So, a bit of a confession: I realized I was a bad Texas on Thursday night ... I discovered I'd had a 10lb., 6oz. prime packer brisket languishing in my deep freeze since January.
After what are apparently unfounded fears of immediate deportation, I decided to thaw it and give my Blaz'n Gridiron a bit of a workout. The fine folks at H-E-B did a good job of trimming up the brisket ... I had less than a half pound of trimmings and fat to deal with, mainly just shaping it up a bit. I threw together a homemade spicy rub of kosher salt, cracked black peppercorns, garlic powder, onion powder, ancho chile powder, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, a bit of cumin, and a bit of brown sugar. Normally I like a simpler brisket rub, but I was in the mood to play around.
Into my Blaz'n Gridiron at midnight at 210° using CookinPellets Perfect Mix, with a disposable drip pan beneath with a bit of Shiner beer to help it ride through the night.
Since I had guests over (who probably are more omnivorous than I am) I decided to do smoked BBQ cauliflower. Tossed the florets in olive oil, used some of my brisket rub and a bit of kosher salt, and I let it go into the smoker with the brisket with a bump in temp to 225°; by this point, the brisket had been riding along for twelve full hours.
I went fat side down and no wrap, and the point was outpacing the flat by a wide margin. On the fly, I decided to prep the point as burnt ends and did some quick butchering while the brisket was in place. A bit of slice and dice, some more bbq seasoning and sauce, and the burnt ends were a go.
I ended up bumping the temp again to 250° as the flat simply was not coming up to temp ... finally I pulled when it hit 195° IT ... after SEVENTEEN long hours.
Oddly, for a prime brisket, the marbling was significantly less than H-E-B's choice briskets. The flavor was spot on, tender and smoky, but less moist than I thought prime meat would end up. Everyone raved, but if I had it to do over again I'd likely have done a butcher paper wrap just to see if it would improve. The burnt ends were a huge hit, as was the smoked cauliflower.
Overall ... despite being a less than optimal Texan, it was a great way to spend a Lone Star State Sunday.
