Brisket

I've been experimenting with brisket. I had no idea what I was doing at first but after some experimentation the results are quite good.

Find a good sized brisket about 5 to 8 pounds and make sure it has a good thick fat layer 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick on one side.

Place the brisket in a large glass cake pan or cassarole dish, salt and pepper both sides and sprinkle liberally with garlic powder and paprika. cover and refrigerate from 2 to 8 hours.

From here you can make it in the oven, on the barbecue pit or smoker.

Here's my quick method.
Start soaking the wood you are going to smoke with in a bowl of water.

Lay your brisket on the grill over the hottest part of the coals and cook it for 90 seconds on each side. this will seal in the juices. Then wrap the brisket in two layers of heavy duty foil fat side up with enough extra foil to leave the top partially open but not let the juices out.

Move the brisket away from the coals to a part of the grill where it can get indirect heat (if you don't have a smoke box) and place your wood in a perforated pie tin so it can sit on top of the coals and begin to smoke.

Close the lid and let it smoke for an hour. After an hour, carefully flip the brisket in the foil and smoke for one more hour adding more wood and coals if necessary.

Then close the foil and let brisket cook covered over low indirect heat for another 90 min.

Oven method: wrap tightly in heavy duty foil and cook 4 hours on the top rack at 200 degrees.

When cutting, make sure to slice against the grain of the meat. This will make for a very tender pieces.

Optionally you can pour the juices from the foil into a bowl and mix with 1 1/2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce and pour over the top of the sliced meat. However many folks like theirs plain.

Enjoy!

SMOKE BRINE

in a VERY clean ice chest, place your FROZEN turkey, fish or whatever meat you'd like to smoke.

cover with a mixture of:

four parts brown sugar

one part salt (the salt also helps to eliminate bacteria during the brine process)

on top of that mixture, add daily for UP to seven (or more in some cases) days four to six trays of ice, cover and keep in a cool area of your home - do not drain any of the liquid during the brining process.

at the end of your brining process, drain your meat well and pat dry with paper towels. it's ready for the smoker now! be sure to throw out ALL the brine mixture - you CANNOT use it over.

remember, poultry must be brought up to a temperature of 180 degrees after smoking - so build your fire up afterward to test with a thermometer. the length of time you spend smoking your concoction depends upon how vigilant you are. for instance, when we do an 18-20 pound turkey at thanksgiving, pop will start it at about 10:00 p.m. and get up every two to three hours through the night to add wet hickory, cherry or mesquite to the coals for ten to twelve hours and then he'll begin his heat process.

fish will be easier to smoke and can be canned afterward in a waterbath for less than ten minutes until lids seal - see directions on lid package. you may also wish to seal your fish in a seal-a-meal baggie. my favorite smoked fish is any and all trout.

if you're wanting to do smoked pork chops, combine an equal amount of teriyaki and brown sugar and brine in the refrigerator for a few days - these are my all time favorites - i'll serve them thin sliced with chinese style hot mustard and sesame seeds.