WHAT KIND OF MEAT IS BRISKET RECIPES

Steps:

• If the brisket hasn’t been trimmed, cut the fat to an even ¼ inch. (The fat helps to protect the meat from drying out.) On the meatier side, slide a thin knife under the thin membrane and cut it off so that the grain of the meat is visible. Also trim off hard clumps of fat (if any) that are on the sides of the brisket.
• Combine salt, pepper, and 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture evenly all over the brisket, patting it in. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, heat a smoker to 250° to 275°F as recommended by the manufacturer, and add 7-8 egg-sized hickory wood chunks. (For a bullet-style charcoal smoker, fill the charcoal reservoir three quarters full, add 7-8 hickory wood chunks, then top with enough charcoal to fill the smoker.) If your smoker has a water pan, fill it three-quarters full with warm water. Or just set an aluminum foil pan in the smoker and fill it most of the way with warm water.
• Following the insertion guide on the Yummly Smart Thermometer app, insert the thermometer horizontally into the thickest part of the brisket until the metal is completely covered.
• When you see smoke coming from the smoker, lightly spray the brisket all over with water using a spray bottle (the moisture will help the brisket absorb smoke and develop the bark). Place the brisket fat side up on the cooking grate. Choose the Manual Cook setting (rather than Beef) on the Yummly Thermometer app and set the cook temperature to 160°F. Close the lid on the smoker.
• Cook at 250° to 275°F with the lid closed, adding more fuel and refilling the water pan if needed, until the Yummly Thermometer app tells you that the brisket has reached 160°F, 3-5 hours. The surface color of the meat should be a rich mahogany, which means the brisket has developed a bark and the brisket will no longer absorb much smoke.
• The brisket cooking tends to stall at 160°F. To prevent this, remove the brisket from the smoker and lightly spray it with water. Tightly wrap the brisket in a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil and make a small hole to allow the black cap of the Yummly Thermometer to stick out so the bluetooth signal won’t be blocked.
• Return the wrapped brisket, fat side down, to the smoker. Using the Manual Cook setting on the Yummly Thermometer, set the temperature to 200°F. Cover the smoker and continue cooking at 250° to 275°F, adding fuel and refilling the water pan if needed, until the app tells you that the brisket has reached 200°F, 3-4 hours longer. The total time to smoke a beef brisket is 6-9 hours, depending on the size of the brisket and the temperature of the fire. You know the brisket is done when you press it with your fingers through the foil (protecting them with a clean towel) and the meat is so tender it feels like your fingers will pierce the meat. Tenderness is the best indicator of doneness rather than temperature, so if the brisket doesn’t feel tender enough, set the Yummly Thermometer to 205° to 210°F and continue cooking.
• Transfer the brisket, still wrapped in foil, to an insulated cooler. Close the cooler and let the meat rest 1 hour for the juices to even out.
• While the brisket rests, make the sauce. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, the ketchup, root beer, maple syrup, vinegar, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 8-9 minutes.
• Unwrap brisket and set it on a cutting board. Transfer meat juices to a measuring cup and skim and discard fat.
• Starting on the thin (flat) side, slice brisket across the grain ? to ½ inch thick. When you reach the part of the brisket where the thin side (the flat) meets the thick side (the point), stop and transfer slices to a platter, keeping them together so they don’t dry out. (Or keep slices on the board if it’s a large one.) Rotate the point (the remaining brisket) 90 degrees so that the side you were slicing is now facing away from you. Slice the point across the grain, then transfer to the platter. Drizzle the brisket with some of the meat juices and serve with the barbecue sauce.

Steps:

• Start by rinsing and de-stemming the tomatoes. Roast them in a 400F oven for 20-25 minutes or until you need them.
• Wipe off any dusty crevasses on the dried chiles. De-stem and de-seed the chiles, but don't worry about getting rid of every last seed. Roast them in the oven for 1-2 minutes or until warm and fragrant. Add the chile pieces to a bowl and cover them with the hottest tap water you've got. Let them reconstitute for 20 minutes or so.
• Roughly chop 1 onion and peel 6 garlic cloves. Add a glug of oil to a skillet on medium heat and saute the onions and whole garlic cloves. Once the onion has softened and lightly browned you can add this mixture to the blender.
• Add a thin layer of oil to a skillet and preheat to medium-high. Chop up the brisket into chunks and give it a good salting. Sear each side of the beef in the skillet for a few minutes or until it is browning. Add the seared meat pieces to the slow cooker. You can optionally deglaze the pan with the 2 cups of stock that's used to liquefy the sauce.
• Before draining the reconstituted chiles take a taste of the soaking liquid. If it tastes bitter to you then use stock for the sauce. If you like the flavor you are welcome to use the soaking liquid in place of the stock.
• Add the drained chiles, roasted tomatoes, and the onion-garlic mixture to a blender along with: 2 cups of stock (or what you used to deglaze the meat pan), 2 chipotles in adobo (optional), 1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the can (optional), 1 teaspoon cumin, 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, pinch of ground clove, 2 teaspoons salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Combine well. Note: if you're using stock that's high in sodium you can consider starting with a single teaspoon of salt and going from there.
• Take a taste of the sauce. An easy to way to add more heat is to add an additional half or whole chipotle. Keep in mind that the sauce has to compete with the big flavor of the beef so I tend to make it salty and fiery at this point.
• Cover the seared meat pieces with the sauce. Slow cook on low for 4-6 hours.
• Once cooked you can optionally skim off any fat that has risen to the surface. Shred the beef using two forks and discard any fatty chunks that you don't want to eat.
• Add the shredded beef (or as much as you are using for tonight's meal) to a separate bowl and add enough sauce to give it a thorough coating. Adding the sauce to the shredded beef is the key so don't skip this step!
• One serving option is to simply add the shredded beef back to the sauce and serve it soup style -- you may need to thin out the sauce with some stock if you choose this option.
• But I chose tacos for this batch. Add corn tortillas to a dry skillet over medium heat along with slices of cheese. Once the cheese is melted and the underside of the tortillas are forming light brown spots they are ready to go. You can optionally add the meat to the tortillas in the skillet for a quick reheat.
• I topped these tacos with Salsa de Aguacate, finely chopped raw onion, freshly chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
• Store leftover Birria in the fridge where it will keep for a few days.