5 Considerably Tempting Ways to Cook Pork Brisket

Cooking pork brisket can be a bit tricky as it is not one of those meats that you may enjoy so often, and whoever liked overcooked meat! Have no fear because Tastessence is here.

Must knows

• Rest the brisket after it has been cooked; this allows the juices in the meat to distribute themselves evenly throughout it.
• Season the meat just before cooking it; this prevents the salt from drawing out the moisture from the meat.
• For this cut of meat, marinade is usually a big no-no as it will draw out the moisture from the meat and make it dry.

Pork brisket is basically whatever that is left on the lower part of the pork shoulder after removing the upper picnic ham from it. This cut of meat is very cheap as it is basically a scrap of meat. This meat is largely underestimated as a lot of people don’t really know how to cook the meat right. This pork cut has a large amount of fat in it, and thus, it is ideal for slow cooking as the fat keeps it moist and tender. Once cooked, this meat just falls off the bone and melts in your mouth―one mouthful of this is sure to make your toes curl with pure gastronomic pleasure. You can choose to leave the skin on to give it a bit of crispiness to your meals or remove it and make a crackling (the world can never have enough of pork crackling!), this depends on the way you decide to cook it. We explain 5 ways to cook pork brisket the right way.

In Oven

Parboil Method

♨ Fill a large pot with water, till it is about ⅔ full, and then add a good amount of salt to it.

♨ Bring the water to a boil using a high flame, and then lower the flame to medium heat.

♨ Create a poaching liquid by adding lots of peppercorns, garlic, some dried herbs, and vegetables that you wish to.

♨ Add in the meat and let it cook for about half an hour to forty five minutes depending on the size of the meat.

♨ Drain the meat from the poaching liquid; rub your favorite dried spice rub on it or slather the ribs with some barbecue sauce.

♨ Bake it in the oven at 350°F, for six to eight minutes on each side.

♨ The temperature of the meat should be between 170°F-180°F at the thickest part of the meat. (Freeze the poaching liquid to use it the next time).

On the Grill

♨ Debone the spare rib brisket, remove the skin, and trim the excess fat. Drizzle it with a little bit of oil and coat the meat with a dry rub of your choice and season it.

♨ Heat your gas grill to a temperature of about 300°F, and using a kitchen towel, coat the grill grates with some olive oil before you heat it. This will prevent the meat from sticking to it.

♨ Place the brisket on the grill meat side-down first, flip the meat after an hour, and continue flipping the meat at regular intervals to ensure even cooking of the meat from all sides.

♨ When the meat is cooked, the temperature should be around 170°F-180°F at the thickest part of the meat. The time for cooking of the meat will vary depending on its size, and it should take around 2.5 to 3 hours.

Smoking the Meat

♨ Remove the skin and trim the excess amount of fat, making sure that you keep around one and a half inch of fat on the meat; this prevents the meat from drying during its long cooking time. Also, don’t forget to score the fat so that the flavor from the spice rub can seep into the meat.

♨ Drizzle a little of vegetable oil on it and rub the brisket with your desired dried spices and dried herbs, and refrigerate it for about an hour.

♨ Remove the brisket from the refrigerator so that it is close to room temperature; season it. While smoking, you need to give some sort of a base that will prevent it from drying. Some people use a mixture of water, apple cider vinegar and water; the apple cider lends it a good flavor and also helps in tenderizing it. This base needs to be applied every 30 to 45 minutes.

♨ Place the meat in the smoker bone side up, and flip the meat after sometime applying the base on it.

♨ Smoking of the meat is done at 225°F-250°F, and takes about 6 to 9 hours for the meat to cook, depending upon its size.

♨ Many people baste the meat with barbecue sauce towards the last 30 minutes; barbecue sauce contains tomatoes and sugar, which adds to the charred and smoky flavor of the meat.

♨ Hickory and oakwoods are usually used for smoking meats.

Braising the Meat

Without the Skin

If you don’t have a slow cooker or a crock pot, you can also use a Dutch oven for this method of cooking.

♨ Brown the pork on both the sides in a heavy-bottom pan and remove it. Deglaze the pan using the liquid you want to braise your meat in; ideally you can use milk, beer, or cola for this.

Tip: Add the liquid to the pan and allow it to boil for a bit; the little bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan tend to come off easily this way.

♨ Transfer the liquid used for the deglaze into a slow cooker or crock pot. Next add the meat, all the required spices, vinegar, and seasoning to it.

♨ Cover well and let it cook on low heat for 7 to 8 hours. After the meat is cooked, you can shred it or slice it.

With the Skin

♨ Debone the meat, drizzle with a little bit of oil, and add the spice rub and seasoning to it. Roll and tie up the meat into a cylinder with the skin side out.

♨ In a Dutch oven, heat about two tablespoons of vegetable oil or lard, and add the rolled-up meat and brown it on all sides for 10 minutes all together. Remove the meat and excess oil from it (about one teaspoon should be left).

♨ Add in some onions and garlic and cook it till it’s translucent. Add in the liquid you want braise your meat in, along with the dried herbs and spices of your choice. Place the meat in it, and keeping its skin side up, let it boil in the oven for an hour with the lid on. For the next thirty minutes, boil it with the lid off.

♨ Remove the meat and place it on a heavy-based pan, and broil it for 30 seconds to crisp up with porky skin.

Either slice them up and serve it in a platter with a gravy, shred them up and put it in a sandwich, or serve with some pasta along with some tomato sauce and sour cream; we guarantee its gonna be porky-licious!

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