Hi All,
The people on our street barely know each other anymore, for all the
usual reasons, so I've ogranized a pot luck dinner so we can all get
reaquainted.
Being brilliant, I've put myself on the list to do 10 lbs or so of beef
brisket even though I've never cooked that cut before.

Tools I have at hand: Gas grill, oven, crock pot.

I'd say ease of prep and cooking will take precidence over producing a
truly memorable result. But I'd like to do something passable that
people will enjoy. I'm willing to marinade or dry rub Friday night and
begin cooking Saturday morning for the 4:30 pm event.
I see so many recipes on the net, I really don't know which method to
select.
I'd be very appreciative if a few here could provide links to recipes
that they think might fit the above criteria.

I'll watch here as my email address must be stripped nekkid to reply
privately.
Thanks!

Mike

On 4 Sep 2005 12:29:54 -0700, "geemike" > wrote:

>Hi All,
>The people on our street barely know each other anymore, for all the
>usual reasons, so I've ogranized a pot luck dinner so we can all get
>reaquainted.
>Being brilliant, I've put myself on the list to do 10 lbs or so of beef
>brisket even though I've never cooked that cut before.
>
>Tools I have at hand: Gas grill, oven, crock pot.
>
>I'd say ease of prep and cooking will take precidence over producing a
>truly memorable result. But I'd like to do something passable that
>people will enjoy. I'm willing to marinade or dry rub Friday night and
>begin cooking Saturday morning for the 4:30 pm event.
>I see so many recipes on the net, I really don't know which method to
>select.
>I'd be very appreciative if a few here could provide links to recipes
>that they think might fit the above criteria.
>
>I'll watch here as my email address must be stripped nekkid to reply
>privately.
>Thanks!
>
>Mike


Given your tools at hand my reply is totally 'off topic' for this NG
and will incur the wrath of many. However, Q'ing and grilling are
not the only way to cook food.

My brother-in-law (deceased in 1986) used this recipe with much
sucess. You will need two briskets (five to six pounds each) and two
9" by 13" baking dishes.

Place each brisket in its baking dish. Pour over each about 3 ounces
of liquid smoke (here comes the wrath, but what the hell), sprinkle
with salt, black pepper, celery salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and
worcesterchire sauce. Cover dishes with foil and refrigerate
overnight.

The next morning,remove foil, rinse each brisket (and the dishes)
and sprinkle again with salt, pepper and worcest. sauce. Replace
foil. Bake at 250 to 275 degrees for about four to five hours.
Remove dishes from oven and pour about 6 ounces of BBQ sauce over each
brisket. Continue baking for one hour or longer. Let cool and slice
across the grain.

This makes decent brisket. Not nearly as good as you could get with
a smoker, but I think much better than anything you would get with a
crockpot. You other tool, gas grill, implies a higher heat and would
not be satisfactory for this cut.

MY OPINION ONLY - Your mileage may vary.

"geemike" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I'd say ease of prep and cooking will take precidence over producing a
> truly memorable result. But I'd like to do something passable that
> people will enjoy. I'm willing to marinade or dry rub Friday night and
> begin cooking Saturday morning for the 4:30 pm event.
> I see so many recipes on the net, I really don't know which method to
> select.

Unless you can set your gas grill to have one side constanly produce a temp
of 220 - 250 for about 8-10 hours, I would go with the oven. Even if you
did it on the grill, you would have to keep the brisket as far away from the
heat source that it probably wouldn't be worth it as the edges would dry out
and be wasted.

that being said, I would propose to you 2 options....

1) get a brisket and dry rub with the rub of your choice the night before.
Put it on a baking sheet and cook at 225 on the center or higher rack of
your oven until the internal temp is about 150.. then quickly take it out
and wrap it in a layer of foil and re-insert to cook until internal temps
reach 160-170. After this occurs, you may take it out and put it in a
cooler by itself so as to maintain temp until serving. Serve this with an
assortment of finishing sauces available after cutting. Keep in mind that
the internal part of the brisket continues to cook after you place it in the
cooler, so the longer it it in there, the less rare center line you will
find.

2) go to your local bbq joint and tell them what you are doing. Ask if
they will give you a good deal on a fully cooked brisket if you put their
cards/menu by the serving table..

either way, make lots of good friends and let BBQ help to be the gateway to
those re-kindled or new friendships.

