Texas BBQ

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In Texas brisket is number one when it comes to barbecue. Pulled, jerked or chopped a pork butt belongs in a hotdog and not on a smoker. Texas barbecue should not be judged by the commercial brisket, barbecue restaurants turn out. You just can not compare a lovingly-tended brisket to a commercial product. It is not even fair to compare. If you want the “Lagniappe” (a little something special) you have to talk to the pros. Texans will argue the fact that barbecue was originated on the open Texas range. Smoking up 1000’s of pounds of brisket is a Texan’s birthright. It is very important to smoke at a low temperature over a long period of time to turn out a tender product. Flavors and methods vary from chef to chef. As taste is subjective, the key is taking your brisket to a place that satisfies the chef. On the barbecue circuit the chef is the chief cook. The chief cook is more times than not, also the bottle washer. There are many decisions associated with smoking a brisket to perfection. Do you smoke it for 6 hours or 10? Do you mop your brisket or not? After the brisket is adequately smoked, do you wrap it in aluminum foil or not? Will you add a liquid to the wrapped brisket? What type of hardwood will you use for the smoking process? Pecan, hickory, mesquite or oak? Fruit wood is a Yankee thing! Typically, what ever is free is the best for me. But if everything was perfect and money was no object, I use hickory, pecan or oak for my briskets. Mesquite has a bitter flavor and is better suited for fish and chicken. Mesquite is very dense and cooks at a very high temperature so it requires less wood to cook a very long time. So stick for stick, mesquite cooks a lot longer than any other popular flavor of hardwood. When smoking brisket you need to have a recipe for your sop. Some like a vinegar based sop. I do not. I like a fruit juice base. Many chef default to apple juice. Some default to beer. Although I like the outcome, I prefer other flavors. The beauty of lovingly-tended brisket is you can take it any direction you wish. An inexperienced cook needs a probe to insert into the brisket to know when a brisket is done. If you have been around you know not to pierce a brisket unless you enjoy a dry piece of meat. I have witnessed rookies using a trident to turn their briskets in the smoker. Now that is a waste in my opinion. I handle a brisket very carefully during the smoking process. If I am cooking to eat and not compete, I smoke them fat side up. In competition, I use a trimmed brisket and turn them one time. A uniform smoke ring is the sign of a good chef. Not to mention a tender, moist, flavorful slice of heaven. Dry rubbing a brisket is a popular thing to do. Dry rubs vary. The big three ingredients in a dry rub are paprika, salt and pepper. Mustard belongs on a hotdog. Some of the popular ingredients in a dry rub are sugar, brown or white, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and various spices. Dry rub recipes are big business. Just go to the grocery store and have a look on the spice isle. When you are invited to a Texas barbecue expect to eat brisket. Other meats you can expect at a Texas barbecue are chicken, ribs and sausage. Other popular sides at a Texas barbecue are potato salad, cole slaw and beans. In Texas, brisket is barbecue.