sunday supper: oven-baked "BBQ" brisket

I never used to believe in liquid smoke. It sounds like some kind of snake oil that only rubes fall for. How could it possibly work? Is a faux-BBQ even worth attempting? Well, I found out the answer yesterday, when I tried Homesick Texan's recipe for Oven-Baked Brisket. I figured, if a Texan found the result acceptable, it couldn't be THAT bad. And I must say, it was THAT good. Now, of course, the whole apt smells of hickory smoke, which certainly is not a bad thing. And I have a hunk of delicious brisket to make sandwiches and - dare I say it - brisket fried rice. And Morty thought it was freaking delicious, too. Recipe after the jump:



OVEN-BAKED BRISKET
From Homesick Texan

Ingredients:
1 four-pound untrimmed brisket
2 tablespoons of salt
2 tablespoons of black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion cut into slivers
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup liquid smoke plus an additional 1/4 cup.
1/4 cup black coffee
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 fresh jalapenos, sliced

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
2. Mix together the salt, black pepper, cayenne and crushed garlic, and rub all over your brisket (more heavily on the meatier side but also a bit on the fat side as well). Allow the brisket to come to room temperature.
3. In a large roasting pan, add the slivered onions, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup of the liquid smoke, 1/4 cup black coffee, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and half the sliced jalapenos.
4. Place the brisket in the pan, fat side up, and sprinkle the remaining jalapenos on top of the brisket.
5. Cover the pan tightly with foil, and bake in the oven for four hours. At this point, if you want a more pronounced smoky taste, pour another 1/4 cup of the liquid smoke over the brisket. Otherwise, just continue cooking for another hour, or roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes per pound.
6. Take the brisket out of the oven, and it should be tender to the touch. Let it sit out of the pan for half an hour, and then trim the fat on top and slice against the grain. If you desire a gravy, they pan juice is a fine, fine topping.