Mesquite Smoked Bison Brisket

It is always a good thing to challenge yourself.  One of my most recent challenges was to smoke a brisket.  I have smoked a beef brisket in the past.  While smoking a brisket is always a challenge (at least for me), I wanted to up the ante.  I decided that I would smoke a bison brisket.  

The challenge came together as my beautiful Angel and I were returning from a wedding in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  We were driving down the Interstate, looking for an exit that would take us to a bison farm in Monkton, Maryland.  I had told Clare about this Gunpowder Bison & Trading Company, which is a bison farm where you could watch the bison and buy various cuts of bison meat.  Clare really wanted to see the bison, so we decided to stop at the farm.  I also decided to purchase a bison brisket.  This gave rise to my latest barbecue challenge ... and it was quite the challenge.

Smoking a brisket is difficult enough.  The primary concern is ensuring that that the brisket remains moist throughout the smoking process.  When you use a beef brisket, you at least have a fat cap that can help in that regard.  Bison meat is much leaner than beef, which means I could not rely upon fat to help ensure that the brisket retained its moisture.

I debated about using an injection.  I thought about injecting beef stock, beer or even butter into the brisket to help maintain its moisture.  I have watched many an episode of Barbecue Pitmasters, where pitmasters take large syringe-like injectors and repeatedly poke a piece of meat to insert some liquid.  Ultimately, I decided against an injection.  Instead, I would use a combination of techniques.  First, I would try a wet smoke, using a substantial amount of liquid in the bowl, which would convert to steam and rise to keep the meat moist.  Second, I decided to wrap the meat after a couple of hours of cooking.  I realized that wrapping the meat would affect the bark that otherwise would develop.  In the end, the choice between bark and moisture, I chose the moisture.  Finally, I decided to cook the bison brisket for 2/3 of the time that I would ordinarily cook a beef brisket.  This would help prevent the brisket from drying out.

Finally, I decided to use mesquite wood for the smoking.  Mesquite is a wood that is traditionally used to smoke briskets, particularly in Texas. 

In the end, I think this challenge went well.  The brisket was moist, although a longer cooking time could have helped to make the brisket a little more tender.  The salt and pepper was just the right seasoning, and, I had just enough mesquite smoke to flavor the brisket.  This brisket was not perfect, but it was definitely a great start.  I will definitely be making this recipe again and I will update this recipe accordingly.  

MESQUITE SMOKED BISON BRISKET

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves many

Ingredients:
1 bison brisket (about 3 pounds)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Mesquite wood
8 cups of water
3 bottles of beer (such as Shiner Bock)

Directions:

1.  Prepare the brisket.  Trim and prepare the brisket.  Season the brisket liberally with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Make sure all sides of the brisket are seasoned.  Wrap the brisket in plastric wrap and refrigerate it overnight.

2.  Prepare the smoker.  Prepare a chimney and light it.  Once the coals are ready, add them to the smoker.  Add the water and beer to the liquid bowl and place that over the fire. Bring the temperature up to 200 to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.  If the temperature exceeds 225 degrees, bring the temperature down to that level. 

3.  Smoke the brisket.  Place the brisket in the smoker, fat side up.  Smoke the brisket for about 2/3 of the time that you would ordinarily smoke a beef brisket (one hour per pound instead of an hour and a half per pound).  After about two hours, wrap the brisket in foil.  Smoke the brisket for about another hour.  For a beef brisket, you want to reach a temperature of at least 180 degrees.  For a bison brisket, I pulled it out once the temperature reached about 160 degrees. 

4.  Finish the dish. Remove the brisket from the smoker and allow it to sit for at least twenty minutes.  Slice and serve immediately. 

A smoked brisket, whether beef or bison, always calls for a nice beer.  I would serve this brisket with the remainder of the six pack of Shiner Bock that I bought to smoke the meat.  

ENJOY!

Green Hatch Chile Rubbed Bison Cowboy Steak

Recently, while I was on vacation, I decided to visit the bison ranch at Gunpowder Bison and Trading.  I wanted to see bison and, while I was there, buy a cut of bison meat that I usually do not have access to at my local grocery stores. I have previously posted about watching the bison, so now it is time to blog about the cut of meat I decided to buy.

Bison meat stands apart from cattle or beef.  Unlike most cattle, who may be penned for much of their lives, bison are allowed to roam fields.  The bison graze on grasses and hay for most of their lives, only feeding on grains for a brief period before they are slaughtered.  The fact that bison eat grass is often reflected in their fat, which has a more yellowish color than the white beef fat.  This yellow color is due to the beta-carotene found in the fat.  

The presence of beta-carotene is not the only thing that sets apart bison meat from regular beef.  Bison meat has two times as much protein as regular beef, primarily due to the lower fat content of the meat.  In addition, bison meat has less calories, fat and cholesterol than, not just beef, but also pork and chicken.  The lower amounts of fat in bison meat does present a drawback ... namely, there is a greater chance of overcooking the meat.  Therefore, whenever one is cooking bison, it is important to keep an eye on the meat to ensure that it does not overcook and dry out.  

As I stood before a wall of freezers containing over a dozen types of cuts, I wanted to buy a cut that I had never cooked with before and that would be good for grilling.  I ultimately decided on the "cowboy steak."  This cut of beef arose in the 1960s or 1970s, and, it is nothing more than a ribeye still attached to the rib.  Unlike a bone-in ribeye, where the bone is cut just below the ribeye, a cowboy steak retains much more of the bone, which is frenched to leave the bone exposed.  This cowboy steak is probably the most expensive piece of meat that I have ever bought, but it cooked very well and, with this simple Green Hatch Chile rub, it was very delicious. 

GREEN HATCH CHILE RUBBED BISON COWBOY STEAK

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
1 bison cowboy steak (about two pounds)
1 teaspoon of ground green hatch chile
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1.  Prepare the rub and marinate the steak.  Mix all of the ingredients for the rub together, with the exception of the olive oil.  Add the olive oil and stir until it becomes a loose paste.  Drizzle the rub over each side of the cowboy steak and rub the paste into the meat.  Let the steak marinate at room temperature while the grill heats up to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Grill the steak.  Cook the steak for about five minutes, turn it ninety degrees and cook for five minutes more. Flip the steak and cook for five minutes.  Rotate the steak and cook for five minutes more.  At this point, check the steak for doneness by pressing with your finger in the center of the steak.  If the steak gives a lot, let it cook for a few more minutes.  If the steak seems to give a little, remove it and wrap it in foil for five minutes.  Slice the steak and serve immediately.

ENJOY!