BBQ Brisket

That's right, I said BBQ.  It is practically 0° here and I am doing BBQ.  We had friends for dinner this evening.  I had bought a Brisket in the summer, intending us to get together for a Smoked Brisket picnic.  It seemed like our schedules never worked out to allow that much time.  So spontaneously we decided, why wait till summer?  We had the smoker ready to fire up, the dinner theme was Texas BBQ and then the weatherman said frigid temperatures for today :( .   The concern was we couldn't maintain the heat in the smoker with such cold temperatures, so I switched gears, stuck with my summer menu and did the Brisket in the oven.

BBQ Brisket from Food Network Kitchens

Spice rub for a 4-5 lb. brisket-we have a family run butcher shop close by, Bardine's, that always has the best meat and poultry.  The staff is great.  They always ask what I am trying next and offer an education on the cut of meat I want to make.

1/4 c. sweet Hungarian paprika (I used THE real McCoy!  Friends brought us back some from their trip this fall.)
1 T. Kosher salt
1 T. freshly ground pepper
1 T. light brown sugar
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Mix all. and rub the entire brisket.  Wrap up tight in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

BBQ Sauce (My husband said it is so good I should bottle it and we could retire.  I think it has a bit of  a kick)

3 T. vegetable oil
1 large onion chopped
12 cloves (yup, 12) of garlic minced
2 T. tomato paste
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 28 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes
1 3/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Heat oil in a sauce pan and saute the onions until tender.  Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and red pepper flakes.  Cook for a few minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring all to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer uncovered until it is a deep red color and thickened.  I cooked mine for close to an hour.  Refrigerate  overnight.

Place the brisket in a large dutch oven (my Christmas present this year!).  Pour the sauce over the roast.  Cover and cook in a 350° oven for several hours until fork tender. It is hard to say exactly how long.  Mine took about 4 1/2 hours.

Remove from the sauce.  Let it rest.  You can either slice it or shred it.  Mine was wonderfully cooked and practically fell apart.

Allow any fat in the sauce to rise to the top and skim off.  Heat the sauce right before serving.

It was a little odd to have a table set for a Christmas get together and serve BBQ.  However, no one was complaining!  I took the BBQ theme right into my sides.  I served with coleslaw, Mexican cornbread, macaroni and cheese, and a tossed salad.  Originally when I thought we were smoking the brisket and we would use our regular BBQ recipe, I would share the sides recipes.  They were very good as well.  The coleslaw was a hit, the cornbread with green chilies I have made before, the macaroni and cheese (made in the crock pot from a Trisha Yearwood recipe), was simply ok.  I have made better.

I lost track of taking pictures of the complete meal.  Trust me it was picture perfect!

The raspberry pie that our guests brought for desert, topped our summer theme off perfectly.  We served it with after dinner drinks of homemade Bailey's (Mary you did your mom proud, SO good), vanilla vodka and coffee ice cubes.

Good food, good friends and relaxed conversation made for a perfect evening.