Now it’s smoking time
. Load your wood box with 3 pieces of your favorite hardwood. If you
want a smoke ring on your brisket, add a few lumps of charcoal to your wood box. The nitrates in the
charcoal will give you the ring. Now you’re going to say, "They don't put charcoal in an offset BBQ
pit." You’re right, except after the first few hours of smoking in a pit, the wood becomes charcoal and
thus the smoke ring.
Now that you have smoke-cooked the briskets for 12 hours at 200º using no more than 8 ounces of
your favorite hardwood not soaked in water, it's
time to clean and serve or freeze.
A good test to see if it's done is to press your finger
into the fattiest part of the meat. If it is soft and
your finger doesn't have a problem penetrating, it's
ready! After the brisket has cooled down a little,
it's time to clean it.
In Texas most of the BBQ joints clean the brisket
of all the fat. The brisket is in two pieces separated
by a layer of fat. Lay the meat down fat side up.
Position your index finger on the flat part of the
brisket, now move your finger under the fat layer
and towards the back of the brisket. You will be
able to feel where the two pieces are joined and in fact you will be able to separate the two with your
hand part of the way. Then you will need a good knife to finish the job. If you look along the side of
the brisket, you will see where the two are joined. After the deckle is separated from the flat part,
clean both of fat by pulling it off with the knife blade. ( both sides of the deckle)
After they’re cleaned, put them back together the same way they came off and wrap in film or vac-
uum-pack. Now you’re ready to serve or freeze. Keep warm, 150°F, if you’re going to serve it.
