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The Ultimate Texas Beef Brisket Recipe
Texas beef brisket is a delicious dish that many love and enjoy in the south and midwest regions and is even gaining popularity in other parts of the United States, and for good reason. With a mouthwatering seasoned outer layer and a juicy, tender inside, who wouldn't fall in love with Texas barbecue?
Although loved by many, it is not an easy dish to make, especially if you are new to this style of barbecuing. There are many factors to consider before you start cooking, and once you get everything going, it takes a long time to make.
The quality of the brisket, the cutting of the fat, and the perfect rub are just some of the things to do before you even start cooking, so to get all the details needed to make the ideal Texas beef brisket for you and your family and friends, read on.
Best Texas Style Beef Brisket Recipe
The first thing you need to know about the Texas beef brisket is that there are many different ways that you can go about the preparation and cooking process. Different parts of Texas make brisket than other regions, so know that there is no one set way to achieve this meal.
This fact will take some of the pressure off that you may be feeling and gives you room to explore to see which way is best for you. In some recipes, you can either cook it in a conventional oven or on the grill. If you decide to put it in the oven, you will then be achieving Texas oven-roasted beef brisket.
There isn't much difference between the way in which you cook the meat. The real difference lies in the rub that you use to season the meat. More traditionally, kosher salt and black pepper are the only two ingredients that are packed onto the brisket.
In more modern times, you have the option to add spices such as cumin, chili powder, paprika, and even sugar, so consider your preferences before choosing a recipe. After giving this some consideration, you are ready to move on to learn how to make a Texas beef brisket that will have your guests drooling!
Ingredients
Instructions
Storage
Upon receiving the brisket, place in the refrigerator to keep the meat cold. When you are ready to start the preparation process, take the meat out. Since the meat is already cold, it will be a lot easier to trim off the fat than if it was room temperature, as this makes the meat tougher and increases the risk of injury when cutting.
Trimming
The next thing you want to do is start trimming off the right amount of fat to get the perfect taste. This is one of the crucial parts of the meal as will make or break the quality of the meal. A brisket that is too fatty won’t be very appealing to eat, and one with too much fat taken away will risk the meat coming out too dry and tough.
The best way to get it just right is by understanding the parts of the brisket itself. A brisket is made up of two main parts, the point and the flat. The flat side of the brisket is what it sounds like; it is the part of the meat that is flat and is made up of mostly meat with not a lot of fat.
The point of the brisket is the part that reaches towards the collarbone of the cow and is more over the heart, making it have a lot more fat than the other. The very bottom of the entire brisket is going to be made up of fat also, and the ideal amount for this section is ¼ to ½ an inch in size.
When cutting the point, you will come across a portion of the meat that is very fatty and thick. This part is known as the deckle, and the way you find it is making sure the meat is upright and making an incision into the inner part of the point.
There will be a tendon there and a small area of fat, so you remove them both to get to the deckle. To remove, you cut into the fatty part, pry it apart a bit, and take out the huge chunk of fat that you will find there. You will also want to remove the portion of fat that connects the point and the flat of the brisket to finish off the trimming process.
It may seem like a lot of extra things to do and takes you quite a while to get finished, but in the end, it will be worth it. Once you are done, the hard part is over, and you will begin to season the brisket, which is the fun part.
Applying The Rub
Next, you will put the salt, pepper, and garlic powder into a bowl and mix them to create the rub that will season the meat. The rub can be done many ways, but as mentioned above, using salt and pepper is the original way that it was done. In this recipe, garlic powder is being used to amp up the flavoring a bit.
The measurements are also not set in stone, so you can either add more or less of the mixture to your brisket, depending on how you want it to taste. Keep in mind that the more you use, the more you are masking the flavor of the actual meat. Once you have the mixture, pack it into the meat, and you are ready to pop it in the oven or smoker.
Slow Cooking Correctly
For this recipe, we will discuss how to cook the brisket on a smoker. The first thing you want to do is to preheat the smoker to about 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
Be sure to use indirect heat for this, as you need to slow cook the meat rather than grilling it like you would hamburgers. The slow cook process really ensures that the brisket will be cooked thoroughly and evenly.
You will want to add either pecan, apple, or hardwood smoke to the charcoal to give the smokiness a little bit of flavor. Be sure to have the point of the brisket closer to the heat source than the flat part, and cook for about 8 hours.
After the outside is cooked, it is time to get the tender, juicy result that makes this meal so popular. To achieve this, wrap the brisket in aluminum foil and let it cook for another 6 to 8 hours, or until the internal temperature is between 195 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once it has, the brisket has finished cooking. Be sure to give it an hour or so before serving and taking a bite.
Simplified Step-By-Step Guide
Additional Tips And Tricks To Make The Perfect Brisket
Since there are many different variations when it comes to Texas style beef brisket recipes, here are some tips and further advice on how to find the ingredients and procedure that best suits your needs and preferences.
If you are a person that loves a lot of flavor, no matter what type of meat you are cooking, there is a rub recipe that you will adore, especially if you like it more on the spicy side. You will need a half cup of paprika, three tablespoons of pepper, salt, and sugar, and two tablespoons of chili powder.
To cook Texas oven roasted beef brisket, the only thing that you have to change from the procedure above is putting the brisket into your oven after trimming and seasoning instead of a grill. The temperature and the duration of time of cooking will be about the same; the main difference is not having to go outside to check on it.
The quality of the brisket that you buy also plays a huge role in the way that it turns out. You want to make sure that you invest in premium meat that has both the point and flat muscles included.
The meat should have a marble appearance, meaning that it has a nice blend of meat and fat, enhancing the juiciness and taste of the meat. If you don't invest in high-quality meat, you may not get the results that you want, no matter how well you cook it.
Summary
Making your own Texas style beef brisket is no easy feat, but it is indeed doable. Following the steps above will ensure that you can provide your guests and yourself not only a Texas brisket but a delicious one as well. Thank you for reading this article, and we hope that it taught you everything you need to know about this bad boy of a dish.
Resources:
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