Smoked Brisket

Ingredients

• 1 Full Cape Grim Grass Fed brisket – 6 – 8kg (appx)
• 2/3 cup BBQ Punk SPG rub
• 1/3 bottle (enough to cover) BBQ Punk Big Boppa sauce
• Spritz – 50/50 apple cider vinegar / water in spray bottle

Method

1. Prepare the spritz: Pour the water & apple cider vinegar into a spray bottle with an adjustable nozzle. Set aside until ready to use.

2. Jot down your estimated serve time: i.e when you hope to eat the brisket and work backward, accounting for its 12-hour cook time plus about ½ hour of prep and appx 4 hours marinade time (include time for the raw meat to rest and for your smoker to reach ideal temp) and then the all-important 2+ hours of resting time at the end of cook.

(side note – times can vary slightly depending on the type of cooker you use, drum smokers and kettles can cook a little faster being that the heat              is radiating upwards at a faster rate than on offset cooker may generate. This recipe is more specific to an offset smoker but still a general guide            to the process for all cookers).

3. Prep the brisket. Take the brisket out of the fridge (for trimming, it’s best that the meat is cold). The skinny side of your brisket is the “flat,” while the fattier and thicker muscle is the “point.” Use a boning knife to remove excess firm fat (this doesn’t render down well) and rough edges using smooth strokes. This makes sure to better expose the flat and even out the overall shape. Next, depending on how thin the flat of your brisket is, you may want to trim off a little more from the “flat” end to reach a point where the meat is thick enough to survive the cook without drying out.

4. Lay your brisket fat cap side up and look for dimples on the surface of the fat near the centre of the brisket. With your knife, cut into the fat at a curved angle and then move the blade along the length of the flat, peeling back the top layer of fat with your other hand as you go. (You’re trying to expose the soft white fat beneath the waxy exterior.) Carefully shave the upper layers away with your knife until all that’s left is a layer of pillowy fat approximately ¼ inch thick. Turn the brisket over so the fat cap is facing down. You’ll see a big chunk of exposed seam fat right where the flat and the point connect. Make a few entry cuts into the fat, then peel and slice it off. Remove any other stray bits of fatty membrane and also remove bits of silver skin.

5. Apply the Big Boppa Whiskey Sauce to the whole brisket and cover in the fridge to marinade for at least 4 hours.

6. Take out of the fridge and allow the brisket to return (close to) room temp covered on the bench then sprinkle evenly a generous coating of BBQ Punk SPG starting on the underside then finish on the top (presentation side).

7. Allow the brisket to rest at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. The meat will begin to absorb the rub, and the salt will start drawing out the internal moisture.

8. Prep your smoker. Bring temp up to 125c and ensure smoke has settled in and turned a clear bluish colour (clean smoke) this time will vary depending on your smoker, be patient and avoid dirty smoke!

9. Fill a 4- to 6-inch-deep water pan with a few inches of warm/hot water. Place it inside your smoker to add humidity to the cook chamber.

10. Once your smoker has reached a consistent temperature of 125c, place the brisket in your smoker with the point closest to the heat source and shut the lid. Leave undisturbed for the first 3 hours, maintaining a constant temperature of 125c and clean, light smoke with a bluish colour.

11. After 3 hours, open your smoker and check on the brisket. By this point, it should have developed a nice mahogany colour and a consistent bark. Before closing your smoker, spritz the drier, vulnerable edges of the brisket to cool them off.

12. Raise the temp to between 127c and 130c and continue to cook for another 3 hours, checking the brisket and spritzing once per hour. Handy tip: you can always use small pieces of foil to protect areas that are cooking to fast,

13. After approx 6 hours, your brisket will hit the stall. It’s basically evaporative cooling: Once the internal temperature of the brisket is appx 73c.

14. To push the brisket through the stall, ramp up your temp to between 137c and 140c. Cook for approximately 1 hour at this temp, then lift the brisket and check for stiffness. If it bends at the edges, you’re likely through the stall.

15. Lift the edge of the flat from the underside with your fingers; when it’s firm but a little floppy, it’s ready to wrap. (Another sign that the meat is ready to wrap is the bark: If it’s starting to crack in places, that means the fat is rendering.)

16. Wrap time! Ensure you are using butchers paper and not foil, there are many videos online to demonstrate this process and it’s best understood visually. Be sure to spritz the paper lightly before wrapping, wrap tight and have a little extra paper underneath to protect the bottom.

17. Return the wrapped brisket to the smoker with the point closest to the heat source. This is when I personally use a probe thermometer to ensure that I hit the target internal temp. Cook undisturbed for approximately 3 hours at 137c to 140c, then gradually allow the temperature to taper off for 1 more hour as your cook gets closer to the end. Remember that residual heat will continue to cook the brisket once removed from the smoker and resting.

18. Pull the brisket out of the smoker and carefully check for tenderness. Keep checking on the brisket at regular intervals at this point, roughly every 15 minutes. If the brisket feels loose and flexible in your hands it’s done. Typically the target internal temp for is 93c – 95c.

19. Once you’ve pulled the brisket out of the smoker, allow it to rest in its wrapping in a stable environment (typically and esky or oven will do) until it cools to an internal temperature of 140ºF (60c) to 150ºF (65c) .

20. When the meat has cooled down and you’re ready to serve, it’s time to start slicing. (Once you start cutting the brisket and the meat is exposed to the air, it will immediately start to oxidize, so hold off on cutting it until right before you’re ready to eat!)