Expert Tips on Smoking Brisket
In our fast-paced, info overloaded world, time is a luxury. But, if you truly take barbecuing and smoking seriously, do yourself a favor and take the time to watch a true BBQ master guide you through his techniques to achieve the ‘gold standard’ in brisket. After all, why not go for the gold every time!
Executive Chef Brian West (Smoke in Stone Oak) is not only an accomplished chef, former CIA instructor but also a noted BBQ expert who has traveled extensively exploring BBQ techniques around the country and in South America. In fact, if you’re a student at the CIA and taking a course on barbecue – Brian literally wrote the book!
Tailgate season is all but upon us. The video above is a great how-to for getting the best from your brisket every time, and it begins with your prep…
Some of Chef West’s other recommendations —
1. Don’t trim the brisket – fat is flavor
2. Don’t soak your wood – water and smoke don’t mix!
3. Buy TWICE the amount of meat you want to end up with. Shrinkage is about 50%.
To Sauce or Not to Sauce
Some people think it muddles the meat, others that it enhances it. We say ‘yes’ to both! As Chef West tells us, it’s really a personal preference. If you do sauce, do so in limited amounts…with every third bite or so.
As you continue to eat something (such as a steak), bite after bite your tastebuds naturally turn the volume down on flavor; they become desensitized. Introducing (and reintroducing) a touch of sauce every few bites can help recharge the way you taste.
Smoke he has a huge variety of regional sauces – Chef West’s classic Texas BBQ, a Carolina Mustard Sauce, and a Chimichurri he’s since developed from time spent south of the border for starters.
Explore more of Chef West’s sauce creations in our short video. And be sure to stay for dessert with scratch-made goodies from the in-house pastry chef! 😉
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Very nice! Thank you so much! That was a great segment..will come see you at your restaurant:)