Food tips - Texas Brisket Caja China Style

This amazing recipe is courtesy of Dorothy Randoll. We'll be preparing a 15-pound brisket. Your caja china (also called a Cajun microwave) can hold as many as 5 or 6 briskets of this size! So here's the list of what you need:

La Caja Asadora Roasting Box

Brisket

Charcoal

Oven mitts

Aluminum foil

Instant read thermometer

Dry rub

Basting sauce

Basting brush

Barbecue sauce

Rimmed pan that will fit inside your caja china

You will want to buy the brisket untrimmed, meaning it should have a thick cap of fat on it. For the dry rub we prefer Bad Byron's Butt Rub, but any dry rub of your choice can be used. Other ingredients include ½ cup of kosher salt, 2 tablespoons of black pepper, 2 tablespoons of garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon of onion powder. Stir these entire together well. For the basting sauce, and this is great anytime your roasting pig as well, you can use about 1 cup of either apple juice or a 50/50 cider vinegar and water blend. Another option is a thin, sweet barbecue sauce. Anything thick runs the risk of burning in the hog cooker.

Now let's get to the sauce…here is the recipe for Dorothy's Barbecue Sauce:

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup bottled barbecue sauce

½ cup catsup

½ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup lemon juice

½ cup Worcestershire sauce

1 cup water

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon chili powder (optional)

1 tablespoon paprika

Combine all the ingredients in a jar and blend thoroughly.

To prepare the brisket before placing in the pig roaster (note: a Caja China does much more that just bbq pig!) place it on the baking sheet and add plenty of dry rub to all the meat surfaces. Be sure your caja china box is on a dry, level surface. Have 20-25 lbs of Kingsford charcoal on hand. Begin roasting with the fat side of the brisket up. Start the fire on the charcoal grid of your La Caja Asadora or La Caja China model pig roasters, and allow 20 minutes for the coals to burn evenly. Spread the charcoal evenly over the surface of your roast box. After an hour brush the brisket with the basting or barbecue sauce and add 4-5 lbs of charcoal evenly over the burning coals. After the second hour seal the baking sheet with aluminum foil, using oven mitts to carefully apply it. Recover your caja china with the charcoal pan and grid. Add an additional 2-3 lbs. of charcoal at this point. After the third hour you are ready to check the temperature of the brisket using your meat thermometer. The desired internal temperature is 180 degrees. Once the brisket has reached the desired temperature, remove it from your Cajun microwave style roaster and let rest before carving. Serve with warm barbecue sauce on the side. You'll want to be sure to have lots of napkins available for this one! Enjoy!

Posted in: Texas Brisket Caja China Style