Brisket flavor/marinade idea?

[meltyface]

I'm starting to crave a brisket and will probably be cooking one in the next few days, I'm just tired of eating one with the marinade I usually use and want to try something new.  I usually marinade in concoction of beer, A-1, a few spices, and garlic.  It tastes decent but it's not the perfect taste I want, i think it may be the beer (IDK).  Anyway any new ideas would be great.

 

[rivet]

Hi Melty, and thanks for asking!

I went through that phase a couple of years ago and spent a lot of time in research of the "ubiquitous texas barbecue" meaning... The Brisket.

Long story short there is no magical, mystical wand nor horn that texans will wave over your 'cue to make it great.

YOU make it great no matter whree you are, and the basics are the same, no matter what.

Yeah, I know Texans are shrieking right now, emphasizing history and pits and al that other Tejano past, but the fact is great brisket barbecue left Texas about 50 years ago and populated the rest of the country, Don't believe it? Check out the brisket posts on JUST THE SMF and see if that is not the case.

Anyway, to your point. Try injecting with beef broth. Inject that brisket with about 2 cups of store bought or home made beef broth the night before you smoke.

Try rubs with little or no salt at all. It is amazing how (badly) salt when used in a rub affects a brisket. I still am trying to come to terms with this, as smoking a brisket nekkid, with just kosher salt and CBP is great. I suppose rubs have a lot of hidden salts and or sodium in them...I don't know for sure, but I do know from experience.

The common thread I read about and hear about all the time seems to me, to be distilled to the fact that folks are not happy with the flavor..they are missing something.

What they are missing is the the TASTE OF MEAT.

I don't know when or where the rub-the-hell-out-of-the-meat-and-then-slosh-the-sauce-on-it-heavily school started, but that is NOT what smoking is about, in my opinion.

Smoking should ENHANCE the flavour of the meat.

Anyway, shoot your meat with broth, rub mildly if you must, and try it. Give it a shot. If you hate it, I am thinking that I may just well mail you the money for the price of the brisket, but I don't think I will ever need to do that.

 

[meltyface]

Thanks for the input.  I think that may be my problem, I may be trying to overcomplicate the flavors.  I will definetly try this approach.  I'm from Texas myself, but believe it or not, one of my top 5 briskets came from a gas station/bbq joint in Norman called Rudy's.  So I do believe that good BBQ can be found anywhere...however I haven't found anything edible in Alabama or Florida yet.

Back to the topic...the beef broth, is it the beef boulion (?spelling) cubes or any preferred brand?  Also my grandma's boyfriend injects with a little liquid smoke as well, any thoughts on that?

 

[miamirick]

if your grocer has it   PIRATES GOLD is a wonderful marinade        give it a shot

 

[SmokinAl]

We like Montreal steak seasoning for the rub.

 

[rivet]

Thanks for the input.  I think that may be my problem, I may be trying to overcomplicate the flavors.  I will definetly try this approach.  I'm from Texas myself, but believe it or not, one of my top 5 briskets came from a gas station/bbq joint in Norman called Rudy's.  So I do believe that good BBQ can be found anywhere...however I haven't found anything edible in Alabama or Florida yet.



Back to the topic...the beef broth, is it the beef boulion (?spelling) cubes or any preferred brand?  Also my grandma's boyfriend injects with a little liquid smoke as well, any thoughts on that?

Got to laugh at the 'bama, Fla note! That's so true :biggrin:

I use beef broth, the ones labeled 99% fat free and come in a 14 oz can....I forget the brand but it's not progresso I know that....it is the mid price range one though I have used store brand ones too and they work fine. I've never used the stuff labeled "beef consomme" but that's only clarified broth so it should be ok too, I guess it is just milder.

I stay away from liquid smoke because it gives things a bitter, almost creosoty flavor, to me. Other folks can't tell. But, it is salty so I would recommend against it if you are going to smoke your brisket outside. Natural smoke is better.

With that said, there's nothing wrong with cheating a bit using liquid smoke if you are going to make a brisket in the oven. I know a lot of folks who make brisket braised in beer in the oven and use liquid smoke and the brisket is darn good. It's just different, and I sure wouldn't call it barbecued. They use guinness beer for the liquid.

Hope this helps and good smoking to you!

 

[smokin vegas]

I like to mainate in just plain 4 cups of apple juice, 1 cup of brown sugar 1/8 cup salt for 3 to 5 days.  Then make a rub of beef boullion that is in a paste form 3 tablespoons, 1 teaspoons garlic, teaspoon onion,  1 tablespoon thyme androsemary or Italian seasoning.  Rub on drained meat and smoke.  Place in baking dish then  I add a cup of wine red or white I like 1/2 bottle of apple beef and 1/2 cup red wine and  pour it over the meat meat and smoke.

 

[roller]

I am with you Rivet to much song and dance on all these rubs put on meat a inch thick....Keep It Simple...is my motto !!!  I like the good ol taste of meat !!!

 

[meltyface]

Smokin Vegas, I've been thinking about using apple juice on my brisket, because I use it on all my pork and it turns out great.  I'm extremelly happy with how my pork ribs turn out, so using it on beef may not be a bad idea. 

With all of these ideas do ya'll just baste/spritz with the juices coming from the meat throughout the cook, or do you make a seperate sauce for that?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Rivet has your back on this...I just wanted to add...Boullion Cubes or Granules are 97% salt and can be used in place of Salt in Rubs but are a poor choice for reconstituting and Injecting. Most Grocery Stores carry 2 or 3 brands of Beef and Chicken  Broth in 14 oz Cans and 48 oz Boxes. Some stores carry Low Sodium as well...These  commercial products are good but HOME MADE is cheap and easy too!

Home Made Stock:

If there is a Full Service Butcher near you...ask for some Beef Joints, split...these may be free or less than 99 Cents a pound...Roast the Bones, 2-3 joints, 1-2 Large Onions, halved, 3 Carrots, cut up, 3 Ribs Celery, cut up, in a roasting pan at 450*F oven until well Browned, 30-40 minutes...Dump all into a large Stock Pot, add  2 Cups of  Hot Water to the Roasting pan and stir Scaping the bottom to dissolve all the Drippings, add this to the Stock Pot... Add 1-2 Gallons Cold Water, and any Herbs or Spices you like, Bayleaf, Thyme, Black Pepper, Cumin, Chili Powder, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon will be plenty...Bring all up to Just the Boiling point, then reduce the heat to Med-Low and Simmer, Skimming any Nasty looking Stuff that floats to the top, a Minimum of 3 hours, to 8+ hours, longer the Better. Add Some Salt, 1-2 teaspoons, at this point, but go easy as you may be using it in some recipe where it will be Cooked Down and become TOO salty...Strain to remove the Solids and Chill over night in the Stock pot or Roasting Pan, remove the layer of Solid Fat that forms on top and use Your Home Made Stock as desired for Injecting, Au Jus or making Gravy...If your Butcher/Store does not have Bones...Cheap-o Beef Shin/Shank meat, can be sustituted or even in addition to Bones...It may sound involved but this Stock is WAY BETTER than the canned stuff and can be Frozen in 2-4 Cup containers for use as needed.  BTW...The Same Procedure is used with Chicken Backs, or Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Bones...JJ

 

[roller]

Beef Stock at Walmart 1.68 qt.  

 

[africanmeat]

Hi Melty if you like a hot and spicy brisket this is a great one  (i got it from amazingribs ))

Rub it with oil then with

3 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili or ancho powder
1 teaspoon chipotle or cayenne powder

wrapped with clean wrap

and leave it over night

 

[meltyface]

Just my luck.  I just got back from the store after buying a really nice brisket and I just found out it's going to rain for the next few days...hopefully I can cook it this Saturday.  I'm thinking of going very simple this time, beef broth and a little apple juice...no rub.

 

[venture]

X2 on JJ's suggestion for your own stock.  Bones should be very short on meat and fat for the best stock.  Start with cold water and heat it slowly.  Several hours at an extremely slow simmer (just a bubble now and then).  Be sure to skim AND defat. Strain through cheesecloth or fryer filters a couple of times. You will have the best stock you have ever tasted.

X2 on Rivet, also.  The more I smoke, the simpler things get.  I love the taste of carefully smoked meat!

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[mneeley490]

If you're set on a marinade, I did one last summer that was a big hit. Use a Kalbi marinade. This is like a Korean teriyaki sauce. You can sometimes find it in grocery stores, but it is usually pretty pricey, unless you find it in powder form. You can also comb the web for recipes; I looked at several recipes online and then combined the ingredients from 2 or 3 of them. Inject and marinate for 1-3 days before you barbecue. My 20 year old daughter called it "beef candy", and thought it was the best brisket I had made yet.

 

[meltyface]

Oh, one thing I forgot to ask.  With the beef stock, should I just inject it and cook it, or let it marinate for a few hours with the injections before cooking?

 

[rivet]

Melty, I usually inject the night before I smoke the brisket....around 9 PM and am up at 4 getting the fire started so the meat goes on about 5 AM. You can inject right before putting it on the smoker, but there will be some run-off from the injection and it will drip all over. You may want to wait a couple hours to avoid some mess, but that's your call. Either way is good. If you are injecting and waiting overnight, make sure the broth you are injecting is room temp or colder.

Once you get the hang of it you'll want to make your own broths, as Venture and Jimmy said...it is real good, but you want to cool down your broth before injecting. Trick is to let the broth sit in the fridge overnight, then next morning defat it, and then inject it cold.

Good smoking on your brisket!

 

[smokin vegas]

Try cranberry juice the 2 cups each 100% Cranberry juice and ginger ale, one cup dark brown packed in measuring cup, 1 teas. garlic powder and 1 tesp onion powder and 1 tespo poultry seasoning, and 1/4 cup of salt on a whole turkey breast.  Marinate for 3 days.  I like the juice because it tenderizes the meat so much and adds flavor and moisture.  

I want to try pineapple juice and brown sugar and marniate ham for 3 days and then smoke for double smoked ham.  May even add some cloves to that.

Sometimes I just like plain too.  When I go into a carnivous fenzie I don't like anyone to mess with my steak or prime rib.  Hubby says when I am in that state and he takes me to the Beliago buffet it's like watching a loiness stalk a gazelle as I approach the prime rib table..

 

[smokin vegas]

This is a wonderful terykai recipe if you don't have one

1 cup of kikoman soy sauce

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups of saki or beer

1 teas fresh grated ginger I use 1 tablespoon because I love ginger

1/2 teas ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon  garlic powder

Marinate for 8-24 hours.  Great on any meat chicken, beef, pork, or duck .  I serve it with rice of course.  And I take the marinated and boil it for 5 to 10 minutes and serve it on the rice.

 

[moikel]

Chef Jimmy J has stock covered,it freezes well in whatever size container suits you.I use gatorade bottles & just cut bottle off with a bread knife. Veal neck makes great stock if you have a butcher who is breaking down whole bodies.