Plate 'N' Playlist: Serving it upTexas Style

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Serving it upTexas Style

Treat yourself to some meat... eat some BBQ!

(Hit play before reading... it works better that way.)

The Plate...

Barbecue Beef Brisket

It ain't chicken or pork... it's a Big Ole Hunk a Beef. Barbecue Beef Brisket is the national dish of the Republic of Texas. So come with me for a trip to the Texas hill country and some awesome BBQ. Takes me back to Shriner picnics with my Grandpa, where the beer was cold (Big Red soda for me back then), the music was loud and the smell of BBQ was in the air. Everybody dancing, laughing, telling jokes and stories; just hanging out having fun.

Like Robert Earl says -
"BBQ makes old ones feel young, BBQ makes everybody someone!"

The Set Up...

1 lawn chair (preferably one with a cup holder)

6 pack of Shiner Bock beer or pitcher of Deep Eddy Skinny Dip

1 pair of cheap sunglasses

Sun tan lotion

Tunes ("Serving it up Texas Style"playlist - highly recommended)

Crowd of your favorite "hungry" party people

(cool cowboy hat optional or hey, an old Shriner's Fez would be cool)

What you need...

1 (5 to 6 pound) brisket, trimmed but left with a layer of fat about 1/4 inch thick

6 Tbs Dry Rub (no chili powder or cumin or chili powder - jut equal parts Salt & Pepper... hey that's how we roll in Texas.)

6 cups Hickory wood chips
2 disposable foil pans (1 smaller to fit in the bottom of grill & 1 large enough for brisket)
1 12oz beer

What you do...

Rinse brisket thoroughly under cold water / pat dry.

Rub brisket (on all sides) with dry rub

Set up your grill as follows:

- put coals on one side for indirect grilling

- place soaked chips into chip box or make a pouch with tin foil then place directly on coals
- on the side with no coals place the small foil pan and fill with beer

- place brisket (fat side up) in a large disposable pan and place on "cool side" of grill

Grill low and slow at 225 degrees for about 5 hours or until the internal temp of the brisket reaches 190 degrees

Transfer the brisket to a cutting board to rest for about 10 minutes

Slice across the grain and serve with your favorite BBQ sauce

The Playlist...

Serving it up Texas Style

Turn the heat down on the grill and the music up on the jukebox. It's time to party while that big ole brisket is smoking. You'll need a few old favorites, a few sing-a-longs, a couple songs to test your spanish and oh yeah... some good old "Texas Roadhouse" to get the crowd revved up. Yeah... that's Freddy Fender you hear. You know you'll be singing at the top of your lungs.

Hey somebody get me another Shiner Bock!