Guest Post: How to Turn Beef into Gold

Today's post comes from probably the wisest person in the world, my dad.

This is but the latest bit of knowledge I have received from him, which learning goes back to when I was 8 years old helping Dad with some plumbing and he enlightened me with the wisdom that "Shit don't flow uphill." Oh how I've observed this principal in action many times since.

Anyway, this latest lesson came when I requested his recipe for cooking a couple of beef briskets I've had in my freezer for a while. You see, among Dad's many talents are his skills as a chef. He's a true da Vinci of da grill, the Botticelli of Boston Butts, a veritable Frank Lloyd Wright of ribs.

The man's an artist is what I'm tryin' to say.

So here, I share this priceless advice with you.

OK emawkc — here goes. Not all original, but I claim it as mine!!

You see my son, the medieval alchemist, who sought to turn base metals into gold, should have tried barbecuing a brisket on your Good-One Smoker. The transformation of the meat is on the same magnitude of magic but much more successful.

GRANDPA EMAW’S ONE-DERFUL RUB

1 cup paprika
¼ cup ground black pepper
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons cayenne

Mix well. This should be enough for an 8 to 12 pound packer-trimmed beef brisket or two 6 pound brisket flats—might as well smoke both while you’ve got it hot.

The night before you plan to BBQ, combine the rub ingredients, and apply evenly to briskets, massaging it into every little pore. (Save a couple tablespoons of the rub). Place brisket in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.

Before you begin to BBQ, remove the brisket from the refrigerator, let sit at room temp. for 45 minutes.

Water the smoker, start the charcoal, bring temp to 220 to 240 degrees Fahrenheit.

Into a sauce pan poor a glass of wine (reserve remainder of bottle for use during CYO), ½ cup cider vinegar, ½ cup water, ¼ cup corn oil, ½ cup finely minced onion, a couple minced garlic cloves, and some Worcestershire sauce and at least a table spoon of GPA’S ODF Rub.

Warm up this mop on top of smoker after the meat in cooking—don’t boil.

Put the brisket on the rack toward the rear of the smoker with the fat sides up. Now would be a good time to notice which direction the grain of the meat is going. It will need to cook about 1½ hours per pound of the larger brisket.

After it’s been on for a couple hours start to baste the blackening hunk with the stuff from the saucepan—about once an hour or so.

Be sure to drink some of the reserved wine every time you put basting on the hunk—after all, you have to Control Your Outlook on the whole process.

After meat is cooked, how ever long it takes, let cool at room temp for 20 minutes, then slice very thinly against the grain, and serve.

So now grasshopper, you have the secret.

But remember these words of wisdom: BBQ is only incidentally cooking, and one should avoid, as much as possible, confusing the two. BBQ is play—serious, mind-concentrating, important- risk- running, even exhausting--anything in fact, except a chore.

tagged: barbecue, brisket, Boston Butt, da Vinci, Frank Lloyd Wright, Botticelli, cooking