Okay, okay, we borrowed a Texas technique and changed the rub to reflect our chilehead tastes.

Ingredients

Brisket, Lemon Juice, New Mexico Chile Powder, Cayenne, Brisket Basting Sauce

Instructions

Okay, okay, we borrowed a Texas technique and changed the rub to reflect our chilehead tastes. For years we have been perfecting recipes using a smoker known as an Oklahoma Joe’s. It is a horizontal, cylindrical smoker about three and a half feet long and about fourteen inches in diameter. It has an attached, dropped fire box that allows smoking with fairly cool smoke because the fire is separated a bit from the smoking area. Because smoking is so time consuming, it makes sense to smoke several things at once. In addition to brisket, we also smoke a turkey breast. Some cooks use the basting sauce as a mop during the smoking process and eliminate the long marinade at the end of smoking. Leftovers, if there are any, make the best barbecue sandwiches when served on a crusty hard roll with your choice of sauce from chapter 3.

• 1 9 to 10 pound brisket (“packer trimmed” preferred)

• ½ cup lemon juice

• 2 cups mild red New Mexican chile powder

• 1 tablespoon ground cayenne chile

• 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

• 1/4 cup garlic powder

• Brisket Basting Sauce (recipe below)

Thoroughly coat all surfaces of the brisket with lemon juice, and rub in well. Combine the chile powder, cayenne, black pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl, and sprinkle generously all over the brisket, rubbing it in well. Make sure that the brisket is entirely covered. Allow to marinate for at least an hour before smoking.

To smoke the brisket, build a hardwood fire in the fire box using pecan, oak, or any fruit wood. When the fire is smoking nicely, place the brisket on the rack fat side up, to let gravity and nature do the basting. Place the breast as far from the heat source as possible, and close the smoker. During the smoking, do nothing to the brisket. The smoking will take approximately 8 hours at 200 degrees smoke temperature. This means a lot of beer will be consumed while you wait and tend the fire.

After the brisket has finished smoking, remove it from the smoker, slather it generously with Brisket Basting Sauce, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil, and return it to the smoker. Close off all of the air supplies to the fire, and allow the meat to “set” in the pit for about 2 hours.

Yield: A 10-pound brisket will yield about 10 to 20 servings, depending on the individual brisket and the size of the appetites of the guests.

Heat Scale: Medium

In Indonesia, this is the preferred method of cooking water buffalo, a fairly tough meat. Since they are scarce in Amsterdam, this recipe from Indrapura Restaurant features beef. It is served over rice. The chef at Indrapura notes: “Use mature coconuts. Taste before you add salt during the cooking.” To make coconut milk from scratch, grate the coconut and soak the flesh in hot water.

Ingredients

For the Spice Paste:

• 20 shallots, peeled and chopped

• 5 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

• 1 small fresh piece of ginger, peeled

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 7 fresh red chiles, such as jalapeño, seeds and stems removed, chopped

• Small amount of water, if needed

For the Rendang:

• 3 pound chuck steak, cut into1-inch cubes

• 8 cups coconut milk (unsweetened)

• 2 lemon grass stalks, bruised

• 1 whole tamarind pod

Instructions

In a blender or food processor, combine the ingredients for the spice paste and puree until smooth.

Place the beef and spice paste in a wok over high heat and saute for five minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Stirring continuously, bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the coconut milk has thickened.

Turn the heat down to low and cook until the oil comes out of what is left of the gravy, and stir continuously. Let the meat and spices fry in the oil until the color is deep, dark brown still stirring. The length of cooking process should be around 4 hours. Remove the lemon grass stalks and the tamarind pod before serving.

This easy, basic recipe uses the combination of a rub and a sauce to create the taste of a traditional barbecue for those who don’t have a pit or a smoker.

Ingredients

• 1 4 to 6-pound beef brisket
• 1 jar barbecue rub
• 2 to 3 cups barbecue sauce

Instructions

Trim the fat on the brisket to 1/4-inch. Rub the barbecue rub evenly and thickly over the brisket. After coating, wrap in plastic or seal in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Light the grill.

Place the brisket, fat side up, in a disposable aluminum pan or on a large piece of foil. Add ½ cup of water and cover tightly with another piece of foil. Place the pan in the center of the grill over a very slow fire of briquettes.

Cover the cooker and cook for 5 hours, turning the brisket every 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Pour off the fat in the pan as it accumulates and add water, ½ cup at a time, as needed.

Remove the brisket and reserve the remaining pan juices. Place the meat directly on the grill.

Combine the drippings with the barbecue sauce and brush over the brisket. Replace the cover on the cooker and cook for 1 additional hour, basting occasionally with the sauce. Simmer the remaining sauce mixture 10 to 15 minutes.

Slice the brisket diagonally across the grain into thin slices and serve with the sauce.

This recipe can be stuffed in enchilads, tacos, sopalillas.

Ingredients

• 3-pound arm roast

• Water

• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped green chile

• 1 tomato, chopped

• 1/2 onion, diced

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Place the roast in a large pan with water to cover and simmer until tender and the meat begins to fall apart, about 3 to 4 hours. Remove the roast from the pan, remove the fat and bone, and shred the meat by hand or with a fork.

Return the meat to the pan, add the remaining ingredients, stir well, and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed by the meat, about 30 minutes.