“Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.”

― Anthony Bourdain

I have never been to the South, but my gosh I feel like Southern food holds a steadfast place in my heart. When the Traeger arrived at our house, the very first thing I wanted to cook was classic Beef Brisket. The extent of my brisket knowledge is Idaho road-stop barbecue joints and county fair plates. But there is a part of the country that treats brisket as a craft, a science, a passion, and well respected dish. I immediately googled, “Best Barbecue Netflix Shows,” and was happy to find individual episodes dedicated to the art of barbeque. After Peter and I studied David Chang, Michael Pollan, Anthony Bourdain, and Arrow Franklin reveling in the beauty of barbecue, we couldn’t help but want to dive headfirst into the barbecue recipe that most spend their whole lives perfecting.

Now the best thing about a Traeger is that you really are cheating the whole barbecue system, while also achieving great tasting smokey flavor. Smoking brisket in a true classic manner (using real fire and coals), the Traeger carefully feeds real wood pellets and allows the cook ultimate control on the tricky process of monitoring the internal temperature of the meat and the smoker. Brisket is a large cut of beef coming from the breast of beef. It is a tough cut full of connective tissue and often has a layer of fat cap on top and fat marbled throughout the beef. With the guidance from Bart and Mike at the Ketchum Atkinsons’s meat counter, we chose an easier more tender cut for our first go: Idaho Kobe Bavette. A cut from the sirloin, it is superb for grilling or roasting, especially when you go with the Idaho Kobe. We followed the Traeger recipe for BBQ Brisket, but reduced the cook time to 6 hours, as the Bavette needs less time to break down the tough tissue than brisket. One thing we did not skimp on was the Traeger brand Beef Rub. This stuff is jam packed with flavor and meant to pair with the smoked flavor. You can buy Traeger brand rubs and Traeger Wood Pellets at Atkinsons’ Market in Hailey. We served the barbecue bavette as a brisket sandwich with Bigwood Bread toasted challah buns and slaw. However, when we make this dish again, the meat is so tender and delicious there is no need to fix it into a sandwich.

Feeling very confident in the Traeger, regardless of experience, we invited 8 close friends over to our first ever barbecue + barbecue sauce tasting. There is an overwhelming amount of barbecue sauces to choose from at Atkinsons’ markets. Since I simply could not make up my mind, I chose six barbecue sauces to taste-test with our friends. Though it is was very close call between Bone Suckin’ Sauce and Hunt Grilling Sauce, Bone Suckin’ Sauce took home the blue ribbon. We decided the Hunt Grilling Sauce needs to be cooked with, not served with, and I can’t wait to do just that.

Traeger Smoked Idaho Kobe Bavette
10 Servings
1 Day Marinating + 6 Hours Smoking

Ingredients

• 1 (12-14 LB) Idaho Kobe Bavette
• Traeger Beef Rub, available at Atkinsons’ Market in Hailey

Recipe

1. Coat meat liberally with Traeger Beef Rub. When seasoned, wrap brisket in plastic wrap. Let the wrapped meat sit 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
2. When ready to cook, set the Traeger to 225℉ and preheat, lid closed for 15 minutes.
3. Place meat fat side down on the grill grate and cook for 6 hours or until internal temperature reaches 160℉. Remove brisket from the grill and wrap in foil.
4. Place foiled brisket back on grill and cook until it reaches a finished internal temperature of 204℉ this should take an additional 3-4 hours.