Smoked Flat-Cut Brisket with Coffee

From Slow Fire: The Beginner’s Guide to Lip-Smacking Barbecue

I like coffee. My wife on the other hand would have it intravenously dripped straight to her veins if she could. When I saw the word “coffee” in the title of this recipe I thought “well, this is right up Chris’ alley.” The other thing that caught my eye was the short prep and cooking time. It was a busy weekend and I had a small window to prepare something for Sunday Dinner, but being an Egghead I knew that I wanted to make something on the Egg (making something on the Egg has become sort of a Sunday event).

Eggcessories Needed:

• Dual Probe Wireless Thermometer
• Chef’s Flavor Injector
• Meat Slicer (optional)
• ConvEGGtor

Makes about 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 USDA Choice flat-cut brisket (5 to 6 pounds), fat left on.
• Barbecue Rub #67
• ½ Cup Strong Brewed Coffee

Directions:

Prepare your cooker to cook indirectly at 235 degrees F using medium hickory wood for smoke flavor. I was cooking this one in the winter which is my first winter with the Egg. I noticed that I needed to keep my vents open a little more to maintain the temperature. At one point, I went to check on the temp and it had dropped 20 degrees!

Season the brisket liberally with the rub.

Cook the brisket fat-side down for 1 hour and then flip it to fat-side up. Cook to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F for about another 3 to 4 hours. This is where the Dual Probe Thermometer comes in handy, because, sure, you could open the Egg every hour to check internal temperature with a regular meat thermometer, but you’d also be losing heat every time you opened the Egg. Not good! When you lose heat, it takes time to get back up to the temp you want, which will make the cooking time take longer. With Dual Probe you can set it, stick the probe into the meat, and the receiver will beep when you reach the temperature you want. Also, the second probe will manage the Egg internal temperature. You’ll always know that your Egg is maintaining its temp! Bonus!

Lay out a big double-thick layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil and lay the brisket on it fat side up. Pull the sides of the foil and pour the coffee as you close up the package. One thing I would have done different here, and I’ve adjusted for it in the recipe card below, is I would have injected ½ a cup of coffee into the meat, and then poured ½ a cup over the meat. Brisket can dry out really easily, and where the meat was still juicy, we felt it could have been juicier. Another option I want to try is using apple juice instead of coffee (and replace the hickory chips with apple chips). I belong to a Big Green Egg Facebook group and one of the members suggest this. Sounds like it would bring a sweetness to the brisket.

Be careful not to puncture it or you’ll have to start over. Return the brisket to the cooker. After another hour, begin checking the internal temperature. When it reaches 200 degrees F, remove the brisket and let it rest for 30 minutes, wrapped. Remove the brisket from the foil. If desired, skim the fat from the liquid and serve the remaining juices as a sauce. Slice the brisket about ¼ inch thick to serve.

A big mistake we made was not having bread on hand to make sandwiches. Double boo-boo for us since my wife has a bread maker. We could have had some nice warm bread to make really nice sandwiches from. So, you know, note to self.