Kaely’s Brisket

When I was 18 years old, I moved from small town, Fallon, Nevada to Tulsa, Oklahoma to attend college there.  During my first semester, I met my dear friend, Johnisha.  She is this beautiful, fun, Texas girl.  She actually works part time for us now, and I don’t know what I would do without her.  She was from the Fort Worth area, and since it is only 4 hours from Tulsa, I was able to go home with her a couple times.  The first time I had dinner at her house, Johinisha’s mama, Sally, made us Brisket.  I can remember devouring it.  It was amazing!!

Johnisha and I last month at Christmas at the Silos in Waco, Texas.
Johnisha and I, last month at Christmas at the Silos in Waco, Texas.

That was the first time I had ever heard of brisket, which is strange being a cattle rancher’s daughter.  But being from Nevada, we didn’t eat brisket.  I asked my parents about it, and they said we always had our butcher grind it into hamburger.  I know… what a shame!!!  Now that I head up the butchering details myself, I always have our butcher include fresh brisket for our customers.  It is my all time favorite cut of beef.  Honestly, I dream of whole beef shares made entirely of brisket.

Now for the sad part, there is only one large brisket per whole beef, and our butcher usually cuts it into 4 pieces for us.  Each piece usually weighs around 4-5 pounds.  So in a whole 400/lb beef share, there are only 4 pieces of brisket.  I know, this is sad for me too, but I guess we should just be thankful for what we get and not be greedy.  😉

Texas was my first experience with Brisket, but I was living in the dorms, and at 18 years old, I wasn’t thinking much about cooking brisket.  Now, fast forward 7 years… I married a boy I met at college, Dusty, and he and I moved out to Virginia so he could complete more schooling at a University in Virginia Beach.  He went to school, and I taught at an Elementary school.  While living in Virginia, I met another beautiful and fun Texan named, Kaely.  At the time, I was just learning how to cook, and she made an incredible brisket dinner one night.  She gave me her recipe, and I still make it to this day.   Seriously, Texans make the best brisket, and this recipe is a family favorite of ours now.  Enjoy!

Left to Right Melody, Kaely, Myself This was around 8 years ago in Virginia. I have written about Melody before.  She is my dear friend from Mississpi.  I have some great recipes from her family to.  Sidenote:  Her brother ended up marrying Dusty's sister, so we are all family now!!
Left to Right
Melody, Kaely, Myself
This was around 8 years ago in Virginia. I have written about Melody before. She is my dear friend from Mississpi.  Actually her brother married Dusty’s sister, so we are all family now!  Another story for another day.

Kaely’s Brisket:

Aprx. 5/lb Brisket
Worcestershire Sauce (Or steak sauce, I use our Bourbon Peppercorn Steak Sauce a lot of times)
Pepper
1Tbs Garlic Salt
1Tbs Celery Salt
1Tbls Onion Salt
Set oven to 225 degrees
Mix together the 3 salts and rub all over the brisket.  Wrap in foil, and put in the refrigerator over night.
3 salts
3 salts
My daughter rubbing in the 3 salts to the brisket.  She is the best helper!!
Our daughter rubbing in the 3 salts to the brisket. She is the best helper!!
In the morning, open up the foil and sprinkle the brisket with pepper and Worcestershire sauce (sprinkle on both sides).
Wrap tightly in aluminum foil.
I use our steak sauce sometimes.  It is really great.
I use our steak sauce sometimes. It is really great with meats that are slow cooking.

Set your oven at 225 degrees.  Leave the brisket wrapped tightly in the foil, and put it on a baking sheet.  Cook for about 7 hours.  When you pull the cooked brisket out and open the foil,  it should look sort of stringy.  You can use 2 forks and start shredding it.  It should break apart easily.  If it doesn’t, it needs to be cooked longer.

If you have a smaller brisket than 5/lbs cook for a shorter amount of time…  About 30 minutes less per pound.
Finished Brisket!
Finished Brisket!
You can serve it with potatoes and carrots like a roast, or you can add your favorite BBQ sauce and serve it on a roll.  If I serve it on a roll, a lot of times I will make a vinegar based coleslaw and serve it on the top.  Delicious!!
Left overs!  You can chop up the left over brisket and saute it with onions and bell peppers and serve on a tortilla with black beans, cheese, avocado, sour cream, and salsa… it is amazing!!!
A little tip:  If I am going to add BBQ sauce, I will usually separate out 1/4 of the brisket before I add the sauce and save it in the refrigerator so I can use it the next night to make tacos without having the BBQ sauce on this meat.