Cowboy Beef Brisket with Red-Eye Mop

I was getting ready to take a trip last week to San Diego to see my family. My grandma is a huge fan of chopped BBQ brisket sandwiches, so I thought I would see what I could do. Here is a pretty simple recipe and once it’s on the grill, all you have to do is give it a good mopping with my red-eye mop sauce. The red-eye mop is in reference to the southern classic red-eye gravy which is made by pouring coffee and water into a skillet reducing it after frying country ham PLUS the red-eye cocktail made from beer and tomato juice! To top it off, I took some store-bought BBQ sauce and combined it with some of the mop sauce and a hit a Kahlua… YEOW!

Cowboy Beef Brisket with Red-Eye Mop

Makes 10 to 12 servings

For brisket:
5 to 6 pounds beef brisket roast, fat cap trimmed to 1/4 inch
Freshly ground black pepper

For rub:
1/4 cup finely ground coffee
1/4 cup Bull All Purpose Rub
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil

For mop:
1 1/4 cups strong coffee
1 cup beer
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder

For sauce:
16 ounces Bull All-Purpose BBQ Sauce or your favorite brand
3/4 cup reserved mop sauce
1/4 cup Kahlua

Extras:
Bull V-Shaped Smoker Box
Mesquite wood chips, soaked for 1 hour in water or coffee

Grill set-up:
Indirect with smoke box

Season the brisket generously with pepper. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, blend the coffee, seasoning, sugar, cumin, chili powder, garlic, and oil. Rub seasoning mixture into the brisket and place fat-side up in a foil roasting pan.

Be sure you have a full tank of gas! Place soaked wood chips in smoke box and turn the burner under the box to high. When the chips start to smoke, set up grill for indirect cooking over low-medium heat (around 275°F) – “low and slow is the way to go”.

For the mop sauce: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and keep warm. Reserve 3/4 mop sauce to use in BBQ sauce.

Place roasting pan on unlit potion of grill and close cover. Total roasting time will be 5 to 8 hours depending on actual temperature of your grill and the size of the brisket. Every hour or so, mop the brisket with Red-Eye Mop Sauce and add another handful of soaked chips to the smoke box. Brisket is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 185°F to 195°F. It should be tender enough to slice 1/4-inch thick without falling apart, but super easy to pull apart.

For BBQ sauce: while brisket is smoke-roasting, combine BBQ sauce, mop sauce, and Kahlua in a sauce pan. Bring to a low simmer and let reduce until thickened, about 1 hour. Keep warm.

Transfer brisket to cutting board and let rest 15 to 20 minutes before slicing. While the meat rests, de-grease and stir in the pan drippings into the warm BBQ sauce.

Chop or thinly slice the meat against the grain and serve with red-eye sauce on the side.