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1
Mix all the marinade ingredients, squeezing the lime juice and add the lime halves right into a large zip lock bag.
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2
Place the brisket into the bag. Yes I got both in one gallon bag. If you can`t place in a container that can hold it.
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3
Remove as much air as you can, seal, and then message the marinade into the meat.
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4
Refrigerated for at least one day, two days is better!
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5
Pecan, apple, oak or mesquite are good smoke woods to use, or mix woods is fun. Add water soaked chips or chunks to smoker wood every half hour for the first 2 hours of smoking, Then once each hour for the next 2 or 3 hours. One fist sized chunk, or 1 big handful of chips is enough for one addition.
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6
Remove the brisket from the fridge.
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7
The day of smoking remove meat and place the marinated brisket on paper towels and blot dry and set out at room temperature to warm up for an hour. Discard the used brisket marinade.
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8
Place on a rack in a disposable foil pan fat side up.
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9
If fat is cut away, place a couple slices of bacon over the brisket.
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10
If using a smoker, set temperature to 225 degrees. Cook for approximately one hour to seventy five minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 185 for slicing, or 195 for shredding.
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11
If grilling, use the indirect grill method, medium to medium high heat.
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12
Meanwhile mix mop ingredients except for oil saving to mix the oil right before mopping.
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13
After the first four hours of smoking, baste with the Mop sauce.
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14
Optional: To increase tenderness, take the brisket out of the smoker, wrap in aluminum foil and place in oven at 180-200 degrees for the last two hours.
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15
Test the brisket for doneness by inserting a fork into the meat and slightly turning. You'll be able to tell when it's fork tender to serve.
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16
When done, remove the smoked brisket and let it rest for at least 45 minutes covered with foil before serving.
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17
Cut the fatty top section away. Slice across the grain.
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18
Serve with BBQ Sauce, fresh lime slices and cilantro.
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19
An optional Cool step:
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20
Brisket should not be crispy when done smoking, (the half way point) but rather still heavy and have about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of smoke penetration. You can measure this by cutting open a small area and seeing the pink. Remove brisket from grill, double wrap in foil, and then refrigerate for several hours, which will allow the smoke to cure into the meat. At this stage, you can choose to cook the barbecue brisket now, or freeze it for later. If you decide to cook the barbecue brisket, leave in the foil and slow cook in oven for 7 more hours at 225 degrees. If you decide to freeze the brisket, double wrap in freezer bags and be sure to date the bags before putting them in the freezer.
