High Temp Brisket / Direct Cooked

This is my method of cooking a brisket direct at a higher temp that will result in the meat tasting just like a good "steak" and cut the cooking time to less than 5 hours. It will also give you a very tasty, tender, and juicy finished product.

It is best done on a cooker where you can place the meat above the open coals at enough distance above the hot coals so the drippings don't flame up and sear the bottom of the meat.

This cook MUST be done direct with the meat straight above the open fire as the drippings must go into the fire. This will give you a completely different and wonderful flavor of the finished meat. Steak, I tell ya!

The meat needs to be on some type of raised grid in a ceramic cooker as you need to get the meat as far above the fire in the cooker as possible to prevent flame ups from the fat burning the bottom of the meat.

Let's get started...



I like to use a big brisket flat and my Sam's club has the real nice choice flats that usually weigh above 7 pounds and do have some fat left on them. They also sometimes leave about half the point on the brisket like the one in this picture. I do trim up the fat to about 1/8" thick on the fat or cap side of the brisket.



Now, this isn't bbq...keep all your rubs in the pantry and just get out some garlic salt and some black peppercorns. Grind on a fairly heavy layer of black pepper on both sides of the meat. On top of this, sprinkle on a layer of the garlic salt on both sides.

Get the cooker up to a temp of about 350 degrees and then put on your smoke wood and do use a large amount as it doesn't last long at this raised temp. I used cherry for my cook yesterday and about 7-8 chunks.



Place the meat on your raised grid in the ceramic smoker fat side down.



With the fat dripping on the fire, you will get a lot of smoke but this is normal for a direct cook.

My cooker wanted to run at about 365 degrees yesterday so I just let it and I cooked the meat to about 175 internal and this took exactly 2-1/2 hours and then I foiled the meat.



Sure did look good just before it went into the foil.



For my Au Jus, I mix up about 2-1/2 oz of beef broth and about 1-1/2 oz of worchestershire sauce and pour it into my foil boat.



Place the brisket in my double layer foil boat and wrap it up.



Cook the brisket until the internal is around 210 degrees and I know this is hotter than normal but it does take this finish temp to get this meat to where it is tender at this higher temp. Be very careful when checking the brisket with your Thermopen and don't stick it all the way thru the meat and poke a hole in the bottom layer of the foil and let all the juice out. The total time in the foil yesterday was one hour to get to my finish temp.

The total cooking time for this wonderful treat was just 3-1/2 hours.

I will usually let the meat rest in the foil for at least an hour before I cut it up. This is enough time for the juice to redistribute inside the meat.

I carefully take the meat out of the foil over a bowl as I don't want to loose any of the Au-Jus. I put this juice into a plastic squirt bottle for serving at the table.



I then cut the meat to the thickness I want and as you can see, it is very juicy and tender.



Take a real fresh onion bun and cut in half, grill or toast it, put a ribbon or two of horsey sauce on the bun, lay a couple layers of this steak brisket on the bun, and then squirt some of the Au-Jus over the top and enjoy.