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WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THIS ISSUE OF BBQ MADE SIMPLE


1. Brisket – Cook that Perfect Brisket

2. Sorry I Missed Writing the Newsletter the last Couple of Months

3. A Word About The Houston Rodeo BBQ Cook off

4. Try Texas Pepper Jelly (www.texaspepperjelly.com) a chance to add to the flavor of your food

5. Our Special Guest Writer – Ritch Robin – Gator BBQ Pits - Get the Pit Ready for Cooking

6. Message Board/Forum – Join us NOW, We need you to participate

7. Testimonials We Received 

8. What you will find in future issues of BBQ Made Simple





So let’s get down to cooking………….



BEEF BARBECUED BRISKET – A TEXAS TRADITION


I have received a lot of questions about brisket cooking in the last couple of months and since we have added so many new subscribers to the newsletter I thought the article we did on brisket cooking would be good for this month.





Hell, just thinking about cooking a brisket seems to scare some folks. We are going to make this process as easy as we know how to do. It is not hard to cook a great beef brisket. All it takes is time, patience, a great seasoning, cooking long, and cooking at low temperatures. That is it. Need we say more?



It has been said that the real measure of how good a BBQ cook you are can be measured by how good your beef brisket is.



This might hold true down here in Texas…. but in other states the same might be said about pork shoulders or pork butts or pork ribs.



But since I am a Texan we are going to start with brisket. After all Texas is the beef capital of the World.



I get a few emails every month that ask questions about cooking brisket. Let’s start with the basics and go forward.







Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Brisket Cooking



How do you choose a good brisket to cook? 
Do I cook the brisket with the fat side up or down? 
Should I wrap a brisket during the cooking process? 
How long and at what temperature do I need to cook a brisket? 
My brisket is burned or dried out, what happened? 
Do you cook the flat the same as the entire brisket? 
Do you mop your brisket when cooking? 
How to slice the brisket? 




1. How to Choose a Good Brisket to put on the Smoker.



You go into the meat section of the store and look for a good brisket to cook. What am I looking for in a brisket so I can pick out the best one to cook?



Generally speaking, you want to be able to pick up the brisket and fold it in half (or close to it). You want to be able to take the flat end (this is the narrow part of the brisket) and be able to touch the point end (this is the thickest part) of the brisket.



Pick a brisket that has a good color to it. It should be a good red color for the meat and a nice white color for the fat. Older briskets could have a yellowing of the fat and a browning of the meat. These are still within the legal selling age of the meat but not as fresh as you would like.



As for size, you can cook any size brisket you want to, assuming you have the space on the pit to hold the brisket. Briskets usually run from 8 pounds up to 14 pounds for the typical store briskets. You may find some small ones in the 6 to 7 pound range and you may even see some big ones in the 16 to 17 pound range. I like my briskets to be right around 12 pounds each. These seem to work better and are not so big that they take forever to cook. Usually this size brisket is easy enough to find.



2. Fat side up or down when you cook a brisket.



This is a frequently asked question and stirs up some debate in the BBQ community. When you look at the brisket you will notice one side of the brisket is covered almost totally by fat. The other side of the brisket is not covered by solid fat but has a more marbled look to it. The non-fat side, if you will, also is the side that the point of the brisket reaches its highest point.



Now for the discussion. When you place your brisket on your cooker do you cook with the fat side on top or on bottom? Let’s discuss this and then decide.



The conventional approach to cooking any meat on the cooker is to place the fat side of the piece of meat on top. This thinking is driven by the belief that as the meat cooks and the fat begins to break down, the juices of the fat will help marinate the meat as it cooks. This is true with most of the meat we cook. I have no problem with the thought process here. So one vote for placing the fat side of the brisket on top.



Think about a couple of other issues when we cook meat low and slow. Where does the heat we are using come from, the top or bottom of our cooker? That is right the heat source is always at the bottom of the meat. This is true if we cook in the oven, a grill, or a smoker. And we all know that heat rises. So the deal is to have the heat come from the bottom and rise over the food we are cooking.



When you cook, you notice that regardless of the meat we are cooking and regardless of the type of cooker we are using, that when our meat is cooked, and we are serving it, you notice that the bottom (the part of the meat that cooked nearest the heat source) is usually more done than the upper portion of the meat. This makes sense, as the bottom has been closer to the heat source and has been subjected to more heat.



My point is, if we cook with the fat side down on a brisket, we have a barrier of fat protecting the meat from the higher heat source. If we cook fat side up then we have no barrier there to protect the flat portion of the brisket from the higher heat.



