Sugar Cookie on a Texas brisket?

drbbq said:

Wtf was that all about? it looked like the bottom was overcooked and all dried out to me. And Aaron Franklin was just kind of mumbling when they asked him.

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The 2 restaurant cooks cooked the brisket fat side up, and the one comp cook, cooked fat side down. Interesting. They also were the ones that turned in a section of the point and flat combined.

I prefer Oatmeal Raisin on my Brisket.

From what I understood it as was adding a thick layer of sugar to the brisket, in hopes of it caramelizing (or burning, lol) to form a thick bark.

I don't know if I would like that much sugar on my beef!

Dunno...must be Texas terminology for sugar in your rub...:-o

Some very good brisket rubs come from TexasBBQRub and do have a lot of sugar. There is a trick to applying them correctly.

If its a 'term', I believe it was coined by Daniel Vaughn, who is also the guy who appeared with Anthony Boudain in his 'No Reservations - Austin' episode.

I know I saw Daniel mentioned it on his twitter account (@BBQSnob) after this Sunday's episode of Pitmasters. He just mentioned he coined it, and liked Aaron Franklin's explanation of it. Doesn't sound like it was very clear though.

I just tried looking it up, and really only see him talking about how the sugar/fat combine to create this.

I know he's also got a book coming out sometime soon, so maybe there will be an explanation of it in there?

"These ribs have a rub high in sugar, which mixes with the fat to create a phenomenon I call a “sugar cookie.” The cooked fat commingles with the sweet caramelized rub, creating an undeniably satisfying flavor that is reminiscent of a buttery sugar cookie."

http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_Magazine/2010/February/The_Best_Barbecue_in_Dallas.aspx

drbbq said:

@bbqsnob? Really?

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Yup....and I'm pretty sure he lives up to the name. I know a while back he, Bourdain, and Chris Hart had a nice twitter 'debate' going on regarding the Texas Crutch. I really enjoyed Chris' take on it, and they went back and forth quite a bit.

It looked burnt to me as well or if it had too much smoke. So are they implying a sugar cookie is different than typical thick bark that is not too crunchy? I've used different rubs on briskets, some w/sugar some w/out it, bark still comes out tasty.

I figure it is just "marketing jargon" so that the producers/editors of the show could put up a blurb on the screen explaining something other than smoke ring, dry rub and water smoker. Those got played out in the first 2 seasons.

If you were watching he had a big ziplock of brown sugar he dumped on after the rub and it coated the brisket. At 300f cooking temp it sure would turn black. There was far more sugar than rub.

He over cooked his brisket, I think because it was srf and far more marbled and cooked faster. That didn't help him.

My experience eating brisket in Texas is the slices have fat on and include point. That's "Texas style". Remember this isn't kcbs. I think if our next show does pork you'll see vinegar and mustard on some entries. Hope so anyway.

I also think it would be refreshing for this season to get away from the typical bbq competition type turn ins. Don't get me wrong, I loved season 1, but a little variety is good (not season 2..haha).

drbbq said:

OK this I can understand. I don't necessarily agree that tasting like a sugar cookie would be good but I understand.

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I kinda like my beef to taste like, um, well...beef.

Sugar cookies will be Flying off the shelf now. The Keebler elves better get busy!

WineMaster said:

Sugar cookies will be Flying off the shelf now. The Keebler elves better get busy!

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Was thinking the exact same thing earlier! I'm sure they'll be a last minute request for the Xmas cookie bakers!

Im a native Texan, I don't believe the BBQ Snob is, so I was confused as well. That being said, it has nothing to do with Sugar per his own blog.

Its a term he coined with some other bloggers I guess. Definition below from his Blog:

Sugar Cookie - Fat that turns to a slightly sweet and crispy flavorful nugget after copius amounts of smoke are applied.

In fact, here are all the definitions from his blog for reference:

Crust - Layer of black goodness around the edges of brisket or ribs that holds excellent flavor.

Meat Caramel - After gratuitous amounts of smoke are applied, and liquid rendered fat has come to the surface of the meat to mix with the applied rub, a chemical rendering takes place that creates a sweet sticky layer on the surface of the meat that clings to the tip of your finger when pulled away from the meat. This is affectionately known as meat snot.

Parboiled - A process in which ribs are boiled before being grilled or smoked. This is what makes meat fall off the bone, and it also leaves good, flavorful fat in the water. It's cheating.

Rendered - The process of cooking fat until it literally melts into the meat. Cook it too fast and the fat is absent from the meat creating dryness. If it's not cooked long enough, the fat remains gelatinous and unsavory. There's no need to put well rendered fat aside.

Roast-Beefy - Brisket that hasn't been bathed in smoke, but rather tastes as if it was thrown in an oven like any hunk of roast beef. It might be good food, but it's not BBQ.

Sauced - Unsolicited BBQ sauce slathered over top of your meat, usually to add what was non-existent flavor in the meat.

Smoke Line - Red line around the outside edge of sliced brisket just below the crust that signifies an adequate amount of time in the smoker.

Sugar Cookie - Fat that turns to a slightly sweet and crispy flavorful nugget after copius amounts of smoke are applied.