Texas Style Smoked BBQ Brisket and Fixin’s

Ingredients:

For Brisket:

• 2.5-lb. Untrimmed Tallgrass Beef Brisket
• ½ cup Chili Rub
• Wood chips (oak, fruit wood, hickory)

For Chili Rub:

• 2 Tablespoons hot chili powder
• 1 Teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 Teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

For Grilled Potato Salad:

• 8 medium red potatoes
• 2 large red onions
• ¾ cup olive oil
• 2 Teaspoons garlic powder
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon dill seeds
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Grilled Tomatoes:

• Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Grated Cheese
• Olive Oil

For Grilled Fruit:

• Fruits (a variety of different fruits)
• Water
• Cooking Oil
• Lemon Juice

Brisket: Preheat smoker and add wood chips (follow your instruction manual). Clean and dry the brisket. Apply chili rub. Place brisket in smoker for 8-10 hours. Keep the smoker temperature at about 220 degrees. To increase tenderness, take the brisket out of the smoker, wrap in aluminum foil and place in oven at 180-200 degrees for the last two hours. Typically after 8-10 hours a piece of meat will have absorbed as much smoke as it can and additional smoking may impart a bitter flavor.

Chili Rub: Mix all ingredients together and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Apply as directed in your barbecue recipe. You can use mild chili powder to tone down the recipe a little. Or use an extra teaspoon of cayenne pepper to spice it up.

Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, parsley, mustard and dill seeds. Toss together with potatoes and onions until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve cold.

Grilled Tomatoes: To grill a tomato, start by cutting out the stem end and then cut the tomato in half. Grill them face down for two to three minutes then flip them over to finish off. It’s at this point that you can sprinkle on garlic, cheese or whatever you want to season your tomatoes with. If you want to make a salsa or sauce out of your tomatoes then you only need to grill them face down. Either way, any part of the tomato that is going to be in contact with the grill needs to be lightly oiled. Brush a little olive oil over the surface of the tomato and it won’t stick. Most of this oil will be lost to the grill so you really are not adding much fat. Don’t use too much or you might get flare-ups which will ruin your tomatoes.

Grilled Fruit: Using a variety of fruits will make a great dessert and will appeal to many different tastes. With many fruits, such as bananas, apples and pairs, simply cut them down the middle; remove any seeds and the core. You can leave the peels on apples and pairs which will hold them together. The skins can always be removed later. Hard fruits like apples, pears and pineapples are the easiest to prepare since they will hold their shape and texture while cooking. Softer fruits like peaches, nectarines, plums and mangos will become soft and mushy if overcooked. Just pay more attention to these while cooking. Large fruits and citrus should be cut into slices to expose the flesh to flame. Once you have cut the fruit, soak it in water to maximize the amount of liquid inside the fruit so it stays juicy on the grill. Use enough cold water to completely cover the fruit and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to each cup of water to preserve its color. Let fruits soak in the lemon water for 20 to 30 minutes. If you need to, add ice to keep the water cold. It is best to grill fruit over medium heat on a very clean cooking grate. Nothing will ruin the flavor of fruit like left over drippings from the last batch of hamburgers you made. To keep the fruit from sticking to the grill, lightly spray them with cooking oil or brush them with melted butter. Many oils, like olive oil have too strong of a flavor for fruit, so pick something that will compliment but not overpower it.

To step up the flavor of the fruit, try adding spices to the water the fruit soaks in and increasing the soaking time. Simply throwing a stick of cinnamon into a bowl of soaking apples will enhance its flavor. You can also add spices like nutmeg, allspice, cloves, or ginger to the melted butter used to brush the fruit with. Since fruit is naturally high in sugar you won’t typically need to add any. If you do want it sweeter you can dust the fruit with brown sugar, but be careful because sugars burn quickly and easily. Try marinating the fruit in a combination of your favorite spices and your favorite alcohols. A mixture of rum, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg will make a truly fantastic set of pineapple slices perfect for topping with vanilla ice cream. Be careful when they hit the grill though, because the rum will cause a spectacular and immediate flare-up, something that is sure to impress the guests.