Brisket Mopping Sauce

By jsides

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from smoker-cooking.com

Preparation

Step 1

This recipe starts out with one 12 ounce bottle of beer. You can substitute 3/4 cup of wine, apple juice or apple cider for the beer, but it needs to be combined with an equal amount of water.

To the beer, or your substitute, add 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of paprika, 1 tablespoon of Frank's Red Hot Sauce, 1 teaspoon (or to taste) of cayenne powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, and one medium chopped onion. (You will also need 1/4 cup of light vegetable oil, but this gets added later, right before this basting liquid is used.)

Mix this up at least a couple of hours ahead of time so the flavors have a chance to blend. An overnight rest in the refrigerator is even better. It takes time for the onion and garlic to flavor the liquid.

Add the vegetable oil just before you start basting the brisket. The reason for this is that if you put the oil in at the beginning, it will coat the onions and garlic, trapping some of the flavor.

Brush the brisket mopping sauce< onto the meat every hour or so after the first four hours of smoking. For a big brisket, make up two recipes of the sauce.

The acidic vinegar in the moppin' sauce has a tenderizing effect, and it also pushes the other flavors deeper into the meat. The beer and wine add flavor and moisture, while the oil coats the surface of the brisket, helping to seal in the moisture.