If you really study the brisket you will notice there is a layer of fat that runs down the center of the brisket, from a point that begins right after the flat and begins to rise to the point. This flat layer and the fat that runs all thru the brisket will give us plenty of natural juices to keep the meat moist during cooking, if we use a rub that is designed to hold in the meats own juices.



Therefore, I always cook my brisket with the fat side down on the smoker. I want that protection from the heat source. This is even more apparent if you use a grill and don’t have a large space between your heat source and the meat itself.



I have asked dozens of brisket cookers at various contest and cook-offs what they prefer. I have read plenty about cooking brisket. There still seems to be about half of those cookers that cook with the fat side up. So the choice is yours here. Try it both ways if you want to but I have cooked both ways for experimental purposes and find that fat side down is by far the best for me.



3.Wrapping a brisket



Another controversial subject matter here. Do you wrap the brisket in aluminum foil during the cooking process or just cook it un-wrapped. Again, I have done brisket using both methods. My personal choice is to wrap a brisket about 2/3 of the way thru the cook. That is to say, if you cook for 12 hours, wrap the brisket at around 8 hours. If you cook for 18 hours, then wrap around the 12-hour mark.



At the Houston Rodeo Cook Off I wanted to test the differences in wrapped and un-wrapped brisket. Three days of cooking brisket will allow you the time to do some playing and experimenting. So I cooked some brisket wrapped and some unwrapped in the same batch of brisket. My results indicated that the wrapped brisket was juicier, more tender, and had an even better flavor than the un-wrapped brisket.



With wrapping the brisket you do a couple of things. You first preserve the juices that normally are dropping from the brisket inside the aluminum and they assist in keeping the brisket juicy in the latter stages of cooking. Remember, your brisket has been cooking for a long time and retaining some liquid inside of the aluminum helps self marinate the meat. I use a BBQ sauce (the recipe is in the recipes you received when you signed up for the newsletter) to put over the brisket when I wrap it up. This adds some flavor and gives the meat some moisture as it finishes cooking. It will also assist in helping bring the internal temp of the brisket up to the 160 degree point so the collagen in the brisket will break down. 



Again, there are many who do not wrap a brisket during cooking. I always ask at cook-offs and my unofficial survey would say at least 2/3 of brisket cookers wrap their briskets.



Another side point here, when you unwrap your brisket the juices you have left in the foil are fabulous to add to beans or to a sauce if you are serving one. There is so much flavor in that liquid it is great to use on everything. So use it.



4. How Long and at What Temperature Do I Cook a Brisket



The art of cooking a great brisket involves time and temperature and patience. Low and slow. I cook brisket at 200 degrees for up to 24 hours. Usually the cooking time is around 18 hours, but sometimes weather and cooking situations dictate a longer cook. 



Some will say you can cook a brisket in 5 or 6 hours. And yes you can. But you have to raise your temperature to say 275 to 300 degrees to get there. And the meat does not have time to really absorb all of the smoke flavor it will on a longer cook and it does not have time for the collagen to break down completely. So typically these briskets are tough, burned on one side or the other, and dried out. Remember that cooking at temperatures above 225 degrees can boil out the internal juices of the brisket.



If you don’t have the time to keep the brisket on the grill or smoker for 18 hours or so you do have an alternate plan. Put your brisket on the grill or smoker and cook it at a low temperature for as long as you can, then simply finish the brisket off in the oven at 200 degrees for the remaining time needed. This way you cook the brisket and break down the collagen completely. You will get the smoke flavor from the grill for the time it is left on there. 



Remember, be patient. Don’t keep fooling around with the brisket. Every time you open the grill or smoker to peak in you just added more cooking time as the temperature and all that great smoke just went out of the pit.



5. Dried Out and Burned Brisket – What Went Wrong?



Well two things have probably lead to this. First, your temperature was way to hot, and second, you cooked the brisket too close to the heat source. These are the typical problems associated with dried out and burned brisket. Too much heat and a brisket is just not very forgiving especially if your brisket is very close to the heat source. Again, cook low temperature for a long time.



To correct the problem move the brisket as far from the heat source as possible and cut down on the temperature you are cooking with. If you have a small off-set cooker the heat coming directly out of the fire box is really hot so move the brisket back as far from the heat as possible and place the brisket with the tip facing the heat source. Get that fat layer on the bottom and that will help protect the meat also.



6. Do You Cook a Flat the Same as a Whole Brisket



The answer here is yes. Don’t change up the way you cook a brisket. But the flat will cook much faster than a whole brisket. The flat also does not have a large fat cap to help protect it from the heat. So you really need to cook low and slow for this type of meat and add a rub that will keep the meat moist during cooking.



7. Do you Mop Your Brisket During Cooking



The answer is no. Some use mopping during cooking. Their idea is that mopping a brisket will add juices to the brisket that have been cooked out of the meat and it will also add flavor to the meat. Have you ever tried to add moisture to meat when the meat is hot? What happens? The liquid you are trying to baste with just rolls off the meat. It does not penetrate the meat it simply rolls off. So I personally don’t believe mopping accomplishes anything other than to give someone something to do during the long cook process. 



And remember, every time you open up the lid of the smoker or grill to mop you just let out all of the moisture, smoke, and heat in the smoker. You just added more cooking time to get to the final product. If it takes you a minute to mop the brisket, it will add 15 more minutes to the cooking time. This seems to be self-defeating.



Add your flavor before the meat goes on the smoker with a great rub. A rub that is also designed to help maintain the moisture inside the meat. A rub that will make cooking a brisket a more enjoyable event for you.



8. Slicing the Brisket



Before you slice the brisket, let it stand and cool down for at least 30 minutes before you begin. It makes the meat easier to cut and lets you maintain perfect slices. Slice the brisket in ¼ inch thick slices. Slice across the grain. Start at the flat end and work down from there. The brisket has grains that run in different directions so you will have to move the position of the brisket at times to continue slicing across the gain.





Final Thoughts


OK now get out there and cook that great brisket. Don’t be scared to tackle that big old chuck of meat. Go on…. You can Do It…





I Am Sorry I Missed Writing the Newsletter the Last Couple of Months


I must apologize to all of you. I missed writing the last few months as there were so many things going on it was not possible for me to write. Things like the Houston BBQ Cook off came along the end of February and that took about 2 weeks out of my life.



But we are back on board again





A Word or Two about The Houston Rodeo BBQ Cook off



We again participating in the largest barbecue cook off in the world. Over 360 teams and a huge crowd of over 140,000 hungry, thirsty patrons visited the show. We had some good weather, we had a lot of bad weather, we ate some great BBQ, we cooked for over 1,000 people again this year, and overall we had a blast. 



I would like to thank some special guests that came by our booth during the show.



Ritch Robin – Owner of Gator BBQ Pits in Houston, Texas

David Klose – Owner of Klose BBQ Pits in Houston, Texas

Lynn and Jeff Shivers – IBCA representatives (bbqmom on the forum)



These guys and gals talked BBQ and BBQ pits to everyone that would listen to them and answered questions from anyone that approached them. Thanks for their help.



And naturally I would like to thank a bunch of great guys who came to Houston just to come out and help us at the show; Jeff Wyatt (Redneck – on the forum), Doug Dennin and his wife from Houston, Will Crockett and his wife from Texas, Steve Johnson from Houston, Craig Sherry (Texana if you will) and his wife from Houston.



A special thanks to Kirk Draut (PhotoKirk on the forum) for coming out and taking around 250 pictures of the cookoff.



Then we had the regular Texas BBQ Rub Cooking Team members: Mike and Carrie Winter (and of course my grandson Bryce and my new granddaughter Reid) now from Katy, Texas; Blake Cannon from college in Corpus Christi, Texas; Matt Crownover from college in San Marcos, Texas; Josh Evans from college in College Station, Texas.



We cooked a lot of Q. The total was 6 cases of brisket, 15 cases of spare ribs, 3 cases of Slovacek sausage, a whole hog, a few whole pork loins, a bunch of chickens, and for those that came by early on Saturday morning a couple of whole smoked prime ribs. Oh and we cooked up about 100 pounds of Bill’s Surprise Potatoes. (We will get that recipe out next month as this was a huge hit with the people at the cookoff. We get asked wherever we are cooking what kind of sausage we use. We always use the same sausage – Slovacek jalapeno sausage. We get so many compliments on the sausage I thought I would pass that along to everyone. I get it at Sam’s Club so check a Sam’s near you and if they don’t have it tell them to order some for their store or just call Slovacek Sausage in Snook, Texas and they can hook you up on some. They have shipped sausage to several of our readers and are a great bunch of folks to work with.





A NEW PRODUCT THAT WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO TRY – www.texaspepperjelly.com



This is without a doubt the finest pepper jelly I have ever used or tasted. Use this as a topping on your ribs or use it as a side dip with your favorite smoked meat. There are 12 flavors for you to choose from and they are all lip smacking good. So give Texas Pepper Jelly a chance to add to your food’s flavor. Don’t be fooled by the jalapeno or habanero flavors as the jelly is not as hot as the name implies (it cooks to a wonderful flavor). My 80+ year old mother loves this jelly. She eats it with meats and on breads.



Great poured over cream cheese to create a wonderful dip.



I have arranged for a special discounted price for all of our readers. This special price will expire on March 31, 2005 so order today. SAVE 10% NOW! Use the word - texasbbqrub (case sensitive) - in the special discount code box when ordering to receive your discount.



Several guys and gals off of our forum have tried the jelly. If you would like to read what they have to say about it go to our forum and you will find a lot of posts dealing with this product.







A WORD ON PITS FROM THE GATOR PIT MAN - Ritch Robin – www.gatorpit.net



Pull the Pit Out and Get Ready!!! A New Year Means, “It is smoke’in time again”- by Ritch Robin

Well, for most of us, it is coming time to pull our “Pride and Joy” out from storage and get it ready to smoke that good “Q” again. There are a few things to keep on mind:

Start with cleaning it out, thoroughly. Hopefully, the old ash was cleaned out after the last cook. If not, you can start by getting that old ash build-up out. Rinse it out with your garden hose. Make sure to get the ash out of all the corners and seams of your pit, especially the firebox. Very important, because this is where ash and moisture will accumulate, turns acidic, and can “eat” your firebox out. This usually occurs at the welded seams. The combination is deadly to the longevity to a pit. Once rinsed out, let it thoroughly dry and touch up the paint. High heat BBQ paint can be purchased at most hardware stores. You may need to hand wire brush the flaking or rusted area off. For minor areas, use a small steel wire brush. Or, use a 50 to 80 grit sand paper and hand sand the areas. If extremely bad or for very large areas, you may need to use a coarse wire brush/wheel and a 5” grinder to clean the pit. This can be purchased at most hardware stores, as well. Then rinse with water. Some cases may require removing grease build-up on the exterior before repainting. There are non-toxic degreasers that can be purchased and used with pressure sprayers to degrease and clean your pit. Check with your local hardware stores. After a complete cleaning, coat the pit with cooking oil. This can easily be done with a water squirt bottle. You can pick these up at most hardware stores or nurseries. Fill the squirt bottle with cooking oil and spray the entire pit down. If coating the outside, it will dry after one or two cooks. This will also help protect the exterior paint from rusting as quickly. Provides a protective coating to the existing paint. I also suggest burning/seasoning your pit again before cooking. Fire it up with some oak logs and let your smoker burn over night. Keep the stack open and air-intake vents open. Now you are ready to start cooking.

Ritchey L. Robin,

President

Gator Pit, LLC

11161 West Little York

Houston, Texas 77041

www.gatorpit.net



Call toll free 1-888-869-5166

Houston area 713-896-0144







TEXASBBQRUB.COM – MESSAGE BOARD/FORUM (Your BBQ Information

Source on the Internet)



We have a message board/forum to our web site. The link is www.texasbbqrub.com/phpBB2/ and we want and need each of you to come to the message board and join us in the fun. We would love to hear your questions, comments, suggestions, and just talk BBQ with all of our members. If you have not already done so, please click the link above right now and join in the fun.



Don’t be shy. All questions are good questions and we have a lot of pros to answer you questions or make suggestions for you. Remember we will all learn from each of your comments. That is what we are all about here, learning how to BBQ or passing along our thoughts to others. Whether you are just beginning to learn how to Q or you consider yourself a pit master come visit our forum today. We need everyone to jump on in there. It is FREE to join and takes just a few seconds to get registered, so do it now. We all will be happy you did.




WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU




Remember this is your newsletter, so we want you to send us any suggestions or comments you have about the newsletter. If you think we need to add another section let us know and we will work on it. We want you to be a part of this. It is for YOU. So keep us informed.



TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS


We here at Texas BBQ Rub want you to cook the best tasting, juiciest BBQ you have ever cooked. We have spent the last 8 years developing a system to make BBQ’ing the easiest it can be. We want to save you time, money, energy, headaches, and heartbreaks.



We have the easiest method of preparing BBQ ever revealed. It is tried, it is tested, and it works. It works on every kind of meat. It just does not get any better or easier than this. 



And on top of all of that, This Simple 3 Step Method produces some of the finest BBQ you or your friends, neighbors, and relatives have ever sank your teeth into. Go to www.texasbbqrub.com/ourrub.htm and find out for yourself what you have been missing.







Here is what a few of our customers have emailed to us in the past month.





“Well Bill,

Smoked some baby backs today using your rub and your BBQ sauce. I made the sauce

a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say, these were the best ribs I ever cooked. My family

and a few friends really liked them. You made a believer out of me.



Your rub is the “Real Deal.”



Rueben O.

Guam, USA

“Bill,

I just wanted to let you know that your rub is, hands down, the best spice combination

I’ve ever tried. I am about ¾ way through the second 2lb bag I got from you in January,

and we were away for a couple of weeks. I must admit that I have shared some of this

with friends and they are enjoying it too. I will be ordering more from you shortly after

I get everyone’s quantities figured out.



This rub is great for oven-dried Beef Jerky, and outstanding on boneless Turkey thighs

on the grill.



Thanks again for the great product”



Jeff M., 

“Bill,

Ordered your rub on Monday and got it on Wednesday. Now that is quick service.

But this is not why I am sending this email. I just wanted to let you know how great your 

Rub is and what great advice you have.



I had a bunch of friends over for the Super Bowl and decided to smoke a brisket and some

ribs. I followed your advice on the WEB site. I purchased the ribs and brisket at SAMS. I 

did your suggestions of trying to fold a brisket in half. Used your rub about 10 minutes before

I put it on the smoker. I smoked the brisket fat side down. After 2/3 way through I wrapped it

in foil. The only other thing I did was when the brisket was done I took it out of the foil and

smoked it for about 45 min just to give it additional smoke flavor. My friends were completely

blown away. The ate the whole 12 pound brisket and ribs.



I also make your BBQ sauce in the newsletter. It was great but you really did not need it with 

the Rub. I smoked the 12-pound brisket around 15 hours. I have attached a couple of pic’s for

you to check out.



Thanks for all the advice and what a great Rub.





Kevin R., Coppell, Texas 



Find out what so many people have already found out. Order TexasBBQRub. Order it right now. The link is www.texasbbqrub.com/ourrub.htm Don’t put it off any longer as the great spring cooking season is here right NOW.





If you have a comment or want to send us your testimonial please feel free to do so. Send it to Bill@texasbbqrub.com and we will feature you in an upcoming newsletter or on our site.









A GLANCE AT THE NEXT ISSUE OF BBQ MADE SIMPLE




Well that ends this month’s newsletter. As we slide into the spring we want to bring you a series of articles and recipes dealing with beef. We are going to take a cow apart and look at all of those cuts of meat and see what is the best to grill or smoke or both.



We will get Ritch Robin to write another article for our newsletter about pits. Everyone has questions about pits and Ritch is here to help you out. He builds one of the finest BBQ pits in the United States so if you are in the market for a good BBQ pit give him a call and tell him you read about him in our newsletter. You should visit his site at www.gatorpit.net and look at what he builds. These are quality pits with great customer service to go with them.



SOME FINAL THOUGHTS


The war in Iraq continues. Thanks to our men and women who put on that uniform everyday and are far away from your loved ones. Damn, this is a GREAT NATION. GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS AND MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA.



Cooking is a great way to get the family interested in doing something together. Kids make great helpers around the grill and let them feel like they made a difference. Always include your children when cooking (if they are old enough). They will grow to love it and they will always want to help you out. Ask them to help and give them important jobs to do, like rubbing the meat, be the fire attendant, or running errands for you. PASS ON THE ART OF COOKING TO YOUR CHILDREN…..YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID AND SO WILL THEY.



That concludes this issue of BBQ MADE SIMPLE. Do me a favor and pass this along to 5 of your friends right now. They will thank you for it and I will too.











Keep on Cook’ in

Bill



March 2005



Contact Information:

BBQ Made Simple

Real Texas BBQ Rub, Inc.

10701 Corporate Dr., Suite 295

Stafford, Texas 77477

Phone – 281-240-7110

Fax – 281-240-7111

Email addresses: bill@texasbbqrub.com

texasbbqrub@hotmail.com



You can contact us at bill@texasbbqrub.com if you should have any questions or comments. 

Newsletter | Brisket  Ribs | Chicken | Pork Butts | Rub | BBQ Tools | History | TexasBBQrub.com | Home