1Setup & Prepare
About This Recipe
Texas-style smoked nilgai brisket with dry rub and 12-hour smoke—exotic game meets barbecue tradition.
Cultural Context
(135 words) Texas barbecue brisket represents the state's most iconic dish—beef brisket smoked low and slow until bark develops and meat becomes fork-tender. While traditionally beef, Texas pitmasters discovered nilgai brisket produces exceptional results. The cut's size (5-8 pounds), marbling, and beef-like character make it ideal for traditional Texas smoking technique. Nilgai brisket has appeared at barbecue competitions and wild game cookouts across South Texas, converting traditionalists with its superior flavor and texture. This preparation represents Texas's embrace of nilgai—treating exotic game with the same reverence as sacred beef brisket. The technique requires patience, quality wood smoke, and temperature control, rewarding the pitmaster with transcendent results. Sliced nilgai brisket with pickles, onions, and white bread proves wild game can achieve barbecue perfection.
2Ingredients
Shopping List
3Cooking Instructions
- Trim brisket, leaving ÂĽ-inch fat cap on top. Remove hard fat and silver skin from bottom.
- Apply dry rub generously to all surfaces, pressing into meat. Wrap and refrigerate overnight for rub to penetrate.
- Remove brisket from refrigerator 1 hour before smoking. Prepare smoker for 225-250°F using post oak or hickory.
- Place brisket fat-side up on smoker grate. Insert probe thermometer into thickest part of flat.
- Smoke for 6 hours, maintaining steady temperature, until bark develops and internal temp reaches 165°F. Spritz with apple cider every hour after first 3 hours.
- Wrap brisket tightly in butcher paper or foil. Return to smoker.
- Continue smoking until internal temperature reaches 200-203°F, about 6 more hours. Probe should slide in like butter.
- Remove brisket and rest, still wrapped, in cooler for 1-2 hours. This step is crucial.
- Unwrap and slice against the grain—thick slices for point (fatty end), thin for flat (lean end).
- Serve Texas-style with pickles, onions, white bread, and optional barbecue sauce on the side.
4Chef's Notes & Pairings
Chef's Notes
- Temperature consistency matters more than exact temperature—avoid fluctuations.
- The "stall" around 165°F is normal—wrapping helps push through it.
- Probe tenderness matters more than exact temperature—it should feel like room-temperature butter.
- Resting in cooler allows collagen to finish converting while keeping meat hot.
- This is time-intensive but results rival or surpass beef brisket.
Wine Pairing
Texas Amber Lager or Zinfandel – Cold Shiner Bock is traditional, or try fruit-forward Zinfandel.
Nutrition Facts
(per serving, 4 oz) Calories: 385 | Protein: 46g | Fat: 20g | Carbohydrates: 4g | Iron: 6.4mg
