Southeast Texas Brisket

When I smoke a brisket and I don’t have to worry about a uniform smoke ring I leave them fat side up un-trimmed with the chopped or fatty side towards the firebox. If I’m cooking in a competition I trim the fat and my method is totally different. I never puncture the meat with a fork, trident, injection needle or thermometer during the cooking process for obvious reasons. If at all possible I keep my briskets away from the fire box. Depending on the pit I stoke them up with a mild wood, pecan or hickory or well seasoned oak. Fruit wood in a North Texas thing. A huge mistake folks make is opening the doors of the pit. As long as you have a handle on the fire and temperature there is no need to open the doors. If I am cooking a lot of briskets I line them up and smoke for a good 6 to 8 hours without ever opening the doors of the pit. After a good long smoke I look at the briskets to see how far along they are. I judge them by their feel, color and appearance. After the smoking process you can do many different things. For instance, you can place them in a convection oven. You can stack them and baste. You can wrap them in aluminum foil with or without liquid. You can fire the pit up to get them cooked in a hurry. You can leave them alone. Texas is a big place and I have found folks like their brisket different in all locations of the state. Here in Southeast Texas barbecue sauce is an insult or at least it used to be. But, being a good host you have to make it available to your guests. To me, mesquite wood is a very harsh and bitter sweet flavor that suits fish and chicken far better than beef and pork. Keep in mind taste is subjective. Pork Butt was unheard of 15 years ago in the Texas BBQ circuit. The folks out east have been trying to infiltrate our ranks for many years and they have been successful. My line years ago was, pulled, jerked or chopped, pork butt belongs in a hotdog. Of course, I really don’t feel that way, they are delicious. It's a Yankee thing! Kind of like the BGE. A must have for a brisket chef is a heavy duty pair of rubber chemical gloves. When you pick up a brisket you can feel when it is done. The meat breaks down over the cooking process and it gets a tender feeling to it. If you started out with quality meat and you kept the moisture level up and you maintained the firebox and it never got out of control, you will have a very tender and tasty brisket. I don’t know how many times I have seen people slice a brisket wrong. I was at a local cook off and a team that has done very well over the years put out a pan of brisket and it was all sliced wrong. I did not say anything as I was a guest. The meat was smoked right, but sliced wrong. Take your time and slice it right with a sharp knife and never slice when you are drinking. If you are like me and have to slice while drinking a metal mesh filet glove is your friend. I am stubborn and the scars on my fingers are proof. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!