Can you cook a great barbecue in your cast iron dutch oven? Absolutely, I have a great recipe for Dutch oven barbecue beef brisket. But why cook beef brisket in Dutch? Why not just use your smoker grill?
Well, maybe you don’t have a smoker grill that can keep the temperature at 225 ° F. Or maybe you’re camping and still want a good barbecue. Or maybe you love cooking outdoors in your cast iron Dutch oven.
Whatever the reason, the point is, you can make delicious barbecued beef brisket in your cast iron Dutch oven. The trick is to use a trivet to lift the breast off the bottom of the Dutchman. This keeps the meat from boiling in its own juice so the meat maintains that good barbecue texture. But, more on this later, let’s go to the recipe.
Barbecued beef brisket recipe
Use a 12-inch camp dutch oven
Place 7 coals under your dutch.
Place 14 coals on the lid of your Dutch.
This gives you around 300F.
Place your trivet in your Dutch and preheat.
Dry massage
- ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 (4 pounds) boneless beef brisket
You can of course use your own dry rub if you prefer, but I suggest using dark brown sugar. It will caramelize on your beef brisket and add a nice maple flavor.
To prepare your beef brisket, rub your dry masa on all sides of the brisket. Next, place the brisket fat side down on the trivet inside your preheated Dutch oven and cook for about three hours or until done.
At 300F, the beef brisket should cook for 30 to 45 minutes per pound. When I did this the other day, it took me about 45 minutes per pound. You will need to replace the embers about every hour and use a charcoal fireplace to pre-start the embers.
Which Cast Iron Dutch Oven Should I Use?
Well, we’re cooking outside on hot coals, so you need a camp dutch oven. All Dutch field ovens have a raised lip on the outer edge of the lid. This allows you to put coals on the lid. And most Dutch camp ovens have legs on the bottom so you can put coals underneath.
I used an 8.5-quart Bayou Classic. Cast iron dutch oven. This dutch has the flanged lid of the camp dutch oven but has no legs. So, I used a chain tripod to suspend the oven over the coals.
Both types of ovens work very well, I have both types and use them quite frequently. But, the Bayou Classic is a more versatile Dutch oven. The flat bottom allows you to cook with it on the stove, in the oven or on a camp stove. And, with a tripod, you can cook over hot coals or a campfire.
The Bayou Classic oven even comes with a fry basket so you can use it as a deep fryer. I have fried a lot of fish and chicken. But, let’s get back to the barbecue brisket.
As I mentioned earlier, when using a trivet, you lift the meat above the bottom of your pot. This allows the heat to circulate throughout the entire breast, kind of like a convection oven. The meat is cooked evenly and completely and the moisture is trapped inside the oven.
The result is an incredibly moist and tender barbecued beef brisket. In fact, I think I like Dutch brisket better than any brisket I’ve ever cooked on the smoker grill. When I cook the brisket on the smoker grill, it tends to be drier. But in the Dutch, the moisture remains in the meat.
The only thing missing from Dutch oven barbecue brisket is smoke. I use liquid smoke, but it is not the same. I think next time I could try putting a couple of wood chips in the bottom of my oven. Maybe that will give me the right amount of smoke.
Anyway, if you like to cook in your cast iron dutch oven, give this barbecue beef brisket recipe a try. It really is delicious.
