Lazy Sunday

Well, with the three-day weekend last week, there's very little to do around the house this weekend.  So I got a little special cut (fat trimmed) brisket at the store on Saturday.  I then dug out the recipes from my file of special meals and spent Sunday making rub, sauces, and smoking a brisket.  And every time I've ever done this, it has more than lived up to the claim of  being "one of the finest meals on the planet."  These recipes are from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame cookbook.  I think the link is to the correct edition but it's been years since I've had this book.

Anyway, start with making the rub.  Just takes a few minutes if you have the ingredients and I can't imagine being in a kitchen without these ingredients.

Cookie’s Dry Rub

2 tbl. sweet Hungarian paprika

1 tbl. garlic salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper

Use about 2 tbl. of this rub on a 6 lb. boneless rib roast or a brisket that you plan to smoke.

Set this aside and make the sauces.  The Cowboy Barbecue Sauce takes a fair bit longer than the Beer Mopping Sauce.

Cowboy Barbecue Sauce

2 tbl. bacon grease or vegetable oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup tomato catsup

1 cup bottled chili sauce (looks like catsup)

½ cup packed light brown sugar

½ cup lemon juice

2 tbl. Worcestershire sauce

Hot red pepper sauce to taste

Saute onion and garlic in oil.  Add everything but the hot sauce and simmer, stirring often to prevent sticking, until slightly thickened, about 45 minutes.  Add hot sauce to taste.

Cool, cover, refrigerate.  Use within 5 days.

We always have all the ingredients in the pantry.  This is perhaps the best of the tomato based grill or barbecue sauces I've ever tried.  Absolutely no comparison to that bottled stuff!!!

Beer Moppin’ Sauce

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 12 oz. bottle of beer

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup cider vinegar

2 tbl. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbl. prepared brown mustard

Cook onion and garlic in oil until softened, about 4 minutes.  Stir in the remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, and continue cooking on low heat for about 10 minutes.

I usually need to make a run to the store for the beer.  I use beer that I would drink but not necessarily a premium brew that I might keep around if you know what I mean.

After you've made all these, get the brisket ready and the fire built  Here's the directions for smoking the meat:

How to Smoke a Brisket

1 9 lb. brisket, cut in half crosswise.  Rub all over with a dry rub (Cookie’s, for instance). Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.  Bring to room temp.

Place a heatproof pan, approximately the same length and width as the roast (disposable aluminum foil pans work well), on one side of the bottom of a charcoal grill.  Fill the pan with 1 inch of water.  Bank charcoal on the empty side for a hot fire.

Place the meat over the pan and immediately cover the grill.  Sprinkle some (soaked in water) mesquite chips over the coals.  Smoke the meat until very tender, 6 or 7 hours.  About every 40 minutes, baste with mopping sauce and add more hot coals and mesquite chips.

Let stand 10 minutes, then carve in thin slices across the grain.  Serve with barbecue sauce.

No, I don't always get a 9-pound brisket.  There's only 2 adults and the Pirate Dogs and Klingon Kats.  And the denizens of the dining room floor only get the scraps.  But they love being in the kitchen while the sauces are simmering---they do pleasure the olfactory nerves.  

So add a few long-neck beers to sip, kick back and this is truly one of the best ways I know to enjoy a lazy summer Sunday.