Paul Q.
>

On Sun, 04 Sep 2005 22:40:33 GMT, Reg > wrote:

>geemike wrote:
>
>> Hi All,
>> The people on our street barely know each other anymore, for all the
>> usual reasons, so I've ogranized a pot luck dinner so we can all get
>> reaquainted.
>> Being brilliant, I've put myself on the list to do 10 lbs or so of beef
>> brisket even though I've never cooked that cut before.
>>
>> Tools I have at hand: Gas grill, oven, crock pot.
>>
>> I'd say ease of prep and cooking will take precidence over producing a
>> truly memorable result. But I'd like to do something passable that
>> people will enjoy. I'm willing to marinade or dry rub Friday night and
>> begin cooking Saturday morning for the 4:30 pm event.
>> I see so many recipes on the net, I really don't know which method to
>> select.
>> I'd be very appreciative if a few here could provide links to recipes
>> that they think might fit the above criteria.
>
>I vote for the grill. It should be easy.

Easy? Yes. Effective? Maybe. It depends on what the OP means by the
word "morning" in "begin cooking Saturday morning for the 4:30 pm
event." I wouldn't allow anything less than 12 hours for a brisket
that I intended to serve to people at a set time later that day.

Kevin S. Wilson wrote:

> ...I wouldn't allow anything less than 12 hours for a brisket
> that I intended to serve to people at a set time later that day.

Nor would I.

--
Dave
Dave's Pit-Smoked Bar-B-Que
http://davebbq.com/

> On 4 Sep 2005 12:29:54 -0700, "geemike" > wrote:
>
> >Hi All,
> >The people on our street barely know each other anymore, for all the
> >usual reasons, so I've ogranized a pot luck dinner so we can all get
> >reaquainted.
> >Being brilliant, I've put myself on the list to do 10 lbs or so of beef
> >brisket even though I've never cooked that cut before.
> >
> >Tools I have at hand: Gas grill, oven, crock pot.
> >
> >I'd say ease of prep and cooking will take precidence over producing a
> >truly memorable result. But I'd like to do something passable that
> >people will enjoy. I'm willing to marinade or dry rub Friday night and
> >begin cooking Saturday morning for the 4:30 pm event.
> >I see so many recipes on the net, I really don't know which method to
> >select.
> >I'd be very appreciative if a few here could provide links to recipes
> >that they think might fit the above criteria.
> >
> >I'll watch here as my email address must be stripped nekkid to reply
> >privately.
> >Thanks!
> >
Italian Brisket

INGREDIENTS:

10-12 lbs. brisket in a Cryovac bag, as lean as possible. Trim off most
fat.

MARINADE:

1/2 Cup Italian Dressing
2 Tsp. Liquid Smoke (SBD)
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Celery Salt
1 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/4 tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

Jar of Barbeque Sauce

PROCEDU

Mix together marinade ingredients. NOT the BBQ sauce!

Pierce the meat with a fork in several places on both sides. Lay meat onto
a piece of aluminum foil large enough to fold and cover meat completely ...
but don't fold yet! Place foil and meat into a large, flat baking pan. Pour
marinade over both sides of meat. Now close the foil tightly over the meat.
Refrigerate at least 12 hours. Place entire pan into oven preheated to 300
deg. Reduce heat to 275 deg. and bake for 5 hours or until 186 F. internal.
Remove from oven and allow to cool to cold.

Slicing the meat is the critical element. Slice on a diagonal from the
corner. Place sliced meat into a foil lined baking pan. Pour your favorite
barbeque sauce over it to taste. Just prior to serving, heat it through at
325 deg. for about 20 minutes.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled War on Terror Veterans and
their families:
http://saluteheroes.org/ & http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !

Kevin S. Wilson wrote:
> On Sun, 04 Sep 2005 22:40:33 GMT, Reg > wrote:

> Easy? Yes. Effective? Maybe. It depends on what the OP means by the
> word "morning" in "begin cooking Saturday morning for the 4:30 pm
> event." I wouldn't allow anything less than 12 hours for a brisket
> that I intended to serve to people at a set time later that day.

Hey, I'm certainly open to suggestions regarding cooking time. Let's
hear what you've got as might be doable with my grill/oven.
I do have a digital readout temp probe, which comes in darned handy for
those tri-tips I like to do.

Thanks for all the responses thus far. I think the crowd I'm going to
be serving would be pleased with Larry's recipe, but keep 'em coming :-)

Dave Bugg wrote:

> Kevin S. Wilson wrote:
>
>>...I wouldn't allow anything less than 12 hours for a brisket
>>that I intended to serve to people at a set time later that day.
>
> Nor would I.

