Original BBQ Brisket Texas Style.

[worth1]

Well sort of because I'm going to cheat.
Going to buy a brisket today and prepare it for the Santa Maria grill.
The beast will be cooked partially on the grill to get that wonderful flavor without all the smoke and finished in the oven at around 225 F.
Simply because I don't want to burn a ton of wood to cook it outside.
The only seasonings will be kosher salt and black pepper.
It will take forever to cook.

[worth1]

Real Pit BBQ..
Meat lowered for photo.
Waiting for coals to get going good brisket raised way up high.
This would be a West Texas style because the lump charcoal is mesquite.
The raw wood is imported hickory.
Brisket is 15.5 pounds USDA choice.
Trimmed just a wee bit of fat off to get to clean fat.
Covered in black pepper and kosher salt.

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[worth1]

Fire brick air intake.
Looks like the gait to hell.

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She's running hard and clean now.
Got the brisket up over 2 feet.

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Fat side rendering off nicely.
Cooks sausage snack too.

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[worth1]

The brisket is too big for a giant turkey roasting pan.
Going to have to get inventive.

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I knew that 17 inch Lodge cast iron skillet would come in handy.
After 3 hours of sitting next to that fire it burned down to the point I didn't care.
Plus it is blazing hot outside.
It's in the oven as we speak at 225F.

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[worth1]

The potato salad will consist of chunky sweet gerkins.
Two types of potatoes starchy and waxy.
And of course mustard and mayonnaise.
I also have a watermelon cooling off in the refrigerator.
I need to start soaking beans now for tomorrow.
Couldn't make my mind up as to what kind.
Mayocoba or Roman.
Why not a mix of both?
They will go in my smallest pressure cooker.
An old MirroMatic that dates way back.
Picked it up for I think 8 dollars at a Goodwill store.
Bought a new gasket and good to go.
No Chinese electronic crap to go out.

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[worth1]

Roman/cranberry beans and mayocoba beans beat pinto beans hands down.
The skins are easy to digest the texture is very creamy.
I'm not a so called latter day purest Texan.
My family were people that were around long before the stereotypecle Texan when it comes to cooking.
I have no idea where this idea of pinto beans being Texan and nothing else will do.
Total hog wash.
Nor the ridiculous idea of the offset smoker for BBQ.

[PlainJane]

You’ve got quite the feast going there!

[wildcat62]

A meal fit for a king.

[worth1]

This would also be the West Texas style due to cooking over direct heat.
To be realistic about it there is no way one person could do this alone with large chunks of meat.
The other reason for the oven is economics.
The cost of the wood fuel would be prohibitive.
Last but not least due to my upbringing and tastes I don't care for uncured smoked meat that much.

And without that heavy smoked flavor it allows me to prepare the meat as leftovers in several ways including chili.
Back years ago I used to dig a hole build up a huge fire in the hole.
Then wrap the brisket in sauce soaked cheese cloth and foil wrap and bury it in the hole covered in hot coals and dirt.
Then dig the thing up hours later.
But I had a never ending supply of hardwood.
And lastly I had a lot of people to feed.
Mostly country biker hippies with the munchies.
I'll never forget the look on their faces when they asked, "Where's the brisket
You're standing next to it.
What??

[worth1]

Wow did I ever nail this one.
Still liquid in there but not much.
1 cup each of mayocoba beans and Roman beans.
Soaked overnight.
Drained and rinse.
Put back in cooker and add 4 cups of water.
To be honest I should have added 6 cups.
But any who I knew it would be close and kept my eye on it to make sure it didn't dry out.
Weight guage jigging about once every minute (((NOT))) constantly.
Put on 10 pounds and pressure cooked for 30 minutes.
Let cool off removed weight guage and took lid off.
As a plus I added the oil and juice from the brisket and some of the fat for flavor.
The skins and all are as creamy and tender as can be.
Did this at 5:00 AM.

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Had oven on 225F for hours and hours.
Got up in the middle of the night and cranked up to 250F.
Then for a bit at 350 and then shut it down but left in oven to cool down.
Was a little worried when I got up and it was still tough.
It was in the stall.
That's the reason for the rasing of the temperature.
The last of the cooking was with foil off.
Didn't use thermometer on it just feel.
I could run my finger through any part of it.
Even the flat.
And look at that pretty bark on the outside.
Not smoke bark but flavor from the maillard reaction.
The juices are going to make a killer gravy sauce too.
Took about 19 hours total not including the long resting period.

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Thought I would beat the Sunday traffic and run to the store to get the vanilla ice cream for the much anticipated cherry gin simi sweet chocolate chip pecan ice cream.
What a mouth full that was.
Yes I decided to get pecans too.

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No time for pictures had to get it back in the freezer.
It came out lavender colored and is very tasty.
The straight gin that the cherries soaked in is tasty too.
Used some in the ice cream but not all.
Looks like red wine.
Tastes sinful.
Seems a little wanky drinking at 7:30 in the morning but I have been up since around 2:00 AM.

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Working on the potato salad.
Never could taste eggs in it so it is omitted.
Chopped sweet onion and sweet gerkins.
Mayonnaise and yellow mustard.
Gerkin juice.
Fire roasted jared sweet peppers will also be added.
Cubed russet and Yukon gold potatoes.
I like to mix everything up and just fold the potatoes in.
Potatoes still cooking in hot water that was brought to a boil from cold water and set aside.

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Potatoes cooked but firm.
Folded into mixture but not mushed up.
Chunky potato salad.

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[Sue_CT]

Need to go to Costco. Been out of pecans and almonds for a while and I miss having them to just add to stuff on a whim. Including walnuts, I like to have all 3 in the house. Good thing I didn't get an invite to sample that brisket, I would have been sorely temped to hop on a plane to Texas. That looks awesome! I would have had to bring some Yankee potato salad, lol.

[worth1]

Need to go to Costco. Been out of pecans and almonds for a while and I miss having them to just add to stuff on a whim. Including walnuts, I like to have all 3 in the house. Good thing I didn't get an invite to sample that brisket, I would have been sorely temped to hop on a plane to Texas. That looks awesome! I would have had to bring some Yankee potato salad, lol.

What's Yankee potato salad?
Here is the cherry gin chocolate chip pecan ice cream.
It was really good.

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