Franklin-Style Brisket To Die For

Oh. Ma. Gah. Discussed this with my little bro who lives in Austin, Texas and he agreed that Franklin BBQ brisket is everything they say it is. More.

We've been on a grilling binge lately and I can't cry about it because boy, we've had some good eats up in this joint! You wouldn't know it, but we don't really feed an army... Just a few teenagers. But we don't really need any excuse to cook and we do the same thing whether they are here or not.

Our first Franklin-style brisket was just to die for... And I've never really done brisket. I considered doing a brisket for St. Patty's day but we instead opted for a corned beef pre-brined brisket that are readily available and pretty cheap to get during the season. Still... I did the research just in case we wanted to try it one day. I have no issues with curing a brisket for ten days...

Brisket on the brain. And then I saw an episode of Andrew Zimmern doing a spot on Franklin BBQ and we instantly set our sights on brisket once again.  Lucky for us, briskets were on sale just after Easter so we got a smoking deal on a large 8 lb brisket.

Couldn't wait. And surprise, surprise... it is as easy to make as prime rib! Go figure. All that matters really, with brisket is this:

1. Right cut. That means the "packer" cut. Just ask your butcher.
2. Simple and light seasoning. Equal parts salt, pepper. I used about a quarter cup of each and while I thought it was perfect, Tsunami said less is more next time. Mental note made.... I still thought it was delicious and only 2 days later, swear this is almost gone. But, he's a bit of a perfectionist so keep that in mind. You need to follow your palate preferences, for sure.
3. Post oak for smoking. Not too much smoke, just a little to flavor the meat but not overpower.
4. Far, far away from direct heat. NO flames. Ever.
5. Low and slow heat. 190-200 degrees for 8-10 hours was what we did and of course, I thought it was brilliant. Franklin uses this as a guide: 1 1/2 hours per pound of meat. 

That means that we were pretty much right on the money and I know this because he recommended that the internal temperature of the meat be at 190-200 F degrees when it is done. And guess what? We nailed it. Tsunami likes it rare so that explains his overly critical take on our meat doneness, but again, his prerogative.  He admits, regardless of his nitpicking, that it turned out extraordinarily delicious for our first brisket.

We did ours on the Egg. Got the chunk coals hot, put one soaked chunk of wood on for smoking and used the stacking grates to get the brisket as far from the meat as possible. 

Remember the ribs from our prime rib post? Well, just after Easter, not only do they have brisket on sale but a ridiculous sale on meaty beef ribs from taking them off the rib roasts! We picked up about 6 packages for a song. We placed a grate of seasoned, rubbed ribs on the grate below the brisket and placed the brisket all the way on top, fat side down. Whoa. Mighty mighty brisket fat basted ribs rocked my world!

If you do what we did, just mind the ribs. They didn't take as long to cook of course, but still, at 190 F, took about 5-6 hours and they were perfect. Divine, even.

Also, a clean, well circulating smoker is key. Our smoker was squeaky clean and it allowed us to keep a perfect temperature for almost 10 hours without any fussing. Granted, we still fussed... not quite trusting the Egg as we should, but now we know the secret. A clean grill and plenty of time.

Don't plan on housework or a movie. We did work in the yard and garden, played with the puppy in the pool, got some sun. It was an awesome grilling weekend and boy, were we well rewarded.  Can't wait to do it again!