How to smoke briskets on La Caja China

One of the facts that is often bemoaned about cooking with La Caja China (the Cuban roasting box) is that it's hard to get an authentic smoked flavor with it.

There is an electric smoke unit that can be purchased, along with special pellet canisters and attached to the unit (after drilling a hole through the side) but I've found a simple, inexpensive method that works flawlessly. Here are the step-by-step instructions for smoking 50lbs of perfect brisket.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 4 whole (packer-style) briskets, 12-14lbs each. 6 cups dry rub 4 long disposable baking pans 40 pounds of charcoal 2 9x12 disposable baking pans (for chips) 8 cups of woodchips or pellets

1. 

   The night before you plan to begin cooking, rinse the briskets, and pat dry. Place briskets in large disposable pans and generously apply dry rub, whichever type you prefer, to all meat surfaces. Refrigerate overnight.
   
   Once hour before cooking, remove briskets from cooler and let stand at room temperature until cooking time. Set up La Caja China in a safe outdoor area, well away from anything that could be damaged by the heat.

2. 

   Place brisket on the meat rack in La Caja, fat side up, set disposable catch pans beneath lower rack to catch drippings. Top upper rack with a pan of wood chips (4 cups) on a second, inverted pan (see picture below.) Put top tray on roaster and build fire, using 4 - 5 pounds of charcoal in center of charcoal pan. Allow about 20 minutes for coals to burn evenly.

3. 

   After 20 minutes, spread the coals evenly over the surface of the charcoal pan. Allow briskets to roast 1 more hour.
   
   Step 4 (Pic w/sauced briskets)
   
   Lift the charcoal pan and place on grill handles. Brush the fatty meat surface generously, with about 1 cup basting sauce (per brisket) without removing them from the racks. Add remaining wood chips. Quickly replace the charcoal pan and add another 3 pounds of charcoal, distributing them evenly over the already burning coals. Reserve any unused basting sauce. Allow briskets to roast 30 minutes, add 3 more pounds of coals and roast another 30 minutes.

4. 

   Lift the charcoal pan and place on grill handles. Brush the fatty meat surface generously, with about 1 cup basting sauce (per brisket) without removing them from the racks. Add remaining wood chips. Quickly replace the charcoal pan and add another 3 pounds of charcoal, distributing them evenly over the already burning coals. Reserve any unused basting sauce. Allow briskets to roast 30 minutes, add 3 more pounds of coals and roast another 30 minutes.

5. 

   After 1 hour (briskets have now been cooking 2 hours, 20 minutes) remove the charcoal pan and set aside (dump excess ashes, and woodchip pans.) Pour any drippings from disposable pans and save for later. Lift briskets from racks and place each in a disposable pan. Pour any remaining basting sauce over and top with a sheet of foil. Fold up all edges of foil to enclose securely.
   
   Place the foil-wrapped brisket, pan and all, into La Caja and cover unit with charcoal pan. Add 3 pounds of charcoal, distributing evenly over the already burning coals. Allow briskets to roast 30 minutes, add 3 more pounds of coals and roast another 30 minutes. (Total time 3:20)

6. Continue to add 3lbs of charcoal every thirty minutes for 4 hours, dumping ashes once after about 2 hours.

7. 

   Remove the charcoal pan and set aside (dumping excess ashes.) Place an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the brisket, poking through the foil. You’re aiming for an internal temperature of 185 degrees. It may take one more hour of cooking to reach 185, but you need to check now to avoid overcooking. Allow briskets to roast 30 minutes, add 3 more pounds of coals and roast another 30 minutes. (Total time 8:20)

8. Remove the charcoal pan and set aside. Place an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the brisket, poking through the same hole in the foil. If the temperature has reached 185 degrees, remove pans (with briskets) from La Caja China and place them on a heatproof surface. Let it rest for one hour before carving. (If briskets have not reached 185, recover and test again after 20 - 30 minutes.)

9. 

   Remove the top piece of foil from the meat, temp should be 190 now. Transfer each brisket to a carving surface. I like to place my cutting-board with one end over the edge of the sink and the other end propped up slightly. Place a pan in the bottom of the sink to catch the juices that run out as you carve. These can be poured back over the meat after it’s carved. You’ll have several cups of meat juices trapped in the pans as well. Save any juices that you don’t serve with the meat, it’s great in beans and sauces.

10. 

    To carve the brisket, carefully slice off the fat cap and discard. Slice the brisket thinly against the grain of the meat, paying attention as the grain direction changes. Place on a large platter. Brush with drippings. Serve immediately with finishing sauce and sliced white bread.

Tips & Warnings

• Early in the roasting, the fat caps on each brisket will blacken and char, this is perfectly normal, and your briskets are not being ruined. The meat is places fat-side up for just this reason, to protect the meat. This fat cap will be sliced and tossed later, anyway. 50 pounds of brisket will generously serve 100 people. The meat is very rich and diners who are unfamiliar with it often take more that they can eat. I always serve the brisket myself, at the end of a buffet-line, when I cook brisket for a crowd.
• For more information on roasting brisket, pork shoulders, whole pigs, and more in the amazing La Caja China roasting box, visit: http://www.lacajachina.com/

Resources

• More of Perry's writing