Logan Sargeant may be a Florida boy, but I'll give you a little spoiler as to his favorite meal: It's Texas barbecue. I'll talk more about that in another Substack post, but for this edition of Grand Prix Gastronomy, I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted to give y’all my family's favorite smoked meat recipes.
See, I don't own a smoker, and my grill isn't big enough to play at smoking something as big as a brisket. But my mom has made the smoker splurge, and she has refined a handful of recipes that we inevitably devour at every family function. Rather than try to play at making Texas BBQ with my own measly appliances, I asked my mom if she'd be kind enough to share her recipes and document her cooking process for our big Easter smoke-out. Because she is a star, she agreed.
If you, like me, do not have a big ol’ meat smoker, then in the official Substack post that details the cooking process, I'll include some recipes for delicious BBQ-adjacent meats that you can make in the oven. If this is finally your cue to take the smoker leap, then you'll likely want the following supplies:
A meat smoker of your choice; my mom has a rectangular-shaped smoker with several trays inside (similar to this one), but opt for whatever makes you happiest
Wood chips for smoking; my mom likes pecan or apple wood
A meat thermometer; my mom introduced me to the ThermoPro wireless meat thermometers, and they're a great tool to have around the house if you do a lot of roasts — more on this just below
Seasonings and sauces of your choice; here, my mom used Meat Church Holy Cow BBQ rub, Meat Church Honey Hog BBQ rub, and Hardcore Carnivore Amplify
Disposable aluminum baking trays or pans; it makes clean-up super easy
Butcher paper
Back on that meat thermometer I mentioned above: I frickin’ love this thing. You just have to stick a probe into the thick part of your meat, then put everything into the smoker. On your wireless transponder, you'll select a temperature; the transponder will then beep when you've hit that temperature, letting you know your meats are done.
The thermometer is super important because, as you might notice, my mom doesn't include any quantities in her recipes. Instead, she outlines a process that you can follow whether your brisket is 5lbs or 25lbs; the end result is always the same, which is a specific internal temperature at the thickest part of the meat.
In my next post, I'll include the sides we made with our big Texas dinner (and, as promised, share some easier BBQ recipes!).
Smoked Brisket
Ingredients:
Brisket
Meat Church Holy Cow BBQ rub
Kosher salt
Instructions:
Trim brisket to remove loose skin and very firm fat
Coat brisket with salt and BBQ rub
Let sit unrefrigerated for at least one hour, or refrigerate overnight and let sit for one hour before smoking
Smoke at 250°F until the brisket's internal temperature reaches 150°F-160°F
Double-wrap in butcher paper or foil to speed up smoking process, OR do not wrap in foil for a better bark
Smoke until internal temp reaches 203°F
Wrap in butcher paper if you haven't already done so, then place in a cooler lined with towels for at 1 to 2 hours
Slice and serve!
Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Ingredients: Pork Belly
Pork belly
Olive oil
Seasoning (we used Hard Core Carnivore Amplify and Meat Church Honey Hog BBQ)
Ingredients: Sauce
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup honey
Instructions
Trim skin or excess fat from pork belly
Cut into 1-inch to 1.5-inch cubes
Drizzle meat with olive oil and rub seasoning on to coat
Place pork belly cubes onto a baking tray and smoke at 225°F-250°F for 2.5 to 3 hours, until a dark bark begins to form and the meat looks dark red
Transfer pork cubes to a disposable aluminum pan
Add the sauce ingredients and stir to coat evenly
Cover with foil and return to the smoker for another 60-90 minutes, until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 200°F to 205°F
Remove foil and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes to let the sauce thicken
Bacon-Wrapped Chicken
Ingredients:
Chicken
Bacon
Olive oil
Seasoning of your choice (we used Hard Core Carnivore Amplify and Meat Church Honey Hog BBQ)
Instructions:
Remove any fat or skin on the chicken
Cut chicken into chunks
Drizzle chicken with olive oil
Rub seasoning into all pieces of chicken
Wrap chicken with bacon
Refrigerate at least one hour, or overnight
Smoke at 250°F for about 1.5 hours
Slather with BBQ sauce, if desired
Smoke an additional half-hour, or until chicken is 165°F inside
Smoked Cream Cheese
Ingredients:
8oz block of cream cheese
2 tbsp BBQ dry rub (and/or everything bagel seasoning!)
Olive oil
Spray oil
Instructions:
Heat smoker to 180°F to 250°F
Line a baking sheet with foil, or use a disposable aluminum pan
Spray with spray oil
Drizzle cream cheese block with olive oil and completely cover with seasoning
Place cream cheese in pan and score the top of the block with a crosshatch pattern
Smoke for 1-2 hours
Serve with crackers, chips, veggies