Chapter 4
I have a confession to make. I didn’t experience barbecued brisket until I was in my twenties. We didn’t have barbecue in Baltimore in the 1960s. But we did have brisket. Every Rosh Hashanah and many a Sabbath, my grandmothers and aunts would braise brisket with dried fruits and root vegetables to make a dish that anchors the Jewish culinary pantheon. And no family gathering would be complete without brisket sandwiches on challah or rye bread, the meat sliced thin as tissue and no less delectable for being a drab shade of gray. Brisket thrives with moist, slow, low-heat cooking—a technique used around the planet. Braising is what transforms brisket, bacon, and wine into French boeuf à la mode; turns brisket, beer, and onions into Germany’s beloved Bierfleische. Chinese “red-cooked” brisket is nothing more than meat braised with soy sauce, rice wine, and star anise. In this chapter, you’ll master the world’s best braised brisket dishes.
AUNT ANNETTE’S HOLIDAY BRISKET
WITH SWEET WINE AND DRIED FRUITS
YIELD: Serves 6 to 8
METHOD: Braising
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: Depending on the brisket and other factors, 2½ to 3 hours, or as needed
HEAT SOURCE: Stove, oven
YOU’LL ALSO NEED: A Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid or a roasting pan with aluminum foil (it should be just large enough to hold the brisket); a gravy boat with a fat separator (the sort that allows you to pour the broth off from the bottom, leaving the fat on top; optional); a welled cutting board
WHAT ELSE: This recipe calls for a technique that may surprise all you barbecue buffs out there. You carve the brisket midway through the cooking process when it’s still firm enough to slice neatly. The slices finish cooking in the braising liquid. This ensures even slices and exceptionally tender brisket.
Long before my indoctrination into barbecue, I ate brisket. So did every other Jewish kid in the neighborhood. Brisket was the ultimate holiday dish, and nobody made it better than my aunt, Annette Farber. Working in a kitchen that would be deemed hopelessly primitive today, Aunt Annette grated mountains of potatoes on a hand grater to produce latkes that defied physics. (They were simultaneously featherlight and rib-stickingly leaden.) She hand-cranked a meat grinder to turn out gefilte fish I still dream about. But the star of her repertory was brisket—braised for hours with onions and carrots and sweet red kosher wine (was there any other kind?). Lavished with apricots, prunes, and other dried fruits, it was the sort of sweet-salty, meaty-fruity mash-up typical of so much Ashkenazi cuisine. Aunt Annette served it at Rosh Hashanah (the dried fruits presaged a sweet New Year). She served it at Hanukkah and Passover, too. I imagine she serves it still to hungry multitudes in heaven. These days, my family is more likely to eat our brisket slow-smoked like they do in Texas, but at least once a year we dust off Aunt Annette’s recipe for a braