Gold Dust

Should I assume that those of you who did not comment on the last post actually got your feelings hurt?  (SMILE).  We all have that happen occasionally.  I decided I needed to make a neutral post so I am going to give you a wonderful recipe for a seasoning mix.  It is from a dear friend of  my mother's.  This lady is now in a nursing home with Alzheimer's which makes this recipe all the more special.  I will give you the recipe and then tell you how I have used it.

MaMa's Brisket Rub
8 - 11 lb. brisket, trimmed
1 cup meat tenderizer
1/2 cup hickory smoke salt
1 Tablespoon black pepper
3/4 cup chili powder
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1/3 cup paprika

Mix all ingredients together except for brisket.  Store in a jar.  Rub brisket liberally with seasoning mix.  Bake, covered at 200 degrees for 14 - 16 hours, OR,
Bake, covered at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 250 degrees for 4 hours. 
You can also put it in a browning bag when cooking this way.

Now for my story - I couldn't find the hickory smoke salt so I made the mix without it.  I had a pork loin and wanted to smoke it so I added the rub minus the hickory smoke salt to the loin, put it in the smoker for 4 hours and served it to Gary for dinner.  I had tasted it right when it came out of the smoker and thought how good it was!  Gary was eating it for dinner and said he thought this was the best meat he had ever had in his mouth.  Score one for me!  The flavor was outstanding!!

A couple of weeks later, I decided to grill some hamburger patties.  I added this rub to the meat along with some frozen chopped onions and a small amount of real bacon bits.  As Gary was eating his patty (no bread), he said this is really a great hamburger patty.  I confessed I had used the same rub as I used on the pork loin.  Score two for me!  We have started calling it gold dust, because it was really making meat taste better.

Then, I decided to finally use it on a brisket.  Gary has always loved watching cooking shows that deal with barbeque.  He has never quite perfected the art of cooking a brisket.  The last one he tried, he marinated for days in some concoction and then sent it to the smoker.  He ordered me to mist it with apple juice several times during the day.  It was a major ordeal.  I smelled like mesquite wood all day.  The brisket turned out ok, but not perfect.  Really too black on the outside (duh - the sugar in the apple juice burned).  We ate it, talked about what he should do different.  He wasn't quite there yet on perfecting a brisket. 

Well......I decided to cook MY brisket a few weeks later.  I sprinkled the rub on the brisket liberally (still minus the hickory smoke salt) and put the brisket in the smoker. Nothing more, nothing less.  I never misted it.  I totally let it cook on its own.  I cooked it 8 hours and we brought it in.  You guessed it.....a great brisket!  I do think you need to add some salt to the brisket rub if you don't have the hickory smoke salt.  That was all this brisket lacked.  And, if you don't have a smoker to cook the meat in, you would really need the hickory smoke salt to give it that wonderful smoked flavor.  But I think this rub will make any meat taste better.  It was also suggested that the rub be applied the night before cooking to allow it to work better, but I am here to tell you, it was good even when it didn't have time to "work". 

Gary says he is giving the meat smoking up to me.  I assured him it was not me, but a simple rub.  Don't you find most of the wonderful things in life are simple - not complicated. 

Have a Simple, Blessed Day!