Sauce

[Mike0585]

I hate that I even have to ask this, but I finished 6th with a very tender juicy brisket last weekend behind 5 very sauced brisket turn-in boxes. I don't even know where to begin experimenting with sauce for brisket as I feel like it is a sin...I am a blues hog fan for pork, could I just use that and cut it with beef broth? Any recommendations are appreciated. It seems like the judges in my area are looking for sauce flavor as opposed to the natural flavor of the meat and layered rubs.

 

[Untraceable]

Natural flavor of meat and layered rubs sounds fine and dandy, but after a judge has had 18 samples of overly everything food, nuance is not your friend

 

[ModelMaker]

How would you even begin to know the 5 better briskets ahead of you were "very sauced"?
Ed

 

[masque13]

^ that

 

[tduffy]

I don't think "very sauced" briskets would win. Where did your info go that all the briskets finishing ahead of you were?

 

[Mike0585]

I am really close with most of the guys and we share pics of our turn in boxes fairly regularly. Here are 3 boxes, mine is the unsauced the other two are first and third place.

 

[TroyA65]

I'm in the same boat and asked the same question, so far you are getting the same answers (not helpful). I hope you do get some better answers. Nobody is looking for secret recipes just some guidance or a direction to start. Good luck!!

 

[masque13]

if you guys are close enough to share turn in box pics, have you been able to shig any ideas on what sauces they are using?

but back to your original post, yes, I think you could take some BH and cut it with something like beef broth and use it.

 

[masque13]

I'm in the same boat and asked the same question, so far you are getting the same answers (not helpful). I hope you do get some better answers. Nobody is looking for secret recipes just some guidance or a direction to start. Good luck!!

man I am more than happy to help provide a useful answer, but I'm not real sure what you want folks to say??

if you and the original poster believe that saucing a brisket is the answer then honestly that is what you should do.

my honest god answer is that I do very very lightly sauce my brisket slices.....you would barely even be able to tell it was done.

I do my burnt ends a little heavier, but never to the point it's like rib candy.

in all cases, i cut the sauce with something, either water, beef broth, or the natural au jus I have collected from the cook. I honestly can't tell you how I mix it......I just start taking some sauce and start blending it until I get a flavor that tastes good that day and then I apply it to the meat.

I dont put the slices back into the smoker, cause the sauce is so light there isn't a need to "set the sauce". About half the time, I will place burnt ends back in to let the sauce caramelize a bit, but even then it's a spur of the moment thing for me.....because if my burnt ends turn out like butter, I do very little to them and let them stand mostly on their own.

I do this process with various sauces......depending on what is tasting good to me at the time. but it's mostly commercial sauces.

now all of this info and $4 will get you a decent cup of coffee somewhere......in other words, what the hell do I know? I'm no championship cook. I cook 1-4 contests per year. I've done around 15 contests in the last 6 years or so. I've gotten roughly 4-5 calls in brisket and most recently last season got a 3rd place call in brisket at a sanctioned KCBS contest. So i dont make dog food, but there are lots of folks who know a hell of lot more about it than I do. but I hope my answers have helped a bit.

 

[Right on Q]

I would experiment with mixing sauce in your au jus. That's where we started. If you're hitting 6th place you're obviously doing something right.

We use head country as a base for our brisket sauce. We feel it compliments our rub and injections well. If you feel BH compliments your rub and sauce better then there's nothing wrong with using that.

I wouldn't go too heavy with the sauce personally. Especially since you're already scoring well. We say anything in the top 10 is great and top 5 is ideal. You shouldn't be shooting for 1sts in all categories. You'll drive yourself crazy

 

[ewatts2003]

At the end of the day it's all going to come down what table your boxes get put at. I know, I know...judge what's in the box, it's a meat contest not a sauce contest, don't compare the box to another box...but in reality this doesn't happen.

That being said, go watch the National BBQ League BBQ Life videos on YouTube. You get a behind the scenes look at what the top teams out there are doing. You will see that some use sauce, some use au jus, some use both. Try your next brisket with a little sauce and see how it goes.

 

[ClaytonSmoke]

Whatever you turn in will likely dry out more by the time a judge sees it. An unsauced brisket may look fine when you put it in the box, but look unappealing by the time it cools off and is presented. Something very light sauce or au jus combo may help the meat hold up better.

 

[tduffy]

I am really close with most of the guys and we share pics of our turn in boxes fairly regularly. Here are 3 boxes, mine is the unsauced the other two are first and third place.

They surely didn't win on appearance. IMO neither of those boxes look that great. Kinda sloppy. They must have tasted good.

 

[localyocal]

Like others have stated I'd try to start with something like head country as a base and possibly mix with another sauce and then thin it with drippings until it tastes beefy and sweet. Personally I like to put a very thin sauce on top and set it then add the sauce mixture. I will say my sauce mixture is beefier than sweet but has both. I feel like that along with the thin sauce on top and of course a finish rub has the right amount of beefy, sweet and saltiness. As in every category balance is the key IMHO.

 

[Mike0585]

Thanks for the input, again not looking for “ the winning recipe “ just a place to start. Looks like Head Country is a bit of a favorite, so I will start there and see what I can come up with.

 

[Sledneck]

Ditch the burnt end checkerboard

 

[Fat Freddy]

Truth is what was YOUR scores? Where did YOU finish on your table? I say it like that because start with what you can control. If taste was an issue for YOUR scores then worry about sauce however from what I am reading you say your brisket was tender but I havent heard scores in any category. What if your slices were as tender as you describe but your ends were not perfect, again comes back to tenderness. I guess what I am trying to say is perhaps the reason you finished where you did is because of other reason other than sauce and your scores sure might show something. And if you finished first on your table then there isnt much more you can do.

 

[Mike0585]

I have thought about not doing my burnt ends in the box. They are probably bringing the scores down a little bit. I would much rather keep them for us to enjoy anyways.

 

[midwest_kc]

Truth is what was YOUR scores? Where did YOU finish on your table? I say it like that because start with what you can control. If taste was an issue for YOUR scores then worry about sauce however from what I am reading you say your brisket was tender but I havent heard scores in any category. What if your slices were as tender as you describe but your ends were not perfect, again comes back to tenderness. I guess what I am trying to say is perhaps the reason you finished where you did is because of other reason other than sauce and your scores sure might show something. And if you finished first on your table then there isnt much more you can do.

This. Tell us what your scores were, and that will give a better idea of where to go.

 

[tduffy]

Clean the specs of stuff off the front of your slices also. That doesn't look appetizing. Strain your au juice or something.