Smoked brisket buns with mustard barbecue sauce and pickled chillies

Method

1. Set up the barbecue for indirect heat (so the coals are to one side and the meat can be put on the other). You’re trying to maintain a temperature of 110 130°C. You’ll be cooking for a long time, so get a good amount of charcoal in there and use the barbecue vents to level the temperature before you start cooking. Soak the wood chunks/chips in water (you’ll need about 20 handfuls).
2. Mix the 30g salt and 30g pepper together, then sprinkle it over the brisket, ensuring every part is evenly coated. You don’t want to pack it on too thickly, but it should season every exposed part of the meat. Give the joint a little shake to remove any excess.
3. Put the brisket in the barbecue, fat-side up. If your heat source is at one side, put the pointed end of the joint facing the heat. Add a handful of smoking chips or a few chunks of wood, close the lid and cook for 8-10 hours, keeping an eye on the temperature and topping it up with a handful of damp wood chips every half hour or so. (If you need to top up the charcoal too, a BBQ chimney is useful as it gets the charcoal to the right heat before you add it.)
4. Meanwhile, make the chillies. Put the vinegar, sugar and 80ml water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. As soon as it boils, remove from the heat, add the chillies and cover. Leave to cool to room temperature.
5. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat, then add the onion and garlic. Cook for 6-8 minutes until softened but not coloured, then add the spices, salt and 1 tsp of the pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the vinegar, then simmer until the sauce reduces to a syrup (about 8 minutes). Add the apple juice, then reduce again to a syrup (about 8 minutes).
6. Add the Worcestershire sauce and sugar, cook for 2 minutes, then add the ketchup. Turn the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then. Set aside to cool.
7. Start testing your brisket for doneness after 7½ hours. You want it to be a deep, deep brown – almost black – with a solid crust or ‘bark’ all over. If you have a probe thermometer, it’s usually ready to wrap at around 73-75°C. Lay out 2 large sheets of butcher paper on a work surface, overlapping slightly, then wrap the brisket up in them, as if wrapping a present. Return it to the barbecue with the paper folds facing down and cook for another 2-3 hours (there’s no need to add more wood at this stage). If you’re in a rush, you can raise the temperature of the barbecue slightly (but only by 20-30°C).
8. The brisket is ready when it sags at either end as you pick it up in the middle (or is at 90-92°C). Rest it for at least an hour (but it’ll be fine for 2 hours) wrapped in the paper.
9. When ready to serve, pour half the barbecue sauce into a bowl and mix in the remaining 1 tsp pepper, the mustard and the pickling liquid from the chillies to create a second mustardy sauce.
10. Carve the brisket against the grain, starting with the flat, in 5mm thick slices. As you get towards the point and the muscle changes, so will the grain, so keep an eye out for it. Try to slice the point end slightly thinner than the flat. Spread the buns with one or both sauces, then add 1-2 slices of brisket, coiling them around in a spiral. Top with a few pickled chillies, put the lid on top and dish them out to your hungry (and very lucky) guests.