I won’t go deep into it, but here are a few things that went wrong:
- I was originally going to go full Myron Mixon recipe, but this was a HUGE piece of meat and MM’s method requires an aluminum pan. One big enough to accommodate this brisket was not going to fit on my smoker.
- I planned on wrapping once the internal temperature reached 165 degrees. I put the thermometer probe in the point, and when it reached that number, I opened the smoker and checked other parts of the meat. They were reading only 150-155. Also the color and the crust was not where I wanted it to be. Also, the meat was still wet, so I closed it and waited for a different part of the brisket to reach 165.
Those are the two biggest deviations of the day that predicted a less than optimal cook, and I think they threw off my game. So rather than focus on the brisket flat, I decided that my main goal was to focus on the brisket point and produce decent burnt ends on my first try.
Let’s Get to the Point (See What I Did There?)
Like I stated above, this was supposed to be a reproduction of the demonstration and recipe I learned while attending the Myron Mixon BBQ Cooking School. In that demonstration, he trimmed the fat, but left the “wedge” between the flat and the point.
Since this was my first go at burnt ends, I wanted to try the more traditional method and remove that wedge. I did a YouTube search and found this video from the guys at Meat Church BBQ. Seemed like a good way to achieve bark on the point early on, so this is the way I went.
I did use the Myron Mixon method for two key elements: I injected with a mixture of beef base, beef ajus, and water, and I rubbed the brisket with his Hickory Rub and Hickory salt (olive oil applied as a binder for the rub).
I was a little worried that the meat just looked really wet at this point, probably because of the olive oil and the injection leaking out. But, oh well. I fired up the Weber Smokey Mountain to 275 degrees and put on that brisket.
I won’t rehash the issues I had after a few hours had passed and the point reached 165. When I got the temperature and color I wanted, I did proceed to wrap in butcher paper and placed the meat back on the smoker.
When the internal temperature registered 205, I took the brisket inside and cut off the point, wrapped the flat, and placed it in a cooler to rest.
I sliced up the point into cubes, then coated the sides of each with the Meat Church BBQ Holy Cow rub. I followed that up by applying a light coat of Myron Mixon’s Hog Sauce. After that, the burnt ends went into an aluminum pan and back on the smoker. After about 20 minutes, the cubes had a nice glaze on them.
The burnt ends were tender, slightly, spicy and sweet. I’m not sure if they were great burnt ends, not having a lot of experience eating or cooking them, but I was pleased with the result. The folks who joined me in indulging were also very satisfied with the dish.
As for the brisket slices… not terribly moist, no smoke ring, disappointing bark, and that “pull apart with a slight tug” tenderness was not there. It took more than a slight tug.
Back to the drawing board. I think for my next cook, I’m just going back to basics: SPG rub and low and slow. I seemed to achieve better results when I don’t overthink it. All this is to say that you will see other brisket-attempt posts on this blog in the future.
The Wine: 2017 Montes Cabernet Sauvignon
One thing I didn’t overthink this day was the wine. Brisket and cab sav are a consistently ideal match, in my opinion, and this one from Montes is a good, inexpensive go-to option everyone should keep on hand. In general, if you’re looking for flavorful, well-made, and budget-friendly wines, Chile and Argentina rarely disappoint.
The nose was what you expect from a New World cabernet – bold dark red fruit, leather, earth, pepper, and a bit of spice. The taste was very similar minus the pepper. For the slices, I wasn’t surprised that this wine complemented well, but I was pleased that it held up well to the spicy sweetness of the burnt ends. Of course, the beefy, crusty texture found a great partner with this wine.
A great, flavorful choice that didn’t hurt my wallet. I call that a successful pairing.
Let’s break down the wine itself a little bit. It comes from the Colchagua Valley in Chile, and as Wine-Searcher.com describes the region:
Colchagua Valley, in central Chile, is one of South America’s most promising wine regions. It forms the south-western half of the larger Rapel Valley region; to the north and east of it lies the less famous but equally promising Cachapoal Valley. Some of Chile’s finest red wines are made in the valley, mostly from Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère and Syrah.
The Colchagua Valley boasts a textbook wine-growing climate: warm, but cooled by ocean breezes and dry, but refreshed by rivers and occasional rainfall. The region’s desirable terroir, combined with persistent, focused marketing has made this one of Chile’s most important wine regions, along with Maipo Valley in the north.
The Montes winery was founded in 1988 and has been one of Chile’s largest wine producers ever since. They boast an unconventional “gravity” approach to their winemaking (Spanish to English translation not perfect, BTW):
Our winery has incorporated the latest in winemaking technology. In order to be faithful to our principle of maintaining the manipulation of wine in a ‘minimum’, we exclude the installation of pumps. We decided that it would be the gravity that would move the grapes, the must and the new wine inside our facilities.
The movement of the wines by gravity allows us to give them a first class treatment. Since the grapes are ground on the roof of our cellar, the musts are transported using gravity as a means of impulsion, achieving more delicate wines and soft tannins.
My next cook? I’m not sure yet. But one thing is certain: you won’t want to miss it!
Cheers!