Mark LaBrooy is no stranger to a mouth-watering low and slow smoked meat recipe – you may have been lucky enough to see one of these preparations in his appearances on Australian television or even to have sampled one such dish at his Three Blue Ducks restaurants across the country. Consequently, there are few people better to learn from when it comes to preparing smoked brisket. As can be expected from preparations of this kind, the best results come from an extended period of time in the meat smoker. However, the complexity of the recipe may come as surprise – a piece of high-quality grass-fed beef brisket, just a few spices and some simple equipment are all that you need to recreate this restaurant-quality chef recipe at home.
Beef Brisket Meat
Beef brisket is the ideal cut for this slow-cooked brisket recipe due to its high fat content and textural meat quality, which holds its structure and can be easily sliced even after many hours of cooking time. We’ve previously talked about the brisket cut in our previous BBQ Beef Brisket Recipe post (a fast and simple preparation option if you’re not up for the time involved with smoking);
Brisket is a cut of beef from the lower chest of the beef carcase. These muscles support a large proportion of the animal’s body weight and consequently this cut of beef is normally reasonably tough. Therefore, it requires low, slow cooking to tenderise the meat. The advantage of this cut is that the nature of these weight-bearing muscles being very strong means that the meat maintains its structure even after slow cooking and is still able to be sliced while also being beautifully tender.
A large piece of grass-fed beef brisket (around 1.5kg) is recommended for this recipe as well as a cooking time of between 16 and 24 hours (Mark recommends the full 24 hours followed by a resting time of around three to four hours).
Smoked Beef Brisket Equipment
For this preparation, you will need a pellet smoker and just under 30 hours lead time to create a juicy, smoky and tender smoked brisket. Heated to 80 degrees celsius and maintained at this temperature by adding more pellets throughout smoking, the meat will gently cook slowly and evenly to produce a beautifully tender and juicy end result.
In this smoked beef brisket recipe, Mark shares a few tips for ensuring that the smoking process works as effectively as possible, including using aluminium foil to create a ‘boat’ for the meat to sit in ensuring that the moisture in the meat is retained.
Beef Brisket Spice Rub
There are many options available for beef brisket spice rubs, from store bought to a homemade spice rub recipe. There are also seemingly infinite combinations of spices that can be used to season beef before smoking and the choice can be overwhelming to say the least! While you may wish to use a blend of many different flavours in your preparation at home, Mark keeps it simple in this recipe – using three ingredients that are a staple for just about any spice rub – salt, cracked pepper and chilli flakes.
This Southern-style rub includes a mixed variety of peppercorns for a full-flavoured, simple and effective result. Mark’s advice – use plenty of pepper in the mixture and apply liberally to the surface of the meat. This will create a crusty top edge with moist and flavoursome smoky brisket meat underneath.
Serving Smoked Beef Brisket
In a similar fashion to the spice rub, simple is best when it comes to serving smoked beef brisket to allow the delicious smoky meat to be the hero flavour. The recommended serving suggestion for this brisket is on fresh bread with hot sauce, pickles and sauerkraut however the leftovers are perfect for sandwiches and as a base for other beef recipes. A word of advice from Mark; ‘Be careful, I find I can easily eat 500-600 grams of meat without even thinking about it as it’s so bloody delicious’.
About Mark LaBrooy
An advocate for ethical and zero-waste meat consumption, Mark LaBrooy is a chef, restauranteur, television personality, cookbook author and modern-day hunter-gatherer. One of the owners of the well-known Three Blue Ducks restaurants, Mark LaBrooy began his career as a chef at age 18 when he completed an apprenticeship at the globally acclaimed Tetsuya’s restaurant in Sydney.
The seven years that followed saw him travel the world through various chef appointments, exploring flavours and developing his palate. These travels are also where the beloved Three Blue Ducks was born, while backpacking with mates (and co-founders) Chris Sorrell and Sam Reid.
The Three Blue Ducks has since expanded to new locations around the country including Byron Bay, Sydney and Melbourne where they proudly prepare and serve ‘ethical and authentic food prepared with love’. Mark is passionate about ethical food consumption and nose to tail eating, including a philosophy of valuing the whole animal and ensuring that every part of the beast is utilised. When hunting, fishing or diving (as he likes to spend his time outside of the kitchen) Mark ensures that he always uses 100% of the animals that he harvests. This food philosophy aligns with the Provenir mission to deliver low-stress, low-waste and ethically produced beef.
Mark La Brooy’s Smoked Beef Brisket Recipe
For an insight into Mark’s preparation of this smoked brisket recipe, take a look at the short video below and get the recipe to try for yourself at Mark LaBrooy’s Smoked Beef Brisket.
Mark La Brooy’s Smoked Beef Brisket
Be careful, I find I can easily eat 5-600 grams of meat without even thinking about it as its so bloody delicious.
Mark La Brooy
Time
- Preparation: 10 min
- Cooking: 24 h
- Ready in: 27 h 10 min
Ingredients
- 1 Provenir’s Beef Brisket
- 1/3 cup Flaked chilli salt
- 1/3 cup Cracked pepper
Instructions
- First, take your brisket and liberally cover it with the salt and pepper mix
- Take approx 2 metres of aluminium foil and fold it onto itself 3-4 times, leaving the top of the brisket exposed to make a foil boat for the brisket to sit in, push up nice and tight against the brisket, this will allow any of the juices that start to render out of the brisket to be reabsorbed leaving you with a very very juicy brisket once cooked.
- Set smoker at 80c in your pellet smoker for approx 16-24 hours or until the internal meat temp has been at 80 degrees for approx 3 hours.
- Take out of the smoker and let rest in your oven or a YETI cooler for 3-4 hours (this will allow the meat to really rest properly and help it to retain its juices.)
- Carve using a bread knife and serve with hot sauce, pickles and sauerkraut.
