Texas-style smoked brisket

First, mix the rub ingredients together well in a tub or shaker and set aside

Next, trim off any hard, or particularly thick, areas of fat from the brisket. Don’t be too overzealous as you trim. You need to leave a decent fat cap on the top of the brisket – about 3 mm – so that it renders into delicious beef butter.  Keep all of the trimmings as we’ll want to turn this into tallow for the wrapping stage

Underneath the brisket, you may see some thick hard fat called ‘deckle fat’. You’ll want to remove most of this too, as well as any silver skin
Briskets tend to be ‘squared’ off at the bottom, that is trimming off the thinnest bit of the brisket. They are also often trimmed around the edge so that they have a nice evenly rounded off shape

Rub the yellow mustard all over the brisket then cover generously with the rub, not forgetting the sides

Place in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight. This will set the rub, ensuring it adheres to the surface of the brisket

When you’re ready to cook, set your smoker or barbecue up for indirect heat and regulate the temperature between 108°C/225°F and 120°C/250°F. If you’re using an offset smoker, point the thickest part (the point end) towards the heat source. If you’re using a kettle BBQ, bank the coals to one side to cook with indirect heat

Add 2–3 wood chunks to the coals and put in the brisket. We usually add wood in the first 2–3 hours. A punchy wood, like oak, works very well here and will produce a stunning smoke ring (the revered pink ring that sits just below the surface of the meat that is caused by a chemical reaction between the meat's myoglobin protein and gases produced when wood and charcoal is burned)

Add the beef trimmings to a foil pan or baking pan and place it underneath the brisket, to render the beef tallow while the brisket cooks

You could be cooking this brisket anywhere from 10 -12 hours: roughly 3 hours per kilogram of meat plus at least an hour or two resting time

When your brisket hits 73°C/165°F, you want to think about doing what’s known as the ‘Texas Crutch’. This is where the brisket is wrapped in rendered tallow to move it out of the ‘meat stall’. The meat stall is a phenomenon that occurs when the brisket’s internal temperature stops rising while it's being smoked, causing it to plateau for hours. The stall typically occurs around 70-74°C /160–165°F

Carefully strain the rendered beef tallow into a heatproof jug

To make a Texas crutch, first get 3 metres of foil or butcher's peach paper. Fold it into thirds

Bring the edges of the foil or paper up a little and put your brisket in the middle third

Pour over some tallow. Bring the flaps of the foil or paper over the brisket and wrap it tightly, expelling as much air as possible. Crimp the edges over the brisket

Pop the brisket back in the smoker. Don’t add any more wood after this point as it won’t penetrate the wrapping

At around the 12-hour mark, you want to start taking the temperature using an instant-read thermometer at both the point and the middle of the flat. You’re also testing for tenderness here, not just temperature. Does the tip of the thermometer slide into the meat easily, or does it still feel a little tough? Most people recommend a minimum temperature of 94°C/201°F as a guide but we’ve had briskets take until 98°C/208°F before they’ve felt ‘probe tender’

When it feels tender, we recommend an extended rest time with the brisket still in its ‘Texas crutch’ wrapping. We usually do this by sitting it in a cool box wrapped in a towel for at least 2 hours

When you’re ready, you’re going to slice the brisket in two ways, since the point and the flat have different grains. Firstly slice in half right where you see the point end rising

Slice the flat at a slight angle into pencil thick slices along the grain

Next take the point end and cut in the opposite direction so you’re cutting against the grain

The serving suggestion here is very particular to central Texas BBQ. You’ll notice absolutely no BBQ sauce is involved in this recipe. This is sacrilege with Texas style brisket to some aficionados. The raw onion and pickles both have enzymes that help your digestive system break down the meat and the white bread is said to be a palate cleanser and removes fatty residue from your palate as you chow down!