B-Side Brown Sugar Smoked Brisket
- 5 - 6 lbs. beef brisket in one piece, preferably the fatty end of a whole brisket (the "deckle" or "point cut")
- 6 fist-size hickory chunks and 6 fist-size applewood chunks
- Brine
- 2/3 cup kosher salt
- 10 1/2 cups warm water
- 6 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pickling spices (includes coriander seeds, cloves, peppercorns, and crushed bay leaves)
- Rub
- 2 tablespoons white peppercorns
- 1/3 cup coriander seeds
- 1/3 cup black peppercorns
- 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- Trim outer fat of brisket to 1/4 in. thick. Trim out any thick pocket of fat, leaving about a 1/4" layer of fat.
- Make brine: Whisk salt & water in a bowl to dissolve, whisk in remaining brine ingredients. Add brisket & put a plate on top to submerge it. Chill overnight, up to 24 hrs.
- Soak hickory chunks & applewood chunks in 2 bowls of warm water with a plate on top of each to submerge them, 45 min at least. Meanwhile, remove brisket from brine & pat almost dry.
- Make rub: In an electric coffee grinder, pulse white peppercorns until coarsely ground; pour into a bowl. Repeat with coriander, then black peppercorns. Add both to bowl, add brown sugar & salt; mix to blend. Rub very generously all over brisket, including in the pocket and on the sides. Let meat come to room temperature, about 1 hr.
- Meanwhile, prepare a gas grill. Set an aluminum drip pan (at least as large as brisket) under the cooking grate & on middle burner of a 3-burner grill. Fill drip pan halfway with hot tap water.
- With grill lid open, ignite only exposed burners & turn to medium (~350u0b0). Drain 4 soaked wood chunks (2 hickory, 2 applewood) & set directly on lit burners. Applewood for good burn, hickory for taste. Close lid and heat 10 minutes, then adjust to maintain 250 to 300. When smoke begins to billow from grill (may take 20 min), position brisket on cooking rack over drip pan, fattiest side up. Close lid.
- Cook & smoke brisket for 3 hours, setting 2 or 3 drained wood chunks directly on a lit burners every 30 minutes or often enough to maintain consistently thick smoke). Turn brisket over halfway through smoking and add hot water to drip pan keeping 1/2 full.
- Preheat oven to 375. Tfr brisket to a roasting pan. Pour in hot water to come 1/2 up brisket; cover tightly with foil. Braise, covered, until so tender that a fork slips in easily, about 3 hours.
- Transfer brisket to a to a cutting board & let rest at least 20 minutes. Slice.
beef brisket, hickory, brine, kosher salt, water, brown sugar, bourbon, pickling spices, rub, white peppercorns, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, brown sugar, kosher salt
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/b-side-brown-sugar-smoked-brisket-52814241 (may not work)