Brisket was one of the first things I started experimenting with when I bought my Big Green Egg. It wasn’t too expensive, it made a lot of servings and folks said it was easy! All of that has been true to the point my family has the reaction of “another one?” when I say I want to put on a brisket. I have ventured away from my first recipe that I used (or as Ginny would say “over and over again!”) and this BBQ brisket has been a huge hit!
I love this recipe for 2 major reason:
One: Bacon
Two: Brisket
You just can’t go wrong with these two delectable treats, but this recipe in particular adds a fantastic tangy taste with the cider vinegar. It is a fantastic complement to the sweet barbecue rub.
I have made several briskets on the Egg in the past, but this is the first time I covered the top with uncooked bacon. I decided to weave them together (although, there really is no reason to, as you’ll see we take off the bacon and chop it finely to make the sauce.)
I am an early-bird, and usually up well before the sun comes up. For grilling a long-cook meat like the brisket, getting the pre-dawn head start comes in handy! Ginny even bought me a cool light that connects to the BGE lid, which makes it much easier to work in the dark.
A plate setter was used for indirect heat, and a disposable pan set on top of it caught the juices from the brisket.
With a temperature kept between 250 and 275 throughout the day, I checked fairly often to make sure I adjusted as needed. I decided not to use any wood chips for smoking, because I wanted to keep the smoky bacon taste.
Keep this on the grill until the internal temperature reached 185 degrees, and then take it off to let it rest before making the sauce.
But let’s get back to the important things: Bacon and the Brisket! The bacon served as a great protective layer to the brisket while it was on the grill. The brisket itself was delicious! I put it in the refrigerator for a few hours after it rested. I find that it is easier to run the chilled brisket through a meat slicer if it has had some time to firm up.
Carefully pouring the sauce over the sliced brisket made a fantastic main course!
Dry Rub BBQ Brisket with Bacon on the Big Green Egg – Kamado Grill
Ingredients
Brisket
- 1 medium sized brisket I prefer 5-6 pounds
- 1 full package of bacon
For the dry rub:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons powdered mustard
- 2 teaspoons of coarse ground sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
For the sauce
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup ketchup
Instructions
Prepare the Brisket
- Trim off any excess fat off the brisket
- Place brisket in a large pan to prepare for adding the rub. This will get a bit messy, so I like to keep the rub contained.
BBQ Rub
- Add all of the rub ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
Adding the Rub
- Pour about half of the dry rub on the exposed side brisket and thoroughly rub the entire surface to cover all of the meat. Don’t forget about the sides.
- Turn the brisket over and use the remainder of the dry rub.
- All of the brisket should be covered in the dry rub
Bacon
- Lay half of the bacon in one direction on top of the brisket
- Lay the other half of the bacon in the other direction and weave together
Note: Weaving the bacon into a basket-weave will keep it together as the brisket cooks, and looks fantastic!
Preparing the sauce
- Sautee the chopped onions in butter until they turn translucent
- Chop the bacon that you removed from the top of the brisket
- Add all ingredients to the sauce pan (including the bacon)
- Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and reduce until the sauce thickens