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Do you eat brisket with sauce?

WeberWho
WeberWho Posts: 11,008
A friend made a brisket off his Traeger yesterday and have to admit it was damn fine. First time eating anything off a pellet smoker. As we were dishing up they had 3 different bbq sauces available. I skipped and ate without any sauce. Perfectly good without sauce. I was the only sauce less person of the 20+ people in the group. Do people eat a good brisket with sauce? Is this not the same as eating a good steak? Brisket is far from an ordinary cook for most people here in Minnesota so hard to compare what is normal. I noticed people received Franklin bbq sauce with the gift exchange. So is sauce not a sin on brisket? I'm interested to hear peoples thoughts....Thanks 
"The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

Minnesota

Comments

  • Dyal_SC
    Dyal_SC Posts: 6,023
    Personal preference I guess, but I always sauce my burnt ends and have horseradish with the flat. 
  • I can't speak for the franklins on brisket but I know the franklins sauce @Foghorn  sent me is great on chicken, steak and pulled pork. I would guess it will be great on brisket but definitely not necessary. To me brisket is great by itself. 
    Snellville, GA


  • onedbguru
    onedbguru Posts: 1,647
    First run, generally not
    First still-here's,  maybe
    Subsequent still-here's, usually.
  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 14,602
    If you put sauce out, some people will use it because it's there or they think they're supposed to.

    personally, I usually don't use sauce on brisket unless it tastes like roast beef or is dried out.  Or chopped beef.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,168
    I'm definitely in the no sauce camp for the initial go-round.  Now if I hosed the cook then I may sauce for the next round.  
    But the beef flavor doesn't need anything else, even in pre BGE times.  I would venture that "We've always done it this way" is why sauce is a "given" for most.

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
    I do both but am primarily in the no sauce camp. Last night I had two cold slices from the refrigerator without sauce or reheating - good eats :)
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
  • texaswig
    texaswig Posts: 2,682
    I use sauce. Specially if it's going bread. I don't see how anybody can eat a sandwich that's  dry. 

    2-XLs ,MM,blackstone,Ooni koda 16,R&V works 8.5 gallon fryer,express smoker and 40" smoking cajun 

    scott 
    Greenville Tx
  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 9,795
    I don't use sauce on good brisket - especially on the first run. I'll occasionally sauce leftovers.  And sometimes - especially if it is a little overcooked and falling apart anyway, I'll pull or chop all the leftovers and mix in some sauce and store it in ziplocks. 

    However, the chopped brisket sandwich I tasted at Franklins was the best taste of food I've ever had.  So lately I have actually cooked a couple of briskets and chopped the whole thing and mixed in his vinegar sauce to make sandwiches. 

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,428
    When I bring a brisket into an office potluck or party I always bring sauce, but usually don't use it myself.  Like @Legume said above, some folks probably feel they're "supposed to".
    (my sauce is damn good, however   ;)
    _____________

    "I mean, I don't just kill guys, I'm notorious for doing in houseplants."  - Maggie, Northern Exposure


  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    edited July 2016
    I'm in the maybe, maybe not camp. I like it all and have no hang ups about it. Usually taste it both ways. Same with ribs and such. 
    I will add that I find different sauces pair better with various proteins. I like a tangy sauce with brisket. More of a sweet guy over spicey rub for ribs. Chicken and pork are more versatile IMO. 
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    I will put a little sauce on my plate and dip as needed.  


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • blasting
    blasting Posts: 6,262
    I wonder if I've been a bad host.  I've never put out sauce with fresh brisket.  I will from now on though.  I sauce leftovers as needed.
    Phoenix 
  • Theophan
    Theophan Posts: 2,654
    Personal taste and variety both seem more important to me than rules.  

    When I'd never had brisket before, and went to Texas, many years ago, I thought I'd died and went to heaven it was so good.  And I'm always eager to learn how "the regulars" eat whatever it is in whatever area it is, and try it that way.  So I usually don't have sauce with brisket.  But variety is the spice of life, and sometimes I'll have a sauce with it, and I haven't been struck by lightning, yet!  :)

    Same thing with steak.  If it's a really good steak, I'm most likely to just use salt and pepper and that's it.  But variety's good, and sometimes I'll put a rub on it first, and once in a while I'll have an herb sauce on the side (mixed herbs chopped with some olive oil) and dip a bite in it once in a while.  I haven't used A1 with steak in ages, but I used to like that once in a while.  Who cares?  It's whatever you like that matters.

    And as far as being a good host, I think either way is fine.  You go to their house, you have whatever they're serving, so they come to your house, and they have whatever you're serving, which just might be sauce-less brisket.
  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 9,795
    blasting said:
    I wonder if I've been a bad host.  I've never put out sauce with fresh brisket.  I will from now on though.  I sauce leftovers as needed.

    @blasting, I wouldn't change up if I were you - especially not based on this thread.  If they've had your food before they know what they're coming for - and they keep coming back, so keep giving them your best.

    Note: I don't typically put out sauce either and have no intention of changing unless I stumble across a sauce that changes my perspective.

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 16,984
    For me not so much except for sandwiches, tacos, etc. When it is too dry it gets tossed into vegetable beef soup.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
  • I do both. I always grab a few choice slices and put them on a plate naked. One of my favorite things on earth is a brisket Sammie on plain white bread with sauce. It's the only white bread i will eat all year minus a hotdog bun or 2. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • johnnyp
    johnnyp Posts: 3,932
    I sauce sandwiches, not slices
    XL & MM BGE, 36" Blackstone - Newport News, VA
  • flexfusion
    flexfusion Posts: 240
    Yes, we in Alabama use BBQ sauce of many different labels on our brisket.  
    Auburn, Alabama
  • tarheelmatt
    tarheelmatt Posts: 9,867
    I like sauce for mine.  Just use my standard made sauce (NC based).  
    ------------------------------
    Thomasville, NC
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  • Dave in Florida
    Dave in Florida Posts: 1,157
    If slices are moist and tender...no sauce, it will stand on it's on merits.  If a little dry..chopped and sauced. If on a sandwich...sauced.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Welcome to the Swamp.....GO GATORS!!!!
  • schafe98
    schafe98 Posts: 46
    Only when it's in a sandwich.
    Vacaville, CA

    LBGE, Weber Summit, UDS, Weber Classic, Weber Smokey Joe, La Caja China
  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    edited July 2016
    I one of those people who gets tired of the "same old same old". If I have had brisket (or any meat really) a few times in a row without sauce, then I enjoy some sauce. And vice versa, if I have had sauce a few times, then no sauce is a welcome treat as well. 
    To me it comes down to individual taste. If you prefer sauce, then you should use sauce. Heck, for the most part we cover just about everything else with a sauce or condiment. Think about hotdogs, hamburgers, sandwichs, po boy's, meatloaf etc, etc. All of them are usually covered and smothered with something. 
    I have never been one to follow fads or get on the bandwagon just because some guru does it this or that way. I like ketchup on hotdogs and beans in chili. Thus I cover my dogs with ketchup and put tons of beans in my chili. We all like different things. That's just how it is. With that said, in the Kings words, "Have it your way" my friend. Be it with or without sauce. 

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 9,795
    @SGH is fickle.

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX