Cascadia Cowboy Texas Dry Rub Brisket

Name: Cascadia Cowboy Texas Dry Rub Brisket
Total time: 57600 s
Yield: 8 or more people
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 10-15 lb brisket; 2-3 cups dry rub of your choice

Joshua Dirks @ChefPNWxTX

Seattle, WA

This is Texas brisket with a Pacific Northwest soul — smoky, patient, a little rugged, and absolutely worth the wait. Built for backyard gatherings, hungry families, and anyone who understands that great barbecue does not happen in a hurry, this brisket brings deep bark, tender slices, and the kind of flavor that makes people hover near the cutting board like it owes them money.

Slice it, serve it, and let the brisket do the talking.

Joshua Dirks @ChefPNWxTX

Seattle, WA

Slice it, serve it, and let the brisket do the talking.

Saved

Ingredients

15-16 hours

8 or more people

10-15 lbbrisket
2-3 cupsdry rub of your choice

Saved

Steps

15-16 hours

1

24 hrs prior, trim the brisket. The hard fat won't render, so cut deep and get that off the brisket. Also, ensure the fat cap side is trimmed to a uniform 1/4" all around. Finally, remove all the gray membrane from the meat side. Even if you lose a little meat, you'll be happy you did it. There are many great YouTube videos showing you how to trim a brisket. Don't allow perfection to stop you.
2

Find the grain of the brisket and then trim off a small triangle cross grain at the end of the meat so that you know how to cut it when it's done. People make the mistake of thinking you just cut it across, but ensuring you're going against the grain is vital to maximizing the final product.
3

Now take your dry rub and rub it into the meat. Then, place in a bag or foil for refrigeration until you're ready to smoke it.
4

1-2 hrs prior to smoking, pull the brisket out and let it warm to room temp.
5

I recommend an off-set smoker with charcoalized wood, but any smoker will do. The key is keeping your temp between 200°-250° for the duration of the smoking. 225° is where miracles happen, but don't fret if the heat bounces around a bit. You're going to be smoking it for 15-16 hrs. Light it up and once the initial dark smoke subsides, place the brisket on the grill fat cap down.
6

Smoke for 10-11 hrs. Low and slow is the key to making an excellent brisket.
7

At the 10-11 hour mark, wrap the brisket and use twine to secure the paper. Place the brisket back on smoker and smoke for another 5-6 hours.
8

At the 15-16 hour mark, pull the brisket off the smoker and place it in an ice chest with towels (leave the paper or foil on). I like to wrap my brisket in a towel and then place it on top of a towel at the bottom of the ice chest. Close the ice chest up tight, don't reopen until you're ready to cut it. You want it to be warm and moist in there as the meat rests.
Allow the brisket to rest 2-4 hrs. This rest period is another massive key to making memorable brisket.
9

Now comes the crowd favorite! Using your "cross grain cheat cut," slice the brisket into thin slices, I recommend an electric knife but to each their own. Uniform, thin slices allow for top enjoyment.
10

Platter and make sure you strut as you present to your family and friends. Brisket isn't hard. It's time-consuming. But shortcuts don't get you a final product you'll love.