Brisket
 

A couple of weeks ago I made my first brisket. One of my favorite foods but till than it was always something I ate:

1. When eating at a family member who made it
2. One of my choices on a 3 item platter at bbq restaurant

The recipe I grabbed was off the internet and while good tended to be a little dry with not enough gravy.

Anyone have some recipes/methods they care to share? I am open to oven, crock pot, or grill (I do not have a smoker). I know there are enough Texans on this forum to get at least one good idea.

LOL. Okay, but I've never used anything but a smoker and I've never made gravy for brisket, so I don't think I'm going to be much help to you. ;)

If you want to do one in the oven, contact these guys:

http://www.heb.com/welcome/index.jsp

And see if you can get them to send you a fully-cooked brisket. 1/2 cup of water, 350 degrees, and one hour later, you are eating about the best it gets done that way.

It comes in regular size or just the flat. Anywhere from $27 down to $17. I suggest just the flat unless you are feeding a small army.

Good luck.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Oooh...you came to the right place. My grandmother's brisket always warms a special place in my heart. I introduced my father-in-law to this dish many years ago and now he understands why his Cathloic son married a "good" Jewish girl. :)

One critical trick to delicious brisket is to find a good, heavy roasting pot, such as a Magnalite. Their pots are somewhat expensive, but worth every penny...it's something you will have for a lifetime. If you have a Tuesday Morning store near you, you might get lucky. Otherwise, there's always e-bay.

Another secret is to make it the day before. The meat is more delicious when it has time to marinate in it's own gravy.

Here's the recipe:

1. Take a 6-7 lb. brisket and trim the fat. Rub with garlic and put the meat in the Magnalite.

2. Sautee 2 medium onions and some garlic in a frying pan. Put the onions / garlic on top of the meat.

3. Add the following to the pot: 2 celery stalks (cut off the bottoms, but use the leaves on the top), 2 peeled carrots (I sometimes add a handful of baby peeled carrots instead), 1 large tomato cut in quarters.

4. Add 1-1 1/2 cups of water to the bottom of the pot.

5. Cover and cook at 325 for 2.5 hours.

6. Take the meat out of the pot. Put the vegetables and juices from the bottom of the pot into a blender or food processor. Add 1-1.5 tbs. of Gravy Master and blend. The gravy should be orangish (from the carrots) and somewhat lumpy. (Sometimes there are so many vegetables and pan juices that I need to use a large mixing bowl and process the gravy in batches).

7. Slice the meat against the grain and return to the Magnalite. Pour the gravy over the meat and simmer on the stovetop for an additional hour.

Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving or put in the fridge overnight and reheat the next day.

I have used this recipe for years and have never been disappointed. I love to serve it with steamed string beans, sticky white rice, and homemade applesauce. Mmmmm...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Please let me know how it turns out for you...

A bachelor's take on brisket
 

I slow cook it with various spices, herbs and a few veggies. The attraction of slow cooking is that you just put in there whatever you can gather from around the house- that makes it especially easy and very cheap to boot!An onion, couple of tinned tomatoes, some frozen mushrooms, dried tarragon, a bit of leftover red wine...Just fill with water and forget about it till the smell from the kitchen reminds you to return!! :cool:
Slow cooking makes brisket seriously tender.
I don't have a "crock pot" or whatever this device is called- my combination oven has a slow cooking function and that's where I stick a big pyrex full of stuff!

OK, here's an easy but good recipe-
Take the brisket and cover it with water. Cook for 1 hour with lots of chopped up onions (like 4-6 onions) in 400 degree oven.
Then drain and add this marinade: 16 ounces of Apple Cider Vinegar, some brown sugar maybe 1/4 cup, jar of ketchup about a cup plus, jar of something orange like duck sauce or apricot preserves or orange preserves (anything orange). Put this brisket with this marinade back in the oven for another hour probably at 350 - 375 degrees.
Then remove from oven and slice thin. Put back in oven in this sauce all sliced and cook for another hour.
Sometimes it is still not tender enough so if not tender enough then cook more, but it should be fine.
Hope you enjoy it as this is an easy recipe!

