Tried doing a brisket flat with just salt and pepper on my Oklahoma Joe's Highland

I read up on how the old pitmasters in Lockhart Texas keep it simple, so last Saturday I ditched my usual rub with brown sugar and paprika. The bark came out way darker and crunchier than I expected, almost like a peppercorn crust. But I think I oversalted the point end, made it taste a bit like jerky in spots. Did you guys find a trick to getting the salt even without making one part too salty?

2 comments

2 Comments

jana_ellis955d ago

Yeah the point end always gets me too with just salt and pepper. I started weighing my salt and mixing it with the pepper before applying, it helps spread things more even. For the flat I go lighter on the salt and let the meat speak for itself.

hugo_jones5d ago

Nah I gotta disagree here. Weighing your salt before applying feels like you're overcomplicating something that's been working for hundreds of years. I'm a simple guy - grab the salt shaker, give it a couple shakes, rub it in, done. The point end with its fat content can handle a heavier hand anyway, that's where all the flavor is. Going lighter on the flat because you want the "meat to speak for itself" - that meat is just going to taste bland without enough salt. The whole point of a brisket is building that bark and rendering that fat, not having a dry bland flat. And mixing the salt and pepper together before applying, that doesn't really help with even distribution because the pepper flakes are bigger and lighter than the salt crystals. They're going to separate anyway the second you start handling them.