Ingredients:

The Brisket
1 Brisket Flat or Point, trimmed, approx. 7lbs.
2 Tbs. whole peppercorns
2 Tbs. mustard seeds
3 Tbs. kosher salt
1 Tbs. onion powder
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 Tbs. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
Wood for Smoking such as Hickory, Mesquite, Applewood, or a combination


Spicy Bourbon BBQ Sauce
1 14oz. can of tomato sauce
1 red onion
3 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of bourbon
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste at the end
3 Tbs of liquid smoke, plus more to taste at the end
1 Tbs. of the the above spice rub

The Collards
1 onion
2 lbs of collard greens
2 cloves of garlic
1 ham hock
3 Tbs of apple cider vinegar
Tobasco to taste

The Corn Bread
300g of corn kernels
300g of cornmeal
70g of all purpose flour
4g of baking soda
4g of baking powder
40g of sugar
1 egg (~50g)
430g of buttermilk
6g of salt
90g of canola or other vegetable oil, plus more for the pan at the time of cooking

Cocktail O’Clock: The Sazerac
Absinthe to rinse the glass
2 1/2 oz of Rye Whiskey
4 dashes of Peychaud Bitters
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of water
Lemon peel to garnish

Steps:

For the Brisket:
The night before smoking, mix all of the ingredients for the rub, and season the brisket all over. Reserve a couple of Tbs. of the rub for the BBQ sauce you’re making later.

The morning of smoking the brisket, set up your grill or smoker for indirect cooking. Heat the grill until it reaches a stable 225-250ºF.

Place the brisket on the grill, close the lid and smoke the brisket until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

Smoke the brisket, checking the smoker’s temperature every 30 mins or so, adding logs as needed.

Once the thickest part of the brisket shows 165ºF, wrap the brisket tightly in butcher paper and return to the smoker until it reaches an internal temperature of 195ºF-205ºF.

Once cooked, allow to rest at room temperature in the paper for an additional 20 minutes.

Unwrap from the paper and carve as needed.
The general rule for the total cooking time is about 1.25 hours per pound of meat. That’s only a benchmark, so go by the thermometer. The one in the video weighed 7 lbs and took 8.5 hours to cook.

Bourbon BBQ Sauce
Mince the onion and garlic then sauté over medium-high heat in a large saucepan until the onions have just begun to caramelize. ~ 7 minutes.

Add all of the remaining sauce ingredients to the pot and stir.

Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat to a bare simmer.

Allow to cook down by about 1/3, stirring every so often. This should take about an hour.

Once cooked down, taste the sauce and add apple cider vinegar and liquid smoke to taste.
Add the sauce to a blender and blend until very smooth.

The sauce can be added to a squeeze bottle or other container and kept in the fridge for quite some time.

Collard Greens.
Combine the onion, garlic and ham hock in a large pot.

Add about 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer, covered for about 90 minutes.

Separate the collard green leaves from the stems.

Chop up the stems into about 1 inch pieces.
Coarsely chop the leaves.

Add the leaves and stems to the pot and cook over low heat, covered, for about 90 minutes.

After 90 minutes, add the apple cider vinegar, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.

Remove the ham hock and carefully peel away the skin and fat. Remove the meat, and coarsely chop it before adding it back to the pot. Discard the skin, fat, and bone.
Uncover and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

At serving time, allow people to add Tobasco as they see fit. Our Georgia household uses quite a lot.

The collards can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

The Cornbread
Tip: I typically wait to make the cornbread until the brisket is done and begun to rest. By the time the cornbread is done, the meat will have rested, still be plenty, hot and ready to serve.

Preheat the oven and an oven safe 10” skillet to 425ºF.

Sauté the corn kernels in a separate skillet over high heat until the kernels have browned all over. It’s even okay if some of them are little black. Be careful. They’ll want to pop about the kitchen as they cook.

Once the kernels have browned, combined the buttermilk, egg, oil and kernels in a blender and blend until very smooth.
Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Add the blended corn and buttermilk mixture and mix until no lumps remain.

Add a few Tbs of oil to the preheated skillet, and carefully pour the batter into the hot skillet.

Return the skillet to the oven and bake for ~ 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cornbread comes out clean.

Carefully invert the cornbread onto a serving dish. Serve immediately.

The Sazerac
Add a splash of Absinthe to a chilled cocktail glass, swirl it around, and discard the alcohol.

Add the bitters, water, and sugar to a cocktail shaker and muddle the three until the sugar is good and crushed.

Add the rye whiskey and some ice.
Gently stir for about 30 seconds until the shaker is well chilled.

Strain into the glass and serve with a lemon peel garnish.

Drink Suggestions:
I like a good, dark porter, like the Samuel Smith from the video. It holds up so well to a smoked red meat.

Note: There will be plenty of leftover sauce, but fear not, it’ll keep for ages in the fridge.