Cheater’s Brisket
Ingredients
- two handfuls of wood chips, like hickory or oak (optional)
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
Directions
Submerge the wood chips, if using, in a bowl of water and set aside to soak. Combine the sugar, paprika, salt, pepper and cumin in a small bowl, then rub all over the brisket, coating it entirely. Set aside at room temperature. (You may apply the rub the night before cooking and allow it to season, wrapped, in the refrigerator.) Build a fire on one side of a charcoal grill, or set one of the burners on a gas grill to high. When all coals are covered with gray ash or the gas grill is hot, place the brisket, fat side up, on the cooler side of the grill, add a handful of the soaked wood chips to the hot side and put the cover down. Cook for 15 or 20 minutes. Flip the brisket over, add the second handful of wood chips to the hot side and cook an additional 20 minutes or so. Remove brisket and wrap tightly in foil, fat side up. Heat oven to 225. Put the brisket packet in a large roasting pan, and place in the oven to cook, unattended, for the next 9 to 10 hours, until extremely tender. (The internal temperature of the meat will be around 165 degrees.) Unwrap the meat carefully, still in the roasting pan, and save the accumulated juices. Slice against the grain and pour the juice on top of the result. Consider serving with baked beans. Use your own recipe or one from nytimes.com.