Beef Brisket- How to select, trim, season and smoke the perfect beef brisket.

This has become a popular workshop and for good reason. A good quality beef brisket is a major investment. It also is not super easy to successfully cook. That’s where Smokey Joe and I step in. During this workshop you will bring your own brisket. We will help you trim, season and cook the brisket to be perfectly done. There’s just too much to cover in a blog post but here are the highlights.

• Selecting a brisket

  • You want to find either a prime or choice brisket. Prime will be a bit better but often more expensive. We like supporting local meat processors and farmers. Some in the Utah County area include Springville Meat, Lazy J, Western Hills and Circle V. A favorite spot in in West Jordan is Utah Natural Meat and Milk. Big box stores also have whole packer briskets available most of the time.

  • Trimming- An untrimmed brisket will have too much fat in the wrong places. We love the animal fats and will discuss what to do with the trimmed fat. But it’s critical the brisket be properly trimmed before seasoning.

  • Seasoning- The classic Texas style brisket is salt and pepper and garlic. Great salt and freshly ground pepper are where we will start. You absolutely can experiment with your own custom or commercial rubs. We like the classics, so it’s salt and pepper, garlic for us.

  • Timing- Lots to cover here. You can and should season the brisket 24 hours in advance if possible. The salt will work its magic and penetrate the meat fibers adding both flavor and some tenderness. The brisket, depending on size, can take 8-12 hours to cook but you can hold it for hours. We recommend placing your foil or paper wrapped cooked brisket into a cooler. Use towels around it to help add insulation. In this way you can keep your brisket hot and ready to serve for hours.

  • Temps- Cooking temp of 225 degrees and cooking the brisket to an internal of 195-205 are the temp targets. Hitting the right finished temp is VERY important! Brisket is a tough muscle. The connective tissue that makes it tough start to dissolve when you slowly bring the brisket up to the correct temps.

  • Side dishes-We love Mac and cheese. We usually serve it during our workshop.

    1 box of your favorite pasta

    1 jar of Prego 4 cheese artisan sauce

    8 oz  of velveeta

    8 oz of shredded sharp cheddar

    1 cup cream

    Soften noodles and let drain.

    Pour sauce ingredients into a pot and warm/melt. Mix noodles and sauce in an aluminum pan and place uncovered on the smoker at 225 for 45 minutes. Cover and return to the smoker for another 45 minutes.