BARBECUED BEEF BRISKET FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL

Barbecued Beef Brisket For a Charcoal Grill image

The main reason it's so hard to cook brisket is that it starts out as a very tough cut of meat. It's also big, sometimes weighing upward of 13pounds, which is why most butchers separate it into two cuts: the "point" (the fattier of the two pieces) and the "flat" (which is leaner and also a little tougher). Slow-cooking for as many as six to 12hours at a low temperature tends to be the norm for cooking brisket, but we wanted to jump-start the cooking on the grill, to give us tender, smoky meat. We didn't get the total cooking time below six hours, but we did make the job easier using the grill. First, we cooked the meat over the grill for two hours to let in those all-important smoky flavors; barbecuing the brisket fat side up allowed the fat to melt slowly over the meat. Then we moved it to the oven to cook for a few more hours unattended. For flavor, we turned to a dry rub; typical barbecuing methods like basting the meat or setting a pan of liquid on the cooking grate to create a moist environment just didn't work. Our grill-to-oven approach, although unconventional, gave us fork-tender meat with real barbecue flavor in about half the time it would take to cook the meat entirely on the grill.

Provided by @MakeItYours

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

Serves 18 to 24
Cooking a whole brisket, which weighs about 10 pounds, may seem like overkill. However, the process is easy, and the leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. (Leave leftover brisket unsliced, and reheat the foil-wrapped meat in a 300
Ingredients
Spicy Chili Rub
4tablespoons paprika
2tablespoons chili powder
2tablespoons ground cumin
2tablespoons dark brown sugar
2tablespoons table salt
1tablespoon ground oregano
1tablespoon granulated sugar
1tablespoon ground black pepper
1tablespoon ground white pepper
2teaspoons cayenne pepper
Brisket
1 whole beef brisket (point and flat cut together), 9 to 11 pounds, fat trimmed to 1/4-inch thickness
3cups barbecue sauce (store-bought if preferred)
2 wood chunks (3-inch)

Steps:

For Spicy Chili Rub: Mix all ingredients in small bowl.
Apply dry rub liberally to all sides of brisket; wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 and up to 48 hours.
For Brisket: About 1 hour prior to cooking, remove the brisket from the refrigerator, unwrap, and let it come up to room temperature. Soak the wood chunks in cold water to cover for 1 hour and drain.
Meanwhile, light a large chimney starter filled a bit less than halfway with charcoal briquettes (2 1/2 quarts, or about 45 briquettes) and allow to burn until the coals are fully ignited and partially covered with a thin layer of ash. Empty the coals into one side of the grill, piling them up in a mound 2 or 3 briquettes high. Keep the bottom vents completely open. Place the wood chunks on top of the charcoal. Put the cooking grate in place, open the grill lid vents completely, and cover, turning the lid so that the vents are opposite the wood chunks to draw smoke through the grill. Let the grate heat up for 5 minutes and then scrape the grate clean with a grill brush.
Position the brisket, fat side up, on the side of the grill opposite the fire. Barbecue, without removing the lid, for 2 hours. (The initial temperature will be about 350 degrees and will drop to 250 degrees after 2 hours.)
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Attach 2 pieces of heavy-duty foil, 4 feet long, by folding the long edges together 2 or 3 times, crimping tightly to seal well, to form an approximately 4 by 3 foot rectangle. Position the brisket lengthwise in the center of the foil. Bring the short edges over the brisket and fold down, crimping tightly to seal. Repeat with the long sides of the foil to seal the brisket completely. (See illustrations below.) Place the brisket on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the meat is fork-tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
Remove the brisket from the oven, loosen the foil at one end to release steam, and let rest for 30 minutes. If you like, drain the juices into a bowl (see illustration) and defat the juices in a gravy skimmer.
Unwrap the brisket and place it on a cutting board. Separate the meat into two sections and carve it on the bias across the grain into long, thin slices (see illustrations). Serve with plain barbecue sauce or with barbecue sauce that has been flavored with up to 1 cup of the defatted brisket juices.
Technique
Key Steps to Barbecued Brisket
Apply the dry rub generously to the brisket, pressing down to make sure the spices adhere. The meat should be completely obscured by the rub.
Wrap the grilled brisket in two 4-foot sections of heavy-duty foil that have been sealed together.
Seal foil sections together crosswise, then fold the sides of the foil packet tightly up against the sides of the meat.