The man at Fallon Hills Ranch has been trying hard to sell us a brisket at the farmers market every Sunday. A whole brisket is quite a commitment, but a few weeks ago, he had half-briskets and we decided to go for it. Alex did a bunch of research on traditional Texan barbecue and then spent a day while he worked from home making this incredible BBQ brisket!
It began with a dry rub the night before:
The Rub
2 Tbsp Roasted Ground Cumin
1 Tbsp Spanish Sweet Paprika
1 Tbsp California Paprika
1 Tbsp Hungarian Sweet Paprika
1 Roasted Dry Ancho Pepper (stem and seeds removed)
1 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 tsp Mace
1 Tbsp Alaea Hawaiian Salt
1 Tbsp Salish Smoked Salt
2 Tbsp Black Pepper
Grind everything above in a coffee grinder without cleaning any residual coffee grounds out of the grinder! Then add a whole bulb of chopped garlic to the ground spice mix and rub it in to the meat. The rubbed meat sat in the fridge for 11 hours, and then moved to the counter to warm up to room temperature for about 2 hours. Sear the meat in a cast iron pan with a sliced onion. Remove the meat from the pan when it's good and brown and place it fat-side-down in a tagine (or dutch oven). Let the onions caramelize in the cast iron pan and then add the sauce mixture below. Cook the sauce for about five minutes and then pour it over the seared brisket.
The Sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 Cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/4 Cup Black Coffee
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Molasses
1/2 Cup Water
1 Shot Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1/2 Cup Rub (see above)
Cook the brisket for 6 hours in a 250F oven. Take the brisket out of the sauce to let it rest while you make the rest of the sauce. Use an immersion blender (or a normal blender) to blend the sauce with 2 large tomatoes, about a teaspoon of fresh ginger, juice from half a lemon, and a tablespoon of yellow mustard seeds. Then cook the sauce on the stove for about an hour until it's thick. Pour the sauce over the brisket and it's ready to eat!
I whipped up some cornbread and a slaw out the veggies we had in the fridge - carrots and poblano peppers. I grated the carrots and peppers, chopped some cilantro, and mixed it all up with big splash of apple cider vinegar, a few scoops of mayonnaise, and a dash of cumin, paprika, and salt.
Alex made Black & Tans by mixing 1:1 Peregrin Pilsner and Sierra Nevada Porter. Supposedly you can get the porter to float on top of the pilsner if you pour it over the back of a spoon into the glass... we didn't have much luck with this, perhaps the density of the beers we used was not right. Either way, it was darn tasty!
And Alex even paired the meal with some music from Reverend Payton's Big Damn Band:
