I love a well prepared smoked brisket, Southwestern-style. But, this is not your normal low and slow brisket. This brisket take around 52 hours to prepare and it is absolutely 100% worth the time.

It is juicy, soft, has a perfect smoke ring, brown/black crust and is really tasty.

And yes, I know my American friends, you are most probably laughing at this, but try it, you might just never look back again!!

You see, I do not have a proper smoke house to do this low and slow. What I do have is a Sous Vide stick. And boy, that Sous Vide works well.

If you do not know what a Sous Vide stick is, it is simply an immersion cooker. Google it and you will see what it looks like.

The basic idea is you vacuum seal your meat, place it in a water bath and set the Sous Vide stick to a very specific temperature for the cut of meat you are preparing and walla, perfect meat!!!

Supplies

Equipment

5kg cut of Brisket
Vacuum sealer
Vacuum sealer bags
Sous Vide stick (Immersion Cooker)
Kettle BBQ or Pizza oven for initial smoking
Smoking wood chips. I like Hickory for beef
Kettle BBQ or oven for final preparation

Dry rub ingredients (This is for about a 5kg brisket)

10 tablespoons paprika
6 tablespoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons garlic powder
4 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons black pepper
2 tablespoons dried parsley
4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon hot chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cup brown sugar

Step 1: Prepare the Rub

To prepare the rub, simply gather all the ingredients above, add it to a medium mixing bowl and mix well.

That is really all there is to it.

Step 2: Prepare Your Brisket

Before you start with this step, light up your fire for smoking the brisket and soak your smoking chips in some water.

Remove your brisket from its packaging and pat dry it well with paper towels.

Cut off all the unwanted pieces and any sinew that is visible. I also like to remove some fat if it is too thick at places. (This specific cut was nice and clean and not too much fat so I left it as is)

When you are satisfied that you removed all the unwanted bits, make sure your brisket is nice and dry.

Sprinkle the the dry rub you made in step one over the brisket and start massaging it into the meat. Make sure you cover the whole cut, top bottom and sides.

Step 3: Smoke It

After the brisket is prepared and the spices are nicely rubbed in, it is time to smoke it.

I usually get the temperature to around 120C for this step.

I leave the cut in the smoker for around 1.5 hours because any longer and you will actually start cooking it, which should be left for the sous vide process. Also, according to an internet search, beef will not take up much more smoke after 45 minutes of smoking.

While the brisket is smoking, prepare your sous vide bath and get the water temperature up to 65C.

Step 4: Vacuum Seal and Sous Vide

When the smoking is done, it is time to vacuum seal and sous vide the brisket.

Remove the brisket from the smoker and let it cool down enough to handle it with your hands.

Prepare a vacuum bag at one end and cut off a length that will fit the brisket.

Start working the cut into the bag, this cut was pretty big and it took some convincing to get it in there without splitting it up in two pieces.

Vacuum seal the bag. I always double seal the bags to make sure they do not leak and contaminate the meat with water.

Place the vacuum sealed brisket into your sous vide bath and weigh it down, I used a few ceramic plates for the weights.

Set your sous vide to 65C and set it for 48 hours. I found that 48 hours make the meat really juicy and soft.

Make sure to seal up as many openings as you can on the sous vide bath to make sure not too much water evaporate. If the water level gets too low the sous vide stick will switch off and you cooking process will be interrupted.

Step 5: Rest, Grill and Cut

When the Sous Vide process is done, remove the sealed brisket from the water bath. Let it cool down and place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

After the resting period, remove the brisket from the vacuum sealed bag, place it on a grill tray and grill in the oven for 2 hours at 160C until crispy on the outside.

Remove the brisket from the oven, place it on a cutting board and slice it up.

This is the moment truth, you will find that your brisket is really soft and juicy with a great smoke ring all round.

Serve with some Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Scalloped Potatoes for a real hearty meal.

Enjoy!