Quarantine Cooking with Chris

By: Chris Park

What's better to do on a boring Sunday when stuck in quarantine than smoke a brisket? Nothing! On Sunday June 14th my family and I pulled out two 2lb briskets to be smoked, not slow cooked. I started by rubbing some regular bbq sauce on the brisket to act as a glue to hold the seasoning so it didn’t come off. Next, I soaked some chunks of hickory wood in water so it wouldn’t burn while in the smoker. While the wood soaked I put the brisket in the fridge to chill and let the flavor from the dry rub soak into the meat. After letting the meat chill and then putting the wood into the smoker to create smoke, it was finally time to put the briskets on the smoker. This is the semi-fun part because once those pieces of meat go in, they don’t come out for at least 4.5 hours. While resting in the smoker at 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit the smoke slowly penetrates the meat not only cooking it, but giving it flavor that is unreal and out of this world! After about 2 hours you want to check the following things: the temperature of the smoker, whether or not you need more charcoal, and the internal temperature of the briskets. After the remaining 2.5 hours check the temperature of the briskets again and if they are about 180 degrees Fahrenheit that is when you know they are ready. Finally, take them off the smoker, put them on a tray, take it inside, slice it to see if it’s fully cooked through and taste it. Warning!!!! The flavor is crazy! Serve, and enjoy.