If you’ve been wondering how to cook a beef brisket, we have the recipe for you! Greg Mrvich from Ballistic BBQ shows you a no-fail way to create a mouthwatering brisket that the whole family’ll love.

Giving you a hint for how he makes the magic happen, Mrvich starts with a 10- to 18-pound beef brisket. To kick off the cook, he uses a custom marinade that he injects once every square inch throughout the entire brisket. And, to cover every part of the meat, he alternates the injections with and against the grain. He suggests seasoning it liberally with the beef rub of your choice. Or, he also offers up a quick salt, garlic, and black pepper mix. 

When it’s time to cook, place the meat with the fat-cap in the direction of the heat source to protect it. Then, close your cooker lid and let it cook until “the bark has set.” In other words, says Mrvich, the seasoning is firm enough so that you can’t scrape it off with your fingernail.

At this point, the brisket should have a nice mahogany color. Remove it from the pit and wrap it—along with a little beef broth—tightly in two sheets of aluminum foil. Then, place the brisket back on the pit.

Continue cooking the brisket until either a meat probe or toothpick can be pushed into the meat and removed with little to no resistance. It should feel almost like it’s going into warm butter, says Mrvich. At this point, it’s time to finish up the brisket. Pull it off the grill, vent the foil, and let it rest for about 30 minutes prior to slicing. Now, it’s simply time to kick back and enjoy the (tasty) fruits of your labor.

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How to Cook a Brisket with Ballistic BBQ

Make your own mouthwatering BBQ beef brisket with this recipe from Greg Mrvich of Ballistic BBQ.

Servings

4

servings

Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 beef brisket in the 10–18 pound range

• 2 cups injection of your choice (optional)

• SPG Rub

• 1 cup Kosher salt

• 1/2 cup garlic powder

• 1/4 cup black pepper

Directions

• Inject marinade, then season brisket liberally on all sides. Allow it to sit at room temperature so it can “sweat” through the rub.
• At the same time, pre-heat your cooker to 250° Fahrenheit, using the wood of your choice.
• Place the brisket with the fat-cap in the direction of the heat source, to protect the meat. Close the lid on your cooker and let it cook until the bark has set, for approximately 7 hours. In other words, the seasoning is no longer a paste, and is firm enough so that you can’t scrape it off with your fingernail.
• Once the bark is set and the brisket has that nice mahogany color, remove the brisket from the pit and wrap it tightly in two sheets of aluminum foil, along with a little beef broth. Place the brisket back on the pit.
• Continue cooking the brisket until it is “probe-tender.” In other words, a meat probe (or toothpick) can be pushed into the meat and removed with almost no resistance. It should feel almost like it’s going into warm butter.
• Once the brisket is done cooking, pull from the pit, vent the foil and let rest about 30 minutes prior to slicing.

Thanks for checking out this Ballistic BBQ recipe and video. In this episode, backyard grilling guru and Ballistic BBQ host Greg Mrvich will show you how to cook this June Bug burger bacon double cheeseburger. Mrvich named this burger “June Bug” because his home state of California is also home to insects bearing this name. These little critters are metallic looking, and, for whatever reason, love to eat figs.

When filming this video in Northern California, Mrvich’s neighbor provided a jar of homemade fig jam. This promptly triggered the light bulb to go off in his head to create a burger with the jam. But, of course, Mrvich then put his twist on it—making it with a bacon-fig jam.

To make the spread, mix bacon, onion, Fresno pepper, and fig jam in a skillet. (You can buy fig jam at a supermarket or Mediterranean market.) For the actual burger, you’ll need basic, toasted sesame seed buns. For the patties, use good-quality, 80/20 ground chuck with a little kosher salt. Cook the burgers to medium inside, then add aged white cheddar to one patty and American cheese to the other. Mrvich suggests choosing pasteurized American cheese over individually wrapped cheeses. To build your June Bug burger, start by adding arugula to the bottom bun, stack the American cheeseburger, then the cheddar burger. Then, add the bacon-fig jam and top bun. Enjoy!

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Ballistic BBQ’s June Bug Burger

Cuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Choose 80/20 ground chuck for these burgers. Check out the video to watch Mrvich in action.

Servings

4

servings

Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground chuck, each patty should weigh about 1/4 pound

• Bacon-fig sauce (enough for 8 burgers)

• 4 slices bacon, chopped

• 1/2 white onion chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon minced Fresno (or ripe jalapeno) pepper

• 3/4 cup fig jam

• Arugula

Directions

• Render down bacon in a hot skillet, then add chopped onion. Add chopped pepper and continue to cook. Once the onion starts looking translucent, add jam and stir. Place on a lower heat and allow sauce to simmer. In the meantime, toast hamburger buns on the grill.
• Season patties with a little kosher salt and place on the grate, over direct heat. Watch the sides of the patties as they cook, and flip once there is a color change halfway up the sides.
• After the flip, place one slice of aged white cheddar on one patty and American on the other. By the time the cheese melts, the burgers are done.
• Building the burger. Place a little arugula down on the bottom bun. Place the patty with the American cheese on top of the arugula. Patty with white cheddar on top of American cheese. Top with warm bacon-fig sauce. Crown with the top bun.
  
  Enjoy!

Recipe Video