Ask The Masters

What is Brisket?

Brisket comes from the breast of the cow.  It is a large piece of meat with fat throughout.  There are two parts to it: the flat (most popular part) and the crown (has more fat in it). The two parts are separated by a bit of fat.  Once cooked, it is pretty easily separated by slicing through the fat.

What is the best way to cut a brisket?

Brisket, like most meats, should be sliced across the grain.  If you look at the brisket, you should be able to see how the lines of the grain go toward the point of the brisket.  You want to cut across that grain.

You love brisket but don't have a cooker.  Is there a way to cook one without a cooker?

There sure is!  You can cook one in any type of cooking device.  We have cooked brisket in the oven and on the grill.  One of the things to consider is whether you want a smokey flavor or not.  If you want to use your oven, be sure to season as you would any other meat.  Place it in the oven and set temperature to about 225 degrees and cook for about three hours.  Check at that time to see if it has a nice crust.  If it does, then remove from heat and wrap in foil, put back in the oven and let it finish cooking. (NOTE: you can add smoke flavor by putting a handful of wood pellets, any flavor you like, in a foil pouch with a few pin holes poked in it.  Put these in place in the oven at the start of cooking.)  

If using the grill, just have fire/heat set on one side of the grill and place the brisket on the side away from the heat.  Follow the same cooking procedure.

What’s your signature dish? If it isn’t top secret ,will you share it?  

We will always share our recipes, there are no secrets. As we often say, you are always to come to any cook-off we are at and hang out with us anytime. We love cooking and baking to much to try to keep it just to ourselves. One of my favorite recipes to make is our pecan crusted fish, and we have entered it in quite a few contests and won with this recipe. And, the best thing about it is that it’s really easy to make. See the full recipe under the Barbara's Kitchen link and give this recipe a try, and let us know it you like it too. I use this recipe on many different types of fish, salmon, trout, whiting, etc.

Will you recommend an easy to make app that’s fit for a large crowd? I don’t have the time to painstakingly stuff 50 peppers.

There are many recipes and ideas for apps that you can make that are a little less intensive. You could do a twist on a pepper app. Here is an idea you might like using bell peppers. I like the colored ones...red, orange, and yellow. Cut them into wedges, (remove the seeds). Make your favorite taco mix, chop up some tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos, Place the pepper wedges on a sheet pan, fill each wedge with taco mixture, top with shredded cheese. Bake in an oven set at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the meat is hot and the cheese is melted. Top with the chopped vegetables. Enjoy. Or, if you want to try something totally different, try this recipe for chicken & waffle sliders. I hope this will help.

Do you ever inject juice into meat before /during the grilling process? Any tips on the best way to perform this method?

We have and still do at times inject some of the meats we cook. Not all though. Injecting meat is becoming more and more popular these days. Most of your competition teams are injecting their meats for contests. Injecting meat is relatively easy. You want to inject the meat as evenly as possible, so you want to start on one end and work your way from one end to the other. Then, I recommend you let it set for a while before putting it on/in the cooker.

What shortcuts can I take to give my meats lots of flavor without long marinate times?

Marinating is a great way to add flavor to meats, But, not everyone likes to marinate. We rarely ever marinate. We just season with our blended seasoning or rubs and cook.  Doing injections also may be another answer for a shortcut. You might even try basting with a sauce at the very end of cooking process. 

Does grilling peppers make them hotter?

You will get conflicting answers for this question depending on who you ask.

The fact is it really depends on the pepper. Some say cooking peppers takes the heat out of them. Others say just the opposite, that it makes them hotter. In reality, it depends on the pepper. We have tried them smoked, grilled, even fried, when one pepper seemed mild. And, then we would grab the next one off the same plate, and it would light you up!