Trim as much fat off of the brisket as you can. If you use the entire brisket, it will have a layer of fat between the flat & the smaller piece. Purists will want to kill me, but I seperate the two & trim most of the fat from both. Coat both sides with your favorite dry rub. I use Emeril's Cajun seasoning. I make my own. You can get the recipe off of FoodTV. The difference is that I ad summer savory to the mix. It adds a great fresh flavor.

Place the brisket on a BBQ with the smaller piece on top of the flat at very low heat-200 degrees for 10-12 hours. YES, it takes that long to do it right.

Once done, slice across the grain, put into a slow cooker (to keep warm) with your favorite BBQ sauce. Serve as slices on the plate or in a bun with cole slaw on top of the meat. It doesn't get much better than that.

One word of caution...put a large fat catcher tray under the meat. Even with the best trimming there is enough fat that it will drip & cause a mess & possibly a fire.

I use a natural gas grill, so long cooking doesn't take much effort.

One more trick, soak wood chips (hickory, mesquite or whatever you like) in water & put in BBQ with the meat for even better flavor.

Thank you for the tips, I will try as many as I can over the next couple of months as family come to visit and report back.

William, after your tuna recomendation back in August I will definitely have to give HEB a try.

The key is to also refrain from moving the brisket during cooking. It will maintain its juices and be moist when done.

The family standard for major Jewish holidays -

(Sidebar - The saying goes, you can sum up all Jewish holidays like this: "They tried to kill us. It didn't work. Let's eat.")

Sear brisket (a big one) on both sides in a dry frying pan. DON'T remove the top cap of fat.

Slice two or more big honking onions (Walla Walla, Maui or Vidalia) and put on the bottom of a roasting pan.

Lay the brisket on top of the onions, fat side up.

Empty a bag of dry onion soup (kosher is best) on top of the brisket.

Put most of the contents of a bottle of "chili" sauce - the kind that looks like ketchup but isn't, and watch out for corn syrup if it's for Pesach - on top of the brisket, and moosh the onion soup and red goop all around.

Empty a 16 oz can of Coke (or Pepsi) - again, Kosher if for Pesach - onto and around the brisket. NOT diet coke.

Sprinkle some dried prunes, apricots, figs, or other dried stone fruit around the edge.

Cover with foil and roast (braise, really) in a 325F oven for several hours.

Allow to cool (incl. overnight if you like)

Remove brisket from pan, remove floating fat from onions/liquid. Slice brisket in 1/4" slices across the grain and return to pan for re-heating.

Reheat before serving.

Reheat juice/sauce and serve on the side.

LOL. I don't think you will be disappointed. I think they smoke these for 18 hours. All you have to do is add a little moisture to the pan, cover with an aluminum tent, and heat at 350 for an hour (less if just the flat). I take these to pot lucks all the time along with some BBQ sauce from the Salt Lick and most of the time folks don't even use the BBQ sauce. Anyway, they come cryovacuum-packed, so very shippable.

You know, before reading the other posts to this thread, I never considered that brisket might be made any other way than maybe as corned beef other than in the smoker. :)

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

use an instant read meat thermometer. the meat needs to reach an internal temperature between 210 & 220 degrees farenheit. that's when the collgen breaks down & it becomes tender & falling apart. anything less than that & you are looking at a tough hunk of meat. depending on the size & shape this could take from 2 1/2 to 4 hours. cook low & slow & with some liquid. I second the onion soup mix method. I mix mine with tons of garlic, some canned tomatoes & red wine.

Strongly recommend Julia Child's smothered beef brisket:

http://www.wchstv.com/gmarecipes/beefbrisket.shtml

This has never disappointed, and is very easy to cook.

I love brisket-in all its guises.
The BEST recipe I have ever found was in Bruce Aidells MEAT cookbok .It uses onion soup,beer,and bottled chili sauce.
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/h...et-with-onions
As good cold as it is warm.

Vinegar and bay leaf are the two magic ingredients.

I'm fairly certain this is the most funny thing I'll read all week:-::D