Barbecued Brisket with Old-style Barbecue Sauce

The brisket is not generally thought of as lean meat; however, an inside brisket trimmed of excess fat and slowly cooked is quite lean. Simply look at the above photograph. Although many say that sauce was invented to hide the cook’s mistakes, I believe sauce on the side hides nothing. The sauce with this recipe is labeled old-style because it is not the thick sauce so commonly used these days.

1 inside brisket

Creole Seasoned Salt (BLOG post of February 1, 2018)

Coarse-ground black pepper

Old-style Memphis Barbecue Sauce (recipe follows)

Wood for smoking (I used a 50/50 mix of pecan and wild cherry)

2 bottles of beer (any brand)

Trim the meat of excess fat

Season the meat liberally with Creole Seasoned Salt and extra black pepper. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days.

Smoke the meat fat side down on a moderate fire with ample wood smoke for 7 hours. I add a handful of small wood pieces every hour. I do not soak the wood in water prior to smoking.

Remove the brisket from the smoker and place it on the rack of a roasting pan and pour the beer in so it is not touching the meat. Cover and cook at 250°F for 2 additional hours.

Old-style Memphis Barbecue Sauce

1/2 cup catsup

1/2 cup distilled vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons Tabasco-style hot sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. The catsup will tend to clump in the bottom of the pan, so blend thoroughly with a whisk. Simmer, not boil, for 10 minutes and remove from the heat to cool.