Feasting on Agriculture: Backyard Brisket with Jay Ducote
With Lenten season behind us, there’s no better time to add Louisiana beef to your menu! This month, we’re tackling the holy grail of barbecue beef challenges— smoked brisket.
Brisket is a part of Southern history and a staple in many southern barbecue menus. It's the first thing many barbecue lovers order at a BBQ joint, and pit masters are made on a person's ability to make an amazing brisket. But did you know that brisket actually originated as Jewish cuisine?The Ashkenazi Jewish community started cooking brisket in Central and Eastern Europe. It was cooked at the celebrations of Rosh Hashanah, Passover, Hanukkah and Shabbat.
However, cooking a brisket is not for the faint of heart- it takes time, patience, and just the right combination of smoke and heat. The beef brisket is one of the eight beef primal cuts. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectorals. As cattle do not have collar bones, these muscles support about 60% of the body weight of standing/moving cattle. Due to the strength and continued use of these muscles, this cut contains a lot of connective tissue that can be tough if the brisket isn't prepared in a way that tenderizes the meat.
To learn how to prepare the best beef brisket, I enlisted the help of Louisiana’s own pit master legend: Jay Ducote. Jay began building a brand for himself through his blog and radio show Bite & Booze in 2009, and has seen even more career success since making it to the finale of season 11 of the reality TV show "Food Network Star.” In 2019, he won an episode of “Beat Bobby Flay” after challenging the Iron Chef to a crawfish boil.
Jay created his own Jay D’s product line featuring a Louisiana Barbecue Sauce, Louisiana Molasses Mustard, Spicy & Sweet Barbecue Rub, Jay D's Single Origin Coffee and more. In May 2018 Jay launched his first restaurant concept, Gov't Taco, inside White Star Market in Baton Rouge, which now has its own free-standing location.
Jay invited me to take part in his “Backyard Brisket Extravaganza” on Easter weekend, where he prepared and smoked a whopping 24 briskets! He gave us a step by step instruction guide on how to properly trim a brisket, which you can watch in this month’s Feasting on Agriculture segment. After that, we seasoned each brisket with Jay D’s Backyard Brisket Rub, which you can purchase on his website. From there, we loaded the briskets onto his smoker, where they cooked for 14 hours overnight.
The next day, we returned to sample the first slice of the finished product… and, Oh. My. Goodness. I thought I had tasted some pretty exceptional briskets in the past, but this one blew my mind! Jay’s brisket was beyond perfect- it was so flavorful and tender, had the most beautiful smoke ring, and the burnt ends were to die for! The entire dish was absolutely amazing.
Jay D’s Backyard Brisket Recipe:
Ingredients
1 (12-14 lb) whole packer brisket, trimmed
Yellow mustard
Jay D’s Backyard Brisket Rub
If needed, trim excess fat off the brisket. Some briskets come with more fat than others, so you may or may not need to do this, depending on your brisket cut.
Spread the entire trimmed brisket with plenty of yellow mustard. Then, liberally coat the brisket with seasoning rub, making sure to cover the ends and the crevasses of the meat.
After the whole brisket is seasoned, place brisket, fat side up on grill grate. Smoke brisket at 250 degrees until it reaches an internal temperature of 160℉. When brisket reaches internal temperature of 160℉, remove from grill, and double wrap the brisket with meat packing paper or aluminum foil. Return brisket to grill and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 205℉. Total cooking time should be about one hour per pound.
Once finished, remove from grill, unwrap and let rest for 15 minutes. Slice against the grain and serve.
LINKS
Learn more about Jay Ducote
Purchase Jay D’s Products
Learn more about Louisiana beef from Louisiana Beef Industry Council