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The STAR in (the) Lone Star STATE? It is the BRISKET!

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Yes. It is. According to Wikpedia this is the part of the body that cows lie on, and it is not considered by any means a premium cut of beef (main part of what goes into corned beef). Well, inspired by an article in the latest Saveur magazine devoted to everything Texan, I decided to tackle one of these babies on a medium sized Weber kettle. You see, I have had brisket from the BEST in Texas (Kreuz, Blacks, Smitty's, Cooper's in Llano,...) and so, I know (kind of) what the brisket is supposed to look, feel, and taste like: soft, juicy, really juicy, caramelized on the outside, really lean on the bite, and boy oh so smokey. That is the taste I always remember. The smoke.
Well, I did what I am told: prepared a simple rub and laid it gently on an otherwise unattractive flat piece of meat - about 5 lbs of mangled tendon and fat. I started the next morning and followed the recipe verbatum (with major problems trying to contain the heat in the 250 range - it kept cropping to 300).

Well, it was BEAUTIFUL: Nice smoke ring, juicy and delicious (although a bit salty). I really enjoyed the whole process though. See, "cooking" a brisket is an 8-10 hour process of hands off love so to speak: peaking is not allowed, but you do it, touching, smelling, feeling the temperature are all part of the cooking. Also, just sitting outside on a beautiful day with your Weber billowing in the vicinity, a beer in hand and a nice book. This is cowboy Texan life at its best. And as they say down there, do NOT mess with Texas!

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