Slow roasted peppery brisket, sweet corn with butter and sea salt

Here’s the thing about brisket: I don’t like smoke, and I despise the fabricated flavor of liquid smoke.

This brisket is slow roasted in the oven and is everything it should be: a caramelized crusty outside boldly protecting a melt-in-your-mouth layer of fat that gently seeps into peppery tender meat.

Here’s the thing about corn: I see the photos of herby cheesy elote. I see ‘em and I’ll probably concoct one or two takes on it this summer.

But sinking your teeth into the first salty buttery sweet corn of the season? There’s nothing quite like it.

Ingredients:

• 5 lb brisket
• 2 T sea salt; 2 T sea salt
• 1 T black pepper powder
• 1 T cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 T paprika
• 2 T dried mustard
• 2 T garlic powder
• 2 T onion powder
• 3 T brown sugar
• 1 T liquid smoke (ew)
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 3-4 ears of corn

The How To:

1. Mix all ingredients (not meat or corn, c’mon now) in a medium bowl with a whisk. Place your meat in a large ziplock bag and coat with the rub. Let sit overnight, 18-24 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place brisket, fat side up, in a shallow roasting pan on a rack, and add 3 cups of water to the pan–do NOT pour the water over the meat.
3. Cover tightly with foil and place in oven. Don’t touch it for four hours!
4. After four hours, remove the foil and cook for another 1 1/2 hours.
5. We kissed it with the broiler for about two minutes at the end.
6. Remove from the oven, loosely tent again with foil, and let sit for 20 minutes.
7. While the meat is resting, boil a large pot of water with about 2 T salt. When boiling, add your corn and cook for 5 minutes. Drain, and sprinkle with sea salt.
8. Slice brisket against the grain to serve.