HOT DISH: Original brisket sandwich at Br’ers BBQ

Above, Brisket sandwich from Br'ers BBQ; Below. Alexa FitzGerald, executive chef and general manager; and cutting the brisket. Amy Sowder Photos

By AMY SOWDER

When a dish is simple, each ingredient is more noticeable. Quality matters even more. There’s no masking it. 

That’s the beauty of the original brisket sandwich at Br’ers BBQ in Bedford Hills, where rich, earthy Angus brisket nestles into crunchy cabbage slaw on a crusty-yet-squishy focaccia wedge slathered with Br’ers barbecue sauce.

“Everything is good by itself, but when composed, they all talk and are even better together,” says Alexa FitzGerald, executive chef and general manager. 

In this sammy, you’re sinking your teeth into a smoky brisket that surrenders to the most tender touch. Then your tastebuds tango with the tangy, crisp cabbage slaw, before slow-dancing with the sweet and slightly spicy barbecue sauce. 

“For a simple sandwich like this with only three components, the texture goes a long way,” FitzGerald says.

The attention to detail doesn’t come with a side of formalities at Br’ers. Perched on the eastern point of a wonky triangular block just east of the Bedford Hills Library, this award-winning restaurant has only three small high-top dining tables, so it’s mostly for takeout — breakfast, lunch and dinner.

FitzGerald, 24, discovered the joys of barbecue from the in-house butcher at Mill House Brewing Company in Poughkeepsie while attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Upon graduation, she leaped at the opportunity to helm Br’ers BBQ and spent nearly nine months perfecting recipes before the eatery opened in May 2023.

The succulent, creamy, crunchy, meaty mound known as the “original brisket sandwich” comes in a close second to the “burnt end burrito” as the most ordered sandwich, but it’s the perfect place to start before veering off the classics, FitzGerald says. 

“We’ve changed our menu two or three times since we opened, but this sandwich has remained. It’s been there since day one,” FitzGerald says. 

Your sandwich’s magic was conjured the day before you ordered it, when the brisket entered the pellet smoker. “Her name is Eddie,” FitzGerald says about the silver box shaped like a refrigerator. The fire-safe and effective smoker can do its thing all night long until FitzGerald or her staff slide the meat out in the morning. The tough brisket cut comes from the cow’s chest, or pectoral muscle, so a low-and-slow cooking method is the way to go to break it down to create fork-tender meat.

Fat plays a key role in a breathtaking brisket.

When 20-pound briskets are delivered to Br’ers, FitzGerald or the kitchen staff trim off the fat until it’s 15 to 17 pounds. “We like about 1/4-inch of fat on top of the meat, which is what people here are comfortable with. We understand that it’s not like brisket in the South, where they’d leave more fat. It’s just enough to flavor the meat but not too overwhelming,” FitzGerald says. 

Throughout the variable 15-hour cooking process, the brisket loses 40 to 50 percent of its weight, coming in at about 8 pounds because so much moisture evaporates, a bit of protein exits the situation, and fat liquifies and drips off and through the meat — all of which only intensifies the flavor.

Actually, the process begins even earlier. Before the meat greets the smoker filled with 100 percent natural hickory and mesquite wood pellets, it gets Br’ers’ signature rub-down. The dry rub contains salt, pepper, ancho chiles, “and some other stuff to zhuzh it up,” FitzGerald says, keeping mum about their proprietary blend.

At the beginning of the smoking process, the chef or her staff shower the rubbed meat several times in a “meat spray,” made of mostly vinegar, barbecue sauce, and “some other liquids,” which FitzGerald also kept vague to protect this palatable prize. Some pitmasters “mop” the meat, she says, some brush it, and some spray it. Then the brisket smokes overnight undisturbed. “We want the bark to form,” FitzGerald says about the crusty edges. When returning in the morning, they spray the brisket every half hour until it’s done. The exact smoking time adjusts to that particular brisket’s needs.

Once FitzGerald pulls the brisket out of the smoker, she grabs her foot-long serrated brisket knife and slices the meat in half crosswise, separating the thicker, fattier point side from the thinner, leaner flat side.

She turns the meat’s center toward her and massages the top, causing the juices to gush out. “It’s still incredibly juicy,” she says.

Placing a few slices on the scale, FitzGerald weighs out a half-pound worth of brisket and then builds the sandwich layers.

She’d already sliced the focaccia wedge — delivered fresh daily — and moved it back and forth over the butter-spreader wheel before placing the buttered sides down on the flat-top grill, which responded with a satisfying sizzle. The result was a rich, buttery bread with toasty leoparding inside, which creates a sogginess barrier against the meat juices and barbecue sauce.

“So on the outer edge, you still get that crunch, plus the squish of the middle,” she says. “This is a sturdier bread for heavier, fattier meats and heavier sauces.” 

Then comes the Br’ers classic barbecue sauce that balances sugar, acid and heat from cayenne, chili pepper and jalapeño. It’s not as sweet and sour as the “swine sauce” for pulled pork, which has more vinegar in it plus mustard — more Carolina style. 

For another layer of texture and flavor, the shredded green cabbage slaw arrives packed with lemon juice, celery seed, sugar, and a blend of dahi Indian yogurt and sour cream instead of mayonnaise, which FitzGerald prefers. “You get the crunch, tang, and creamy in this cabbage slaw,” she says.

FitzGerald’s talent with barbecue classics and twists on tradition have garnered the label of pitmaster, but the chef says she doesn’t have the years of experience for that title — yet. 

Like FitzGerald, this unassuming barbecue joint has grown quite a fan base in its two short years. Br’ers won Best New Barbecue Restaurant in Best of Westchester 2024 Awards, and the chili took first place in the Katonah Chili Cook-off.

Br’ers BBQ is located at 52 Church St., Bedford Hills. 

Did you know?

The eatery’s name, “Br’ers,” is an abbreviation for the brothers who run two restaurant groups, Purdy’s Farmer & the Fish in North Salem, and Hudson Farmer & the Fish in Sleepy Hollow, as well as Bistro de Ville in Scarsdale.