As Good As It Gets- Smokey BBQ Brisket

There are sometimes in life that I take for granted that I come from a long line of good cooks. I mean, a long line. I could probably write down 100+ recipes just from my mom's side of the family. Recipes like Nana's fried pies and chocolate pudding, my great grandmothers German cookies that we use to make every Christmas eve growing up, my Aunts delicious sugar cookies and on and on. Several years ago my sister compiled a few of her favorite recipes and a few from our family and passed out mini cookbooks for Christmas. I have many of the pages so stained with oil and flour, pages like her pizza dough and pumpkin bread, that I have a hard time reading them. There are so many treasures in that tiny book that it would be on my list of top ten things to grab in case of a house fire. One of the recipes in this treasure came from our Great Aunt. I, like my sister, took way too long to cook this recipe. I grew up in "Where's the Beef?" country so I was very familiar how glorious brisket could be. Brisket is a staple on all Texas tables but at this stage in my life I don't have the time to sit around a smoker for 15 hours and entertain like we use to do growing up. This recipe is perfect for those who love the smokey goodness of a beautiful brisket with a fraction of the work. I like to pop this baby in my crock pot and let it cook overnight so that I wake up to the smell of heaven in my kitchen.
Before you start there are a couple of things you should know.
1. Don't change a thing on this recipe. Trust me.
2. Double wrap the brisket in foil if cooking in a crock pot and don't add any water as it will make it's own juice.
3. The addition of the BBQ sauce is optional. I typically don't add it at all.
4. GET TO COOKIN'!

Aunt LaVera's Smokey Brisket

1 Tbsp liquid smoke
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp onion salt
2 tsp Celery Seed
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1, 3-4 pound beef brisket trimmed

1. Mix all of the above ingredients into a bowl and pour over your brisket. Be sure you rub it in a bit. Wrap it up and 2 layers of foil and marinate 3-4 hours or overnight.
2. Bake at 300 degrees for 3-3 1/2 hours wrapped in foil or place in a crock pot on low and bake 8-10 hours.  If you want to coat it in BBQ Sauce, open the foil, spread 1 cup of your favorite sauce on the brisket, wrap it back up and continue to cook for 1 hour.

This is great sliced and served with a baked potato or on a bun, chopped up for tacos or shoved in a quesadilla. It reaheats great so it is perfect to make the day before. If you have a smoker and the time this is a great marinate. Just let it soak everything up the night before you are smoking then throw it on your grill.

Enjoy Y'all!