Sunday, April 19, 2009

Everyone is ripping on Marcus

And we wouldn't do it if we did not love him so. I am actually inspired by Marcus and this post is to prove that very fact. Marcus is a BBQ wizard. He is from Texas and in Texas they fix the finest BBQ there is. Now as a primer, I want you all to watch this video clip to learn you a few things about what exactly BBQ is...




Now when you say BBQ my dog Cash gets excited, so please do not say the word around him. But in that video you will notice no mention of Maryland. Maryland is a southern state to say the least, but here our version of BBQ is called pit beef. It is a huge beef roast cooked over a oak fire then sliced and served on a roll. It is traditionally road side fair. I like mine with mayo, horseradish, onion, and a slash of salt. But this is not about pit beef, this is about Marcus.


Marcus is from the land of brisket and there is nothing I like more than brisket. I went to the store looking for one and found that the butcher had already trimmed most of the fat and because they only got in two this morning they cut them in half so other customers might get some. I took two halves and chastised the butcher for butchering their brisket in such a way. I used some rub from a true yankee spice company, Penzeys Spice of Wauwatosa WI. Their rub called Galena street is very good and I use it often. I spread it in a nice thick coat and slide it into the refrigerator for a few hours.

I do not have a fancy pit or smoker. I use a Weber gas grill. I have a iron box that I fill with oak that goes between the flavor bars and the grate and I stack a few pieces on top of the grates. I light the grill and set it on high until the oak starts smoking pretty good.

The brisket goes on and the front burner is turned off. The rear burner goes down to low as to keep a temperature of 180- 200 degrees. I also had to put some bacon on top, for as mentioned earlier, the butcher butchered it.

I cook it like this for about five hours. I did add some more oak chunks after three hours. Here is what it looks like at about an internal temperature of 170 degrees. It will come off with in about ten minutes and rest for about twenty minutes.

So here is the meal we put on for my parents. You see the sliced brisket with it's beautiful crimson smoke ring, the red beans, corn pudding, Marcus's fathers not famous and not secret BBQ sauce, and a stiff margarita. The white bread is there to dip into the sauce. Sauce never goes directly on the meat.
Marcus, wish you could have joined up for this one. I did toast you before we ate this meal . My parents didn't know who the hell you were, but raised their drinks regardless.

6 comments:

Bill Kerfoot said...

Frank,

Love the BBQ song and I love BBQ

Bill

Anonymous said...

Great video.

Brisket is getting hard to find around here (in Alabama). Oddly, when it is for sale, the cost per pound is not that good. I figure it's because the meat dept knows that people who are buying brisket are planning to smoke it, and are not concerned with saving money in the process.

The white sauce they sell around here tastes okay, but I don't care for it on BBQ. The song is right - the best sauce is vinegar based.

TomW

utee94 said...

Thanks for the shout-out Frank, much appreciated. The brisket looks fantastic, and perfectly sliced, too. I have no doubt it was consumed with much gusto.

The song was hilarious, too, and dead-on!

-Marcus

alumanutz said...

Frank, Great video but I must admit, I was amazed to see how much Florida looks like California!

NUTZ

Ryan said...

We used to have a rug just like the one Cash is standing on. Good boy Cash! I miss that rug....

Lance said...

Nice job with a gas cooker. You are always welcome to enjoy some of my brisket when you get to Texas sometime.