Barbecued Texas Beef Brisket

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Texans like their barbecue spicy, in the tradition of the Southwest, which is chili pepper country. For this recipe, you'll need to order a U.S.D.A. "choice" grade, packer-trimmed brisket: That's a brisket with none of the fat cut off. Before being cooked, the meat is seasoned with a dry rub; during cooking, it is brushed regularly with a beer-based mop. You'll need to use a smoker for the brisket (a converted barbecue won’t maintain the very low heat required), and to get the most authentic Texas flavor, seek out the natural lump charcoal specified in the recipe; it's available at barbecue stores, some natural foods stores and some supermarkets.
12 servings

Recipe by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison

July 1999

Ingredients

For dry rub

1/2 cup paprika
3 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 tablespoons coarse salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 7 1/2- to 8-pound untrimmed whole beef brisket

For mop
12 ounces beer
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons minced jalapeño chilies

5 pounds (about) 100% natural lump charcoal

4 cups (about) oak or hickory wood smoke chips, soaked in cold water at least 30 minutes

1 cup purchased barbecue sauce (such as Bull's-Eye)

1 tablespoon chili powder

Preparation

Make dry rub:

Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend.

Transfer 1 tablespoon dry rub to another small bowl and reserve for mop. Spread remaining dry rub all over brisket. Cover with plastic; chill overnight.

Make mop:

Mix first 6 ingredients plus reserved dry rub in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over low heat 5 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup mop into bowl; cover and chill for use in sauce. Cover and chill remaining mop.

Following manufacturer's instructions and using natural lump charcoal, start fire in smoker. When charcoal is ash gray, drain 1/2 cup wood chips and scatter over charcoal. Bring smoker to 200°F. to 225°F., regulating temperature by opening vents wider to increase temperature and closing slightly to reduce temperature.

Place brisket, fat side up, on rack in smoker. Cover; cook until tender when pierced with fork and meat thermometer inserted into center registers 185°F., about 10 hours (turn brisket over for last 30 minutes). Every 1 1/2 to 2 hours, add enough charcoal to maintain single layer and to maintain 200°F. to 225°F. temperature; add 1/2 cup drained wood chips. Brush brisket with chilled mop in pan each time smoker is opened. Transfer brisket to platter; let stand 15 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool 1 hour. Wrap in foil; chill. Before continuing, rewarm brisket, still wrapped, in 350°F. oven about 45 minutes.) Combine barbecue sauce and chili powder in heavy small saucepan. Add any accumulated juices from brisket and bring to boil, thinning sauce with some of reserved 1/2 cup mop, if desired.

Thinly slice brisket across grain. Serve, passing sauce separately.

Hungry for More? If you have a question about this recipe, contact our Test Kitchen at askba@bonappetit.com. To see more recipes like this one, check out our Favorite Grilling Recipes Slideshow.

Chicken Taco Ring

4 Chicken Breasts - cooked and cooled and cut up into bite size pieces. (may be simmered in broth for 2 hrs and cooled. Remove from broth and sprinkle with taco seasoning.)
1 pack of taco seasoning
8 oz of cheddar cheese
1/2 small onion
1/4 cup of salsa

2 cans of crescent rolls

Marinate Chicken Breast in Taco Seasoning mix while you prepare the rest. Preheat oven to 375

Form crescent rolls in a ring on a round baking stone. mix all ingredients in a batter bowl stir, spoon mixture onto ring and then fold the points over and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Basic and Smoky BBQ Sauce

Basic Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe

• 1 Cup Ketchup
• 1 tbsp Mustard
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tbsp Vinegar
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp Black Pepper

Simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl and you are done. You can use the BBQ sauce right away but the flavors will blend together better if you prepare it the night before and it stand in the refrigerator overnight.

This is a great base sauce that you can add your own flavors too. Try various types of mustard or adding a small amt of maple syrup or perhaps apricot liquor.

Smoky Flavored Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe

• 1 Bottle of Chili Sauce (12 ounce)
• 1/4 cup Water
• 1 tbsp Mustard
• 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp Vinegar
• 2 tsp Liquid Smoke

Mix all the ingredients into a bowl and you are done. You can use the BBQ sauce right away but the flavors will blend together better if you prepare it the night before and let the BBQ sauce stand in the refrigerator overnight .

If you are not familiar with liquid smoke, you should be able to find it in most grocery stores in the BBQ sauce section. If you do not like too strong of a smoky flavor, reduce it by half.

American Flag Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt
Decorating icing and/or colored sugars

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2- to 3-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugars as desired.

Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until set. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate with icing and additional sugars if desired. Makes 120 Cookies - Prep: 1-1/4 hours + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling

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