I'm not so sure about all that.

Because he originally said he's cooking 10 lbs of meat you guys
assumed he's talking about a packer cut. I think more likely
he's envisioning two 5 lb flats. The fact that he's interested
in the liquid smoke braised method is a clue there

If he's BBQing two flats his cooking time would be more like
8-9 hours rather than 12. No need to get up at 4 AM.

Then again he may fall into the liquid smoke maelstrom,
in which case we would all want to shield our eyes from
the tragedy to follow (just kidding mike)

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Reg wrote:
> Dave Bugg wrote:
>
> > Kevin S. Wilson wrote:

> Then again he may fall into the liquid smoke maelstrom,
> in which case we would all want to shield our eyes from
> the tragedy to follow (just kidding mike)

> Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Heh Heh, you can't offend me Reg. I'm afraid the bar is set a bit
lower than will be pleasing to the die hards here. We're in Utah,
where you could actually buy Green Jello (capitalized to intone
reverence)collectable pins during the 2002 olympics :-)

There will be no brisket experts in this crowd, so people will be
satisfied if it merely tastes pretty good. When I want good beef I
simply grill up a tri-tip to an internal temp of 138. No seasoning, no
nothing needed with a cut like that in my book.

geemike wrote:

> Heh Heh, you can't offend me Reg. I'm afraid the bar is set a bit
> lower than will be pleasing to the die hards here. We're in Utah,
> where you could actually buy Green Jello (capitalized to intone
> reverence)collectable pins during the 2002 olympics :-)
>
> There will be no brisket experts in this crowd, so people will be
> satisfied if it merely tastes pretty good. When I want good beef I
> simply grill up a tri-tip to an internal temp of 138. No seasoning, no
> nothing needed with a cut like that in my book.

Mike it sounds like you're leaning towards baking/braising and
that can be quite good in any case. We did a nice braised duck
dish the weekend and it went over quite well.

I married into a Jewish family and that's just the way they do
their brisket. Plus, it came from God Himself. Who could argue?

My only advice would be to forego the liquid smoke and just brown
the meat well at the beginning so you end up with some of that
great flavor.

In any case, have fun with it all.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Any sense in marinating, then tossing on the grill on high for a few
minutes each side to brown before subjecting it to it's entombment in
tinfoil hell for extended cooking?
And yeah, being a rank amatuer I plan on working with two 5 lb cuts.

geemike wrote:

> Any sense in marinating, then tossing on the grill on high for a few
> minutes each side to brown before subjecting it to it's entombment in
> tinfoil hell for extended cooking?
> And yeah, being a rank amatuer I plan on working with two 5 lb cuts.

Very well. Two 5 pound flats means more surface area means browning
is definitely indicated.

I wouldn't marinate a braised/baked brisket. It won't make much
of a difference. None, in fact.

Also, there's no absolute need to use a grill to brown it. Heat
up a skillet (cast iron if you have it) and brown the meat *really*
well on both sides. Oil and S&P it first.

You could stop there if you wanted. The caramelization on the
surface will add lots of flavor to the final result. It makes
a big difference.

If you want to go the next level, deglaze the skillet with some
red wine and pour it over the meat before you cook it. That's not
a requirement though.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

On 4 Sep 2005 20:22:30 -0700, "geemike" > wrote:

> We're in Utah,
>where you could actually buy Green Jello (capitalized to intone
>reverence)collectable pins during the 2002 olympics :-)

I have to have one. Any ideas where I might find one?

On 4 Sep 2005 12:29:54 -0700, "geemike" > wrote:

>Hi All,
>The people on our street barely know each other anymore, for all the
>usual reasons, so I've ogranized a pot luck dinner so we can all get
>reaquainted.
>Being brilliant, I've put myself on the list to do 10 lbs or so of beef
>brisket even though I've never cooked that cut before.
>
>Tools I have at hand: Gas grill, oven, crock pot.
>
>I'd say ease of prep and cooking will take precidence over producing a
>truly memorable result. But I'd like to do something passable that
>people will enjoy. I'm willing to marinade or dry rub Friday night and
>begin cooking Saturday morning for the 4:30 pm event.
>I see so many recipes on the net, I really don't know which method to
>select.
>I'd be very appreciative if a few here could provide links to recipes
>that they think might fit the above criteria.
>
>I'll watch here as my email address must be stripped nekkid to reply
>privately.
>Thanks!
>
>Mike

For decades, when anyone mentioned "brisket" to me, I naturally
assumed it was the type my mother made - "pot roast." I blame our
local "Cecil's Real Texas BBQ" here in Orlando for what is now my
permanent addiction to "true" BBQ brisket and after 14 hours on my own
charcoal smoker last night, I've managed to closely approximate (three
times is a charm). But for those who do not take offense to this "off
topic" post, I humbly pass down my recipe for boiled brisket - a truly
different ethnic culinary experience.

1. Get you a pot large enough to hold the brisket (probably the
greatest challenge).
2. Trim all the excess fat off the brisket (I told you this was off
topic) and apply rub of choice.
3. Fill pot with enough water to cover brisket once you put it in.
4. Add two or three chopped onions, pepper, salt, garlic powder and a
bay leaf or two...you are making the gravy.
5. Bring to boil - put in brisket. Add water as needed to keep brisket
covered. After four hours, add some peeled and cut up baking potatoes.
6. After five hours or when brisket is tender, add a few cans of
tomato sauce, combine with onion sauce in pot and cook for another
half hour.
7. This can be eaten right after but tastes even better after a day or
two in the refrigerator.

JoL

Ackk!!
Thanks Jo, I guess :-)

Reminds me of the beef I ate as a kid. We raised our own steers
(Holsteins, we kept a milker of that breed, no sense in having two
different breeds now, was there) and had one butchered every year. My
folks had most of it ground into hamburger. What few steaks were
produced my Foster-Mother would fry up to way beyond well done in a
cast iron skillet in 1/8" of oil.
I don't recall ever seeing filet mignon come out of our chest freezer.
I'd imagine the butcher was allowed to keep that as partial payment for
his work. And I have to believe that was a good thing :-)

Jo > wrote:
> On 4 Sep 2005 12:29:54 -0700, "geemike" > wrote:
>[ . . . ]
> For decades, when anyone mentioned "brisket" to me, I naturally
> assumed it was the type my mother made - "pot roast." I blame our
> local "Cecil's Real Texas BBQ" here in Orlando for what is now my
> permanent addiction to "true" BBQ brisket and after 14 hours on my own
> charcoal smoker last night, I've managed to closely approximate (three
> times is a charm). But for those who do not take offense to this "off
> topic" post, I humbly pass down my recipe for boiled brisket - a truly
> different ethnic culinary experience.
>[recipe snipped]
I'd call ya a bloody heathen, but for two things. One, ya've seen the light
and search for true Q. Two, there are many Italian recipes that stew
venison (shudder).

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled War on Terror Veterans and
their families:
http://saluteheroes.org/ & http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !

Here you go on the green jello

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...02+green+jello

When I pre-ordered today I saw that a 5 lb cut will be way bigger than
any pan I have to brown in.
Guess I'll have to do it quickly over the grill.

Thanks again for all the responses. It pains me to admit that I will
be essentially serving up "roast beef" as pointed out here, but I guess
that's where it's at.

Mike

geemike wrote:

> When I pre-ordered today I saw that a 5 lb cut will be way bigger than
> any pan I have to brown in.
> Guess I'll have to do it quickly over the grill.

The grill will work fine. FWIW, here's what I sometimes do to
brown very large cuts.

Let the meat come up to room temp so it browns properly.

I take my largest and heaviest roasting pan and put it in a
pre-heated 500 F oven for 15 minutes or so. Oil and S&P the
meat, drop it into the pan and close the door. Flip it once
and do the other side. It takes about 5 minutes per side
depending on size.

Usually if the pan isn't oversized relative to the meat
the fond in the bottom of the pan won't burn and can
be successfully deglazed.

> Thanks again for all the responses. It pains me to admit that I will
> be essentially serving up "roast beef" as pointed out here, but I guess
> that's where it's at.

Good luck and have fun.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

"geemike" > wrote:
> When I pre-ordered today I saw that a 5 lb cut will be way bigger than
> any pan I have to brown in.
> Guess I'll have to do it quickly over the grill.
>
> Thanks again for all the responses. It pains me to admit that I will
> be essentially serving up "roast beef" as pointed out here, but I guess
> that's where it's at.
>
Every journey starts with a single step, Mike. Be of good cheer. I'm sure
that you and your guests will enjoy it (if ya don't overcook it)!

Of course, you could always cut a few inches off and throw 'em to the dog,
to make it fit the pan. ;-D

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled War on Terror Veterans and
their families:
http://saluteheroes.org/ & http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !