A 1.5kg brisket rubbed hard with ground coffee, smoked paprika, garlic powder, roasted cumin and coriander seeds, set with honey for a sweet glaze. Wrapped tight in baking paper and foil, cooked low and slow over gentle heat for four to five hours. Texas-style discipline, kitchen-pan version.

The ground coffee in the rub is the texas barbecue trick worth importing. Coffee's bitterness and roasted aromatics deepen the meat's natural beefiness; the slight acidity also helps tenderise the connective tissue over the long cook. Use a dark roast, not espresso; espresso is too acidic and goes sour against the smoke.

The wrap-in-paper-then-foil technique (the Texas crutch) is what gets a home oven or smoker to a brisket result without the dedicated 12-hour pit. The paper allows enough air through to maintain the bark; the foil retains the moisture and accelerates the cook past the stall, the temperature plateau around 70 degrees where evaporative cooling brings progress to a halt.

Rest the brisket for at least an hour after cooking, still wrapped. Slice across the grain into pencil-thin pieces; the slice direction makes the difference between tender and chewy. Serve with pickled gherkins, hot mustard, soft white rolls and a cold lager. The kind of meat that justifies an afternoon's commitment.