seasoning in the morning. You can put the rub on the night before. I just started using this rub over the summer and it is really good.
For the fire I used some B&B Mesquite Lump Charcoal that seemed to be fine. I usually will BBQ with Lazzari mesquite but I couldn't find any.
Mesquite is good for beef! It is charcoal not wood so it gives off heat but not so much smoke.
For the smoke I used Western Wood Hickory BBQ smoking chips that got about a 1 hour soak in water.
The rub, mesquite, hickory, and later sauce all combined for a great mix of flavors.
The fire got nice and hot. The wood chips were drained then placed on top of the charcoal in my Big Green Egg. I closed off the vents to cool it down to 225 - 250 degrees.
A Big Green Egg "convEGGtor" went inside the egg first. That provides indirect heat for proper low and slow BBQ cooking. I put a pan of water on top of the convEGGtor to keep things moist. Then a grate and then the brisket.
Things were now setup for an all day cook and dinner would be ready about 7pm.
About every 30 minutes I would check on the temperature of the BBQ. It stayed pretty stable. I didn't open it up.
About 5 hours after the brisket went in I started to check the temperature and when it got to 165 I wrapped it tightly in foil using a method called the Texas Crutch.
I left it wrapped for a few hours and when it got to 200 degrees it came off the BBQ and went into a warm oven to rest.
I would have liked it to rest more - say a few hours - but I had only 1 hour until dinner.
The kitchen smelled so good everyone was looking forward to their Christmas BBQ.
If you can wait at least a few hours the brisket will just get more and more tender. Since I didn't have the time I sliced it thin and it came out really tasty. Everyone wanted seconds!
For a sauce I used a combination of G Hughes Hickory Sugar Free BBQ Sauce mixed with a little something to add some heat. It turned out great and those slices of BBQ brisket had a ton of flavor.
Merry Christmas!