Brisket and chips

Brisket and chips
Originally uploaded by PACNWTXN

I have been on a beef-brisket-smoking frenzy lately, even though my meat consumption has gone way down since I've been up here. A friend of mine from Texas (who now lives in Seattle) threw an ‘Official Texas Barbecue’ last weekend, and I was responsible for the brisket. Naturally, I had to practice again, so I had a great excuse to smoke several briskets over the past few months. I don’t have an offset wood smoker, but I am able to adjust the propane grill for this purpose. I just put the mesquite chips on the outside burners, and don’t turn on the central burners. That way, the mesquite chips smoke, while there is no direct heat on the meat. My first few briskets of the year didn’t turn out as well (thank you to those who offered to be guinea pigs!), but the last round was excellent. My updated formula after all of this: indirect heat at about 250 degrees, for about an hour per pound.