KCBS Competition Practice, Brisket. Part 4 of 4, and a Product Review, Oakridge BBQ Black Ops Brisket Rub

Three down, one to go.  Brisket.  Up until Nelsonville last October, brisket has been the category that we have done the worst in by far.  I have made some great brisket at home.  But in competition, we have been lacking.  But, mid-season last year, we did a little research and some talking with some fellow teams and changed up what we were doing.

The two biggest changes we made that improved our score were:

1.  Changed our rub.  We went to Oakridge BBQ Santa Maria Rub.
2.  Strained our juices, separated out the fat, and dredged the brisket slices through the au jus before putting in the box.

These two steps added an average of 30 points to our brisket score.

So, over the winter, we are trying a new Oakridge product, Black Ops Brisket Rub...

Upon opening the package, we knew this was not your standard brisket rub.  The aromas were rich and complex.  The finger test was not a disappointment.  Coffee and shitake mushrooms are just two ingredients that add a complex flavor to any piece of beef.  Enough of the rub for now, here are the details on our practice session...

Hope went to the butcher and purchased a nice 4.5 lb brisket flat.  It was trimmed nicely with a thin layer of fat on the top.  We injected with a mix of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and beef stock.  Then, we wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the frig for some overnight happy time...

In the morning, I fired up the smoker and brought to 250 F.  While this was happening, I pulled the brisket out and applied a liberal coating of the Black Ops Brisket Rub...

I allowed the brisket to sit on the counter for 2 hours for the rub to moisten and the brisket to come to room temperature.  Then, I placed some pecan in the ash pan of the smoker and placed the brisket on the second rack down on my smoker...

I also placed a toothpick (bottom right corner on the brisket) into the brisket perpendicular to the grain so I would know which way to slice when done.

I then cooked the brisket until the internal temperature reached 175 F, then I placed in a foil pan with some of the reserved injected and covered with foil.

Brisket at 175 F before the pan...

In the pan...

Once covered in foil, I cooked until an internal temperature of 195 F.  The temperature probe was sliding into the brisket like butter in about 80% of the meat.  Now, we usually place the brisket in a cooler with towels to rest for two hours.  But, we were hungry and it was late.  So, I only let the brisket rest for 30 minutes on top of the stove sitting in the pan.  When you do pull the pan out of your cooker, crack the foil to release the steam.  This will give the bark a chance to set up.  And set up it did.  Look at this beautiful bark.  It was the best bark I have ever produced on a brisket...

I sliced and dipped in some of the strained au jus.

My impression?  For the first time, I made something at home that I thought was trophy worthy in competition.  The Black Ops Rub was made for beef.  The rub made an outstanding bark.  The flavors of the rub mingled with the au jus and the natural flavor of the beef producing an outstanding taste.  I am sold!

Bottom line:

Brisket needs to rest at least two hours.  While the flavor was outstanding, it was not quite as tender as I would like.

Oakridge BBQ Black Ops Brisket Rub gets 4 stars out of 4.  While their Santa Maria rub is a outstanding product, the Black Ops rub is superior!

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill