Brisket 101
Beginner’s Guide to Brisket
Brisket is the holy grail of meat. Why? Because Brisket means so many different things to various people. In the American South and West, it means a slow, long, smoking session and rubbed with a carefully curated blend of spices, thick-sliced slabs by hand and then served on paper on a metal tray. When you move to the American East Coast, corned beef or pastrami, a brine that enhances succulent meat by brining and smoking, possibly a curst of spices, deep pink due to salt and then steamed to a perfect end.
I find that there is something comforting, a deep soul-soothing way. Brisket is a crowd pleaser and a great way to serve a crowd as it is affordable, and can be made well in advance. Honestly, you cook this properly, it is perfect. Brisket is a favorite of chef’s as it is always well received during the Fall and Winter events.
Brisket is delicious and as described above can be affordable, if you are making it. However, if you are going out you can expect to pay between $15.95 – $17.95 a pound. While convenient, my desired outcome is to make sure you can do this yourself. Save the money, and help you justify the cost of that new shiny smoker your wife is nagging you for not using.
During the holidays, and yes Halloween is a perfect holiday to eat brisket, make two briskets. Why? You serve one to your family, the rest you get to slice up for future dinners, and lunches for the king of the smoker. One point of advice, even if you are an experienced “brisketeer“, it is a two-day process. It must rest overnight. Don’t think you are going to eat on the same day. It won’t have the right mouthfeel. Trust me, it’s the difference between it tasting like a Pro vs. a Home Cook.
Prepare your Brisket
Brisket is a wide, flat piece of meat that gets thinner at one end. You can usually pick one up that weighs five to seven pounds. You will want to take any surface fat that is thicker than 1/4 of an inch. Don’t take it all off though, brisket needs some fat to keep it moist. Just look the meat over, as some sources may not have removed the thick white fat and you need to inspect the meat.
Additionally, brisket is rich-tasting meat and the sauce we are going to make is also rich, serving size I go with is bout half-pound per person, if you are not going to do the 2nd brisket method, you will want to add an extra pound to the size of brisket if you want leftovers.
Season the brisket generously on both sides with both Kosher salt and ground black pepper and place in a large roasting pan with a half cup of water on the bottom. This prevents sticking during the cook.
Vegetables
I think tht the vegetables are an essential buiilding block to an amazing braised brisket recipe. Vevvies provide both flavor and moisture, and the body of the gravy. Some like a brisket that has a more onion forward flavor, others like sweeter gravy and you can add more carrots. Brisket is very forgiving cook, and it adjusts very well to how you want to use your vegetable medly. Here are some options for your to consider:
- Love Onions?: Use a combination of sweet onions, shallots and leeks.
- Like it Tangy?: Use a combination of carrots, sparsnips and onion.
- Classic?: Use onion and celery.
What ever your combination, you will need about four cups total that have been chopped coarsely and lay them on top of the brisket, covered.
Tomatoes are the Key
I feel that a rich and luxious gravye must have some tomato for taste and structure. Options are various; ketcup, tomato paste, chili sauces or if you would like to go on the hat spectrum you can use sriracha, salsa or sambal. You will need about 12 hounces of the looser sauces like ketchup or chili sauce. You will need less if you are using a more concentrated version like tomato paste, sriracha or sambal. I like to use a small can of tomato paste and a quarter teaspoon of sriracha for a nice sweet heat. Place what ever combonation you are using on top of the veggies.
Roast Uncovered
Place your brisket, uncovered in a predheated at 350 F oven for 90 minutes. This will turn your tomato choice into a deep red and the vegetables will start to yeild their juices and soften.
Add some Liquid Man
At this point in the cook, you will need about 12-16 ounces of liquid to help the brasing. I personally use beer, however, you can use a couple of cups of red wine, like a chianti. However, beef broth, apple cider (the fresh pulpy stuff) orange juice, or if you prefer regular water is fine. However, pour your liquid over the veggies and meat so it picks up some of the flavors as it is added to the pan juices.
Cover and Braise
Now, cover your roasting pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, tightly and allow to braise for 45-50 minutes per pound of meat. The best part is, you don’t have to watch the clock here as brisket is very forgiving. This will yield a fork-tender brisket.
Prep your Gravy Son
As the meat has cooked and resting in the pan, covered, and allow to rest at room temp for at least one hour. Be mindful, that if you do rest your meat outside of the braising liquid it will dry out. It’s not the end of the world, you will just have to reheat it in the gravy, but it’s not ideal. Just be patient. Then scrape the vegetables off the top of the meat and into a bowl and set aside. Remove the meat to another dish, cover, or you can place it into a large resealable bag, and place in the fridge. Pour the liquid off and defat using a defatter or letting the juices settle or refrigerate to allow to solidify the fat and then it can be just scraped off. Trust me do not skip this step. Once completed, place the juices with the veggies and use an immersion blender, and puree and this will yield a thick gravy.
Adjust your Seasoning
You are going to need to taste. Depending on how well you seasoned your brisket or the tomatoes you might need to adjust the Salt and pepper. If you want to try something non-traditional, yet delicious add things like sweet soy sauce, or agave if you feel it needs a titch of sweetness, or using balsamic vinegar can give it a punch of acid. If you like heat you may want to add a bit of red pepper flakes or gochujang.
You can also add a last dash of tomato paste if you really love the taste of tomato. I find that the gravy is perfect as it is, however, your taste is different and you should know you should adust the flavors.
Now place the finished gravy into a container that can be sealed. Chill the meat and gravy in the fridge overnight. This part is essential. If you try to slice the brisket while warm, it will be tasty but it will be a pile of shredded meat. If you want some sandwiches. However, if you are having an event, slices are the hero and to do that you need the meat to be solid, so a sleepover in the fridge is in order.
Slicing
The next day, you can now slice. Slice across the grain into three-fourths inch thick slices and place into your baking dish. Shingle the slices of brisket to allow one-third to half of each of the slice exposed. Cover the brisket slices with the gravy, place foil to cover, and place back in the refrigerator until you want to re-heat. The cool thing about this is, you can do this three days in advance of your event, or you can even freeze the dish just like this. I personally add a layer of plastic wrap, and then do a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil, and you can get three-months. If you do freeze, let it completely thaw in the refrigerator for two days before you reheat.
Reheat and Serve
When you are ready to serve, preheat your oven to 350 ° F, and set the dish you placed the brisket in the fridge on the counter to allow to come slightly to room temperature. Then place in the oven and cover, for an hour, then check the meat, the meat should be hot and the sauce should have to bubble around the edges. If you prefer a thicker gravy, at this point uncover, and allow to reduce to the proper consistency you prefer.
Adaptation
Did you know that brisket can be cooked and reheated in a slow cooker? Yes, it is possible if you don’t have a smoker and dig the convenience of it. You do have some trade-offs as you won’t achieve the caramelization of vegetables or tomatoes, however, the food is still scrumptious. All you need to do is place the meat, veggies, tomatoes, and liquids in the pot together and cook on high heat for about four to six hours, then all allow it to reduce for another four (slow cookers make a lot of liquid). Or, of course, you can cook it in the oven, then slice the brisket and then place in the slow cooker and cover with the gravy and place on high for about two hours.
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