Brisket in the crock pot

It took me forever to dare to cook a brisket. They always looked so intimidating in the store. Sitting there almost screaming "It takes a man and a grill to conquer me!" But one day I just picked one up and figured it was big enough to cut into a few pieces and try it different ways and if I screwed it up there was always PB&J. That is, by the way, how I learn to cook most things I always have a back up just in case it is a disaster and it is usually PB&J! And on more than one occasion I have had to use my back up!

So this is the way that we like it best...

I start with a rub of brown sugar, granulated garlic, salt, pepper and New Mexican chili powder.(see note at bottom) I like there to be a little spicy/smoky/sweet note to mine. I think the brown sugar helps in the crock pot because you almost, kind of "carmelize" meat and that is near impossible with crock pot cooking unless you sear your mead before hand (which I do to just about any meat). But the brisket is so big that I would just rather not sear it first.

First things first if you are going to cook this in the crock pot you need to do it in two batches. It is too big to cook the whole thing at once.

Ok so now that you have done that you need to season it up...How much do I use???? A lot! This is a big ol' piece of meat and you need to really season it up. This is about 1/2 cup brown sugar and same with the chili powder ( if you are using regular chili powder I would suggest you only use a few tablespoons and maybe a little cumin)

And about 2 tablespoons of so of granulated garlic

Mix it up......

And rub that piece of meat like it is no body's business! You want to get that rub in all the little creases.Then just throw that bad boy in the crock pot and let it cook for the whole day on low. I have to apologize for no end result picture of this but my husband borrowed my camera this day I forgot I didn't have an end result until just now!

This freezes well too, I usually shred mine up add a little of the juice (who am I kidding, it is fat) and seal it in a freezer bag. The left over makes great sandwiches or Texas chili.

So lets say you want to have a BBQ and you want to impress everyone with your "skills"
throw this bad boy in the crock pot and let it cook, then before your guest come over (like 10 min before) throw it on a med hot grill and let it get that BBQ char we all love and no one ever has to know they just had the easiest BBQ you have ever made! The will see brisket and (unless you have left your dirty crock pot sitting out) they will think you got up early and slaved away all day so this ton of meat would be cooked to perfection just for them! Lovely!

***Note about New Mexico Chili Powder*** Being married an Albuquerque man, this is something I have used my entire adult life, it is a staple in New Mexico and we just love the flavor. While you can buy this in "hot" if you get the "mild" this is loaded with flavor but not heat. It IS NOT the same as your "chili powder" you find in your spice jar, trust me! I had a less that great relationship with my mother in law for a little while and refused to have her send me the good stuff so one day I thought chili powder is chili powder these New Mexicans and just full of themselves, so I bought a bottle and made "New Mexican Red" ( I will post on here one day) and it was so inedible it wasn't even funny, needless to say I made up with my mother in law and she supplies me with it regularly! The best way I can describe it is... if a recipe calls for a cup of green bell pepper you wouldn't substitute a cup of black pepper, it isn't the same thing and you would end up with a nasty end result. For those of you that don't have my kind of "connections" LOL here is a link where you can buy New Mexican Chili powder. . www.madeinnewmexico.com/hatchchilepowder.html