Summer Barbecue Perfection with Tips from Pitmaster Adrian Davila

Few summertime activities are as enjoyable as an afternoon spent surrounded by family and friends awaiting a barbeque feast. The barbeque smoking process offers the perfect opportunity to take things slow, share a drink and some laughs, and kick back while the smell of barbeque fills the backyard. Adrian Davila, third-generation pit master at Davila’s BBQ in Seguin, Texas, is an expert in barbeque and offers a few tips to enhance your summer asado.

Prepping the Meat

For brisket, go for a whole-packer brisket, which includes both the flat and the point. The flat is leaner and slices beautifully, while the point is fattier and great for burnt ends.

Davila’s BBQ Rub Ingredients:

Barbeque requires a rub packed with flavor. Davila’s’ 70-year-old BBQ Rub is an easy and delicious recipe that can be used on any meat, even cocktails. The ingredients include 1 1⁄2 cups salt, 1⁄3 cup freshly ground black pepper, and three tablespoons of cayenne pepper.

Put the brisket in a large plastic tub and generously apply Davila’s BBQ Rub all over it, ensuring that all crevices and uneven surfaces are covered. Store and cover the meat in an airtight tub or container and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours; due to the thickness of the meat, 24 hours is ideal for the complete absorption of the seasoning. Thirty to 45 minutes before you want to cook, prepare the pit or grill for an indirect smoking method.

Preparing Your Pit

Indirect heat allows for a longer cooking process by providing just enough heat for the fat to render to the surface of the meat, breaking down the connective tissue with smoke and heat to make it perfectly tender. The temperature has to be just right: if you cook it too high, you will bake the meat, and it will become tough and dry, and if you cook it too low, the meat will dry out slowly because the fat won’t render correctly. 

How do you know if you’re doing it right? First, Adrian suggests checking that the meat glistens with fat but also watching the color. For ribs, you’re looking for a deep maroon color, not orange. Chicken should be golden caramel instead of white. And your brisket should be dark with a smoke ring, not hard and yellow.

The necessary pit tools include a quick-reading meat probe thermometer, long tongs, a long grilling spatula, refillable butane lighter, and wood for smoking. If using wood, use completely dry or cured wood—it can be cherry, mesquite, hickory, or pecan. According to Adrian, the vaqueros used whatever wood they found around them. At Davila’s in Seguin,  they use mesquite wood because it is readily available in the area.

Starting The Fire

The best way to start your fire is to use lit coals from a chimney starter. Light your chimney starter as you would an asado fire. Then, simply dump the lit coals from the chimney starter in the middle of the tower of logs. Most will fall to the bottom, and the coals will light the logs. Allow the logs to burn down for 30 to 45 minutes until they form coals. Then you’re ready to cook.

Be conscious of the pit or grill that you’re working with. When cold outside, heating a big pit or grill will take longer than a small pit on a hot day. Generally, it can take about 30 minutes after lighting to burn down the wood and heat it. Then, add a second layer of thicker wood to create smoke for the meat. While waiting for your pit to reach the desired temperature and the proper amount of smoke, allow your meat to sit and reach room temperature.

Wood Placement

Adrian emphasizes that the most important part of the indirect-heat fire-building process is placing the wood in a designated spot in the grill. 

Stack the wood in a tower form by starting with your largest two logs, placing them at the bottom, parallel to each other, with some space in between to create a base. Ideally, you want the size of the logs to decrease as you make your tower. Put the next two largest logs horizontally across the first two logs, parallel to each other, with some space in between. Continue this until you have made a tower of logs two-thirds of the way up the side of your grill and below the grill grate.

For a rectangular grill, stack the wood on one side of the grill so that about half of the grill is filled with wood. For a square grill, stack one-third of your grill with wood. For a circular grill, line one half of the grill with a crescent shape of stacked logs touching the side. A circular grill is not ideal for indirect smoking, but if you pay close attention to the placement of the logs and the heat, then you will be fine.

Cooking the Meat

Put the brisket on the rack in the pit, fat side up, with the larger end facing the fire source. The larger end must face the fire as it is thicker and takes longer to cook. If you place the smaller end closer to the fire, it will cook too fast and unevenly.

Turn the brisket (flip it) every two hours. Make sure to use gloves for this step. Refrain from using a fork because each time you puncture the brisket, you will lose some of the juice, which may become too dry. Cook the meat until it is completely tender. A good measure is that the meat jiggles when you shake it. The process should take around 11 to 12 hours in total.

Remove the brisket from the heat and allow it to rest for 35 to 45 minutes. This rest period allows the juices to be redistributed, ensuring every bite is tender and juicy. When it’s time to serve, slice your brisket against the grain. Serve with classic sides like coleslaw, baked beans, and cornbread, and you’ve got a feast.

Smoking meat at home is as much about patience as skill. Don’t rush the process—enjoy it. Every smoker has its quirks, so take the time to learn about your equipment and experiment with your setup, tools, and ingredients. With these tips from pitmaster Adrian Davila, you’ll be well on your way to mastering the art of BBQ. Happy smoking, and enjoy your summer barbeques!