Can I Make my Own BBQ Seasoning?

Oh yes you can! Any good seasoning specialist knows that the secret to a perfect spice blend is salt and pepper. Now, you may ask yourself, what kind of pepper, what kind of salt? For smoking meat, a blend of coarse or flaky salts and 16-mesh ground black pepper works best. Larger salt crystals and pepper particles burn slower and absorb more smoke, enhancing the flavour. A typical ratio is 50% salt to 50% 16-mesh black pepper. You may also use a pestle and mortar to grind your own whole pepper and salt; it might be less accurate, but it allows you to get your own preferred texture. After choosing your salt and pepper, you can add anything you want. You can go with BBQ classics like garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, or even add a little brown sugar for caramelization. You can even go wild and experiment with unique spices, such as cinnamon, for an unexpected twist! There are over 100,000 different spices in the world—find your own favorite blend and conquer the road to perfect BBQ.

What Are the Best Premade BBQ Seasonings?

In my opinion, the best seasoning rub for steak is a Montreal steak spice blend. This blend contains a coarse mix of salt, black pepper, coriander, garlic powder, onion powder, dill seed, and crushed red pepper flakes. A classic BBQ taste from home. For brisket, chicken and even pork, Stubb’s Black Pepper & Smoke Rub Seasoning is an excellent choice that adds rich smoky depth to any BBQ. As another excellent option, BBQ Québec offers classics like the Steakenator, a rich and savory blend for any steaks, and their own version of the traditional Montreal steak spice. Another remarkable blend from BBQ Québec is La Black Tiger, a unique spice blend that balances sweetness with saltiness and contains activated charcoal which gives any steak or brisket a dark rich bark. BBQ Québec also sells a variety of other spices, plus they are local. You can’t go wrong with any of these options.

What Are the Best BBQ Sauces

My favorite BBQ is Kraft’s Original BBQ sauce, a classic choice that is well known for its sweet and smoky flavor that pairs well with any piece of meat. For pork and chicken, BBQ Quebec offers the innovative Apple sweat BBQ sauce, a perfect sauce that combines apples, spices, maple sirup, and a touch of rhum. This sauce can be used to add caramelization any meats like ribs, pork chops or even chicken. Finally, a choice that might sound unusual but is surprisingly good, Espresso BBQ sauce! Its deep, rich coffee notes blend beautifully with smoky sweetness, making it a surprisingly delicious twist.

“BBQ is a world of infinite flavor”

How to Smoke the Perfect Brisket

How to Choose the Perfect Piece of Meat?

The first step of any smoked brisket is choosing the meat. In Canada, beef is graded using the following criteria: marbling, muscle content, animal age, and fat color/texture. Essentially, all beef is divided into categories: A, AA, AAA, and Canada Prime (lowest to highest quality and price). I usually recommend AA or AAA, since Canada Prime is rare/expensive and A is of lower quality. A brisket, the pectoral muscle of a cow, has two parts: the leaner, thinner Flat, and the fattier, thicker Point. You can choose to buy either cuts or a full brisket, depending on your time available and your preference.

What is the Best Way to Season and Prep Brisket for Cooking?

Many techniques exist for the crucial steps of trimming and seasoning. This is the way I do it. The night before cooking, put your brisket in the freezer for 20 minutes to harden the fat for an easier trim. With a sharp knife, remove the silver skin from the lean side and trim fat to about ½ inch. Slice off thin edges to remove browned meat and give the brisket a more aerodynamic shape. For classic flavor, use coarse salt and pepper. I apply mustard as a binder so seasoning sticks, but you can also try other spices or premade blends. My last brisket used Montreal Steak Spice. Finally, leave the brisket in the fridge overnight so the seasoning soaks into the meat.

What’s the Secret to Cooking a Perfect Brisket on a Pellet Grill?

For a perfect pellet grill brisket, use some high-quality wood pellets that are made for beef, like oak. Cook low and slow for a maximum amount of flavour and tenderness. To start, using a meat thermometer, smoke your brisket at 225°F for 6–8 hours until the internal temperature reaches about 165°F, then wrap it in butcher paper and continue cooking to 195–205°F for about 2–4 hours. Finally, let it rest, slice it pencil thin, and serve. Here, I served it in a rye bread sandwich with mustard and cheese.

“A perfect brisket is the result of a perfect combination of meat, seasoning and smoke”