Barbecue University™
Is a low and slow smoked brisket better, yes. But a hot and fast brisket is better than no brisket at all!! My first attempt smoking a brisket I used the hot and fast method since I did not have the time for the low and slow method, and I was a novice when it came to smoking a brisket. I smoked my first brisket on a kettle grill at four hundred degrees for about 4 hours. I thought it was awesome. I thought it was delicious, but I did not know any better.
Years later I was attending Barbecue University and asked Steven Raichlen about the hot and fast method. He informed me he was authoring a whole book on brisket, and he told me I should try it, and we can compare it to low and slow. If you interested in our results check out page 82 “Brisket in a Hurry” in Steven Raichlen’s “The Brisket Chronicles”.
Since my first brisket, I have cooked briskets on a kettle grill, the Pit barrel Cooker, Big Green Egg, a pellet smoker, an offset barrel smoker (aka stick burner). I usually select the low and slow method, but sometimes I just want brisket, and I do not want to wait all day, or get up in the middle of the night to start a brisket, or I want brisket for another use.
I have used brisket in nachos, hash, jalapeno poppers (Texas twinkies), chili, ragu, and tacos. I can appreciate that most people do not cook brisket just for other recipes, and it is rare that there is leftover brisket. But the smoky, beefy, and succulent brisket will boost the flavor of other dishes.
This year at Barbecue University Steven and the team were comparing two methods for wrapping brisket. We wrapped one brisket in butcher paper (Aaron Franklin method) and the other brisket in aluminum foil (Tootsie Tomanez method). Click here to see our results. Early in the morning we realized even with two briskets we might not have enough brisket for all the students. I suggested that we revisit our hot and fast experiment and cook two more briskets for the students. Steven gave me the go ahead.
Cooking Hot and Fast Brisket
I quickly trimmed two briskets and seasoned them with Steven’s newest spice rub, Texas Brisket rub. I decided to use the Weber Smoke Fire for a few reasons. I would not have to babysit the brisket while helping the students, the smoke would be consistent, and it would reach a temperature of four hundred degrees.
Once the briskets reached 165 degrees on the Chefstemp instant read thermometer I wrapped one in butcher paper and one in aluminum foil. Total cooking time was about 4 hours. The briskets did not jiggle like they would if they were smoked low and slow. When I probed them with the instant read thermometer, they still felt a little tight despite the temperate reading of 203 degrees. The briskets then rested for about an hour and a half and then it was time to slice them up for lunch.
The Results
Now if you have never eaten brisket, you might be impressed with a hot and fast brisket. It was smoky, luscious, and the bark was flavorful and crusty. Both the flat and the point developed a nice smoke ring. Thinly sliced flat would be ideal in a sandwich. The point was moist and smoky as you would expect. Due to the shortened smoking time, not all the intramuscular fat rendered from the brisket, but it still had a luscious mouthfeel.
We all enjoyed sliced brisket for lunch and to our surprise there were leftovers. I quickly wrapped up slices of brisket to make hash the next morning for Steven and the team. Check out my recent blog “Brisket for Breakfast? You Bet!” to see how I made hash with the leftover brisket.
I do not expect to convert Planet Barbecue to the hot and fast method, but there will come a day when you just need more brisket or you need brisket in a hurry, and I hope you will remember the hot and fast brisket.
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