Week 27: Smoking - Oven Smoked Brisket

I have a wee Weber that I planned on smoking in this week, but in the grips of a heatwave, with serious T-storms on the horizon, I brought it inside.

After researching on the web, here’s how it went:

Two days ago I got a 2.5lb flat cut brisket. I put a rub (Salt, Brown Sugar, Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Pepper) on it and let it sit in the fridge, wrapped tightly in Press-n-Seal, to let it cure.

Today I soaked mesquite chips (found at the hardware store) in water for a couple hours. Then I layered them on a cookie sheet, with about 1/2c of the soaking water, a cooling rack, then the brisket. I wrapped it tightly with tin foil, maybe about 4 layers, and baked it for 4 hours at 250 degrees.

When I checked it at 4 hours, it was fork tender. I broke off a corner trying to slice it across the grain. I made sandwiches with my fav bbq sauce, with a cucumber yogurt salad.

I would be careful with the salt amounts. It came out a wee bit salty, but with the sauce I was able to balance it out.

The kitchen is cut off from the rest of the house that has AC, and the oven method meant I could stay cool while it cooked.I get very sick in the heat, and I’m nursing a sunburn, so I’m not sorry I didn’t go for the grilling experience. I would definitely use this method again, as it was tender, and super flavorful. Also I like recipes that are “Set it and forget it”