Texas BBQ Rub

Texas BBQ Rub

 Within large regional barbecue areas, there are variations of barbecue styles and Texas is no different, in this respect.  Texas barbecue is mainly beef and got started around the mid 1800’s.  It can be divided into four regions: West Texas, more of a “cowboy style” barbecue with indirect heat using mesquite, East Texas cooks with hickory, slow “falling off the bone” style barbecue with a sweet tomato based sauce, Central Texas is cooked with pecan and/or oak wood and is spice rubbed and South Texas uses a thick molasses style barbecue sauce and they use the barbacoa tradition of cooking in a hole dug in the ground. 

 Texas barbecue is mostly beef and it's BEEF Brisket!

 Spice Ingredients: Demerara sugar, New Mexican chile peppers, hickory smoked sea salt, chipotle chile peppers, cumin and mustard seeds.

Please click on the RECIPE tab here for detailed cooking instructions.

Texas BBQ Rub is available in a 4 oz. spice grinder bottle

 Please click in the RECIPE tab for detailed cooking instructions.

Texas BBQ Rub Cooking Instructions

There are two common ways to purchase beef brisket: 1) with the fat and cap removed and 2) with the entire cap and fat on, which is the one I prefer.  You want all that fat to melt over the long slow cooking process.  It is self basting basically.  Remember in culinary terms, fat equals flavor. 

NOTE:  If you would like to learn more about beef, please read the "Recommendations for selecting your Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey and Seafood" PDF, located in the RECIPE heading at the top of the Home Page.

1.   To use the Grate Grind Texas BBQ rub, evenly spray or rub, a little oil on all sides of your beef brisket.  Then grind the Texas BBQ Rub evenly on all sides of the brisket, gently pressing the spices onto the surface.  The amount of rub you grind on is up to your flavor preference.  The more you grind on the more of a flavor impact the rub will have.  Figure 1 below, is an example of how much rub to grind onto your meat, as a general rule. 

NOTE: One word of caution, these rubs are self-contained, meaning that they already have salt in them in the proper ratio to the spices and herbs, so don’t overdo it with grinding the rubs and DON"T add any additional salt.

2.   After you have rubbed your brisket, refrigerate it and allow the rub to rest on the meat for at least 20 minutes or up to twenty-four hours.  The longer the resting period, the more the rub can penetrate the meat.

  Fig. 1.  Beef brisket with Texas BBQ Rub

NOTE:  Always buy your meats from a quality reputable stores.  Keep all meat under refrigeration as much as possible during preparation.  Don’t leave any meats out at room temperature for more than 30 minutes, except when you are ready to cook it.  Then let it just reach room temperature prior to cooking, but don’t let time exceed an hour.  Food safe guidelines recommend that any proteins (meats in this case) are not exposed to the “Temperature Danger Zone” (40 F. to 140 F) for more than 4 hours for its entire journey to you cooking it.  We are informing you of these food safety guidelines, because we want you to have a wonderful flavorful safe food experience, every time.

Barbecuing your beef brisket is a low heat, slow roasting method and it can be done in a smoker, barbecue grill or even an  oven, technically. 

SMOKER:

1)  Preheat your smoker to 250-275° F.  Place your seasoned brisket away from the direct heat source or smoke box.  Rotate your brisket every two hours to keep the smoking and temperature evenly around the beef.  Remember to resupply your smoking medium so the temperature remains constant throughout the cooking time.  The cooking times can very from 10 to 16 hours.  It really depends on the temperature and type of smoker you have and the amount of  brisket you are smoking.  (Final cooking instructions are below)

BARBECUE/GRILL OR OVEN:

1)  We like to turn on all the gas or get all the coals hot  to 400°F. to 450ºF. so the meat will sear rapidly sealing in the juices caused by this initial high heat process. Once up to the preheat temperature, turn off the gas burners on one side of the grill or move the coals to one side of the grill and place the beef brisket on the clean, oiled side of the grill with no gas or coals directly under the meat.  This is called direct cooking.   Searing the brisket should take around 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of your brisket and the type and temperature of your grill.  During this searing process the temperature should drop down and adjust it to around 275º F. to 300ºF.

2)  Once the brisket is seared, turn the burners down or adjust the coals to maintain the heat at 250-275°F .  Now your job is not to touch the meat or open the lid or door too often.  Have a beer or soda, mow the lawn, watch a football game!  The time it takes to correctly barbecue a beef brisket depends on the temperature of oven, grill or smoker and the size of the brisket.  To do this properly, allow at least 10 to 14 hours.  The key to the correct doneness of your slow cooked brisket is to get the internal temperature (with an instant read thermometer) of the meat up to 190ºF., but not more.  You can get there is four hours if you push the temperature up, but the brisket will dry out if you cook it too quickly.

Fig. 2.  Beef brisket barbecuing

ALL COOKING METHODS:

Once your brisket has reached the proper temperature, 190ºF., remove it from the grill or oven and let it "rest" under a foil tent.  There is an activity that takes place now called “carryover cooking”.  Once your food is removed from the heat source, it will continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes for smaller cuts, 15 to 20 minutes for larger cuts of meat.  The retained heat in the meat continues the cooking process for a few more minutes, as the meat cools down. Part of the resting period is to allow the internal liquids in the meat, which are forced to the center by the intense cooking heat, and it will take a few minutes for the liquids to redistribute themselves throughout the meat.  Please allow for this resting time before slicing your brisket, so all those carefully barbecued juices stay in the meat and not on the plate!

Fig. 3.  Barbecued beef brisket with Texas BBQ Rub

Remember, the key to barbecuing is:” LOW & SLOW”!  If the heat is too high, the meat will dry out and be tough.  You want your prized center of the table Texas BBQ beef brisket to be moist and tender.

NOTE:  If you would like more cooking details, please read the "Detailed Instructions for Barbecuing, Grilling and Oven Roasting" PDF, located in the RECIPE heading at the top of the Home Page.