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Competition Brisket Recipe, Clark Crew BBQ Style 


Clark Crew BBQ receiving trophy and check for winning the American Royal World Series of Barbecue
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3.95 from 112 votes
Whether you are new to the competition BBQ game or are looking to increase your brisket scores, you can’t go wrong with this award winning competition brisket recipe from Clark Crew BBQ.
Serve with: your favorite local beer, but only after turn ins.

Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
American
difficulty scale

Makes:

Servings: 1 competition brisket

Takes:

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours

Ingredients

Notes:
About the brisket. Travis recommends and wins consistently with Snake River Farms American Wagyu brisket. Seek an 18-20 pound (8.2-9.1 kg) whole packer (flat and point) brisket.
About Kosmos Q Brisket Mop. If you don’t want to buy it, make a batch of our Texas Barbecue Mop Sauce and cut it with cider vinegar, about 3 parts sauce to 1 part vinegar.
About Kosmos Q Reserve Blend Brisket Injection. This is a blend of Sodium Phosphate and beef stock, and spices. If you don’t want to go for the commercial stuff, use beef broth. Click here for more on injecting.
About the rubs. Clark makes a blend of four commercial rubs. If you don’t want to buy them all, use ny Big Bad Beef Rub or buy Meathead’s Amazing Smoked Red Meat Seasoning and Dry Brine.
Metric conversion:

These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page

Method

  • Prep. Combine the Kosmos Q Brisket Mop, beef broth, and BBQ sauce in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake until combined. Refrigerate for a least two days before smoking the brisket.
  • Prepare the brisket by separating the point from the flat (learn more about the anatomy of a whole brisket here) then removing as much of the fat and tough silverskin as possible.
  • Prepare the injection by combining the Kosmos Q Reserve Blend Brisket Injection, water, and white pepper in a large bowl and blend well.
  • Pour the injection mix into a narrow container so that it is easy to suck the liquid up with the injector (learn more about injectors and injecting here). Place the brisket flat in a full sized aluminum pan. Fill the injector with liquid and insert the needle into one side of the brisket flat, pushing it as close to the center of the brisket as possible. Slowly push the plunger while gradually easing the needle out of the brisket. Continue injecting the brisket every 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm), then repeat on the opposite side, filling it with as much of the injection liquid as possible [at least 12 ounces or 1 1/2 cups (355 mL)]. Inject the brisket point all over with as much liquid as possible, at least 4 ounces [1/2 cup (118.3 mL)]. Let the brisket rest for 30 minutes before adding the rub.
  • Lightly season the brisket and flat with Kosmos Q Texas Beef rub. Follow with a light coating of Big Poppa Smokers Double Secret Steak rub. Add a medium coating of Eat Barbecue Most Powerful Stuff rub. Lastly, add a light coating of Kosmos Q Hot Dirty Bird rub.
  • Place the brisket flat and point in a clean aluminum pan and chill overnight uncovered.
  • Fire up. Prepare a smoker for indirect cooking. Alternatively, you can set up a charcoal grill for 2-zone cooking by placing a chimney full of lit charcoal briquets on one side of the grill's charcoal grate in order to create direct and indirect cooking zones. Adjust the smoker or grill vents to bring the temperature to about 400°F (204.4°C) and add 4-5 fist sized chunks of your favorite smoking wood to the charcoal for flavor.
  • Cook. Remove the brisket flat and point from the aluminum pan and place on the smoker or the indirect side of the grill and allow them to smoke for 30 minutes to create a good sear and plump them up.
  • Reduce the temperature of the smoker or grill to 275°F (135°C) and allow the brisket to cook until it has a nice mahogany color and the beginning of a nice bark, approximately 160-170°F (71.1-76.7°C) internal temperature. Wrap the brisket flat in a double layer of aluminum foil along with 6-8 ounces [3/4 to 1 cup (177.4-236.6 mL)] of the mop mixture. Wrap the brisket point in a double layer of foil along with 4-6 ounces [1/2 to 3/4 cup (118.3-177.4 mL)] of the brisket mop. Return the flat and point to the smoker or indirect side of the grill and continue cooking until they are tender, approximately 203-206°F (95-96.7°C) internal temperature for the flat and 210°F (98.9°C) for the point.
  • Once tender, remove the flat and point from the smoker or grill and carefully vent the foil to release the steam to stop the cooking process. Place the meat in a holding box such as a Cambro or faux Cambro for at least an hour.
  • Serve. Once you are ready to prepare the brisket for the turn-in box, unwrap the point from the foil, reserving the liquid. Cut the brisket point into 3/4-inch to 1-inch (1.9 to 2.5 cm) cubes. Brush the burnt ends with your favorite BBQ sauce and place in an aluminum half pan. Place the pan on the smoker or the indirect side of the grill for approximately 5 minutes to set the sauce.
  • Remove the brisket flat from the foil and add the liquid to the liquid from the point. Pour all the liquid from the foil through a fine mesh strainer to separate the liquid (“au jus”) from any solids.
  • Slice the flat against the grain. The slices should be approximately the thickness of a pencil [about 1/4” (6.4 mm)]. Brush both sides of each slice with the au jus. Turn in brisket slices and burnt ends according to contest rules (traditionally in a “blind” Styrofoam turn-in box).