Friday, June 13, 2008

Brisket with strawberry/guajillo bbq sauce

Strawberries are in season! While I enjoy them just as they are and in desserts, I see no reason that they should be excluded from the main course or the joy of summer barbeque. Yesterday, when the bacon was done and the mash was resting, I headed to my local butcher shop and picked up a five pound beef brisket. The first thing I did was to give it a dry rub with salt, brown sugar, guajillo chile powder, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, savory and probably a few more things I forgot (I love doing improvised dry rubs). I then smoked the brisket, using hickory, the same way I did the bacon.



While it was smoking I worked on my first strawberry-based barbeque sauce:

1 quart fresh, local strawberries
1/2 cup guajillo chile powder
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbsp. blackstrap molasses
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp dry mustard
Salt and fresh ground black pepper

I threw all of this in my Vita-Mix and made a smooth puree.

After a few hour of smoking I placed the brisket in a foil pan with about a cup or two of the sauce and covered tightly with foil.





I let it cook gently over the waning fire for about an hour. It was good right off of the grill but once it was chilled over night, sliced thinly and served with some of the reserved sauce it was spectacular. The strawberry flavor was distinct but not at all out of place. Strawberries aren't just for dessert anymore.



If you would like to enter you strawberry recipe in the strawberry moon contest click here.

6 comments:

OhioMom said...

Oh wow, strawberries in bbq sauce...sounds great.

Thanks for entering the Strawberry Moon Festival.

Michelle said...

OMG...does this sound fabulously delicious! I was thinking about getting a brisket too and just picked up 5 qts of strawberries. WOW...instead of chicken this Sunday maybe I will try your brisket w/strawberry bbq sauce!

Anonymous said...

I want my brisket, dammit to fucking hell!

maybelle's mom said...

It reat to find another Cleveland blogger. Is your shop in Collinwood?

Anyway great recipe; strawberry BBQ is a great idea.

SPICEHOUND said...

I'm at The Coit Road Farmers Market which is in East Cleveland right on the boarder of Collinwood. Stop by some time, strawberry season is short.

Nancy Heller said...

We just added some strawberries that were on their last legs (we can't bear to refrigerate them) to a pot of overly spicy chili my husband made - wow! It added sweetness and flavor that helped to tame the heat.