Java Rub for a Smoked Brisket - A great start to vacation!

Vacations are so nice. It’s exceedingly pleasurable being away from the daily grind of work, the rigid time set of the alarm clock, traffic being thick as molasses and dodging texting motorists on the interstate………never mind being out of earshot of office gossip and politics. deep sigh
(I am now recapping the events of that vacation)

What I miss the most has to be second breakfast. When the weather was nice ( which was often) we enjoyed over-easy eggs, grits, smoked bacon, toast and fried tomato slices while dining on the patio. No schedule, no rushing. But that wasn’t the only meal I fell in love with recently.

During week one of our vacation we tried smoking a brisket on the grill. It was the first time we did this as my first brisket was roasted in the oven. I love brisket!



Steve Raichlen has a good Java rub recipe which can be used for steak, pork or chicken. So far we have made use of it twice – once with a brisket and then a pork shoulder roast (more on it later). If you have ever smoked a large roast before you know the preparation on the front side is fairly fuss free. You measure out the ingredients for your rub and if desired, place it onto the meat and let sit for 12 hours or so. If you let it sit a bit prior to grilling/smoking it’s better.

Here is the recipe for a good rub that isn’t spicy.

Java BBQ Rub

6 tablespoons ground coffee
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

And here is what you’ll do with it…and a good cut of brisket.

Mix the ingredients in a container and stir or whisk until blended. The brown sugar can be stubborn sometimes and you will need to break it up with your fingers.

Now rub a good portion of this onto the brisket (or whatever cut meat you like). Save the rest of this rub in an airtight container for another time. It stores well.

Ready to get the grill set up? Doug uses charcoal and has these little charcoal baskets which fit smoothly on both sides of the grill. Using the charcoal chimney he gets a good amount of charcoal lit and while it’s burning, he sets the prepared brisket in a large aluminum pan.



For a smoky flavor you can use hickory, cherry, pecan or apple wood chunks or chips. Soak the chips for half hour and chunks for 2 hours.

Once the coals are ready carefully dump them into the side baskets so you are cooking using indirect heat. Doug tossed some soaked apple chips over the charcoal. Now close the lid.

See the smoke pouring out? The aroma will drive you mad...



Keeping the heat at a steady 300 degrees Fahrenheit requires you to get more charcoal burning to place in the baskets at one hour intervals. It’s not a hard and fast rule, that one hour, but you need to watch the temperature and gauge when to fill that chimney and start more charcoal burning. Also adjust the temperature using the top and bottom vents. I know nothing of this – these are the grill master’s instructions.

Baste the brisket with the pan juices.....



A 3 pound brisket took roughly 3 ½ hours to smoke.



This is a great way to spend the day at home if you have a good book you want to get into or perhaps some yard work. I didn’t do any yard work……but I read quite a bit.

Coming up are some wine reviews, rural walkabout photos and Donna hay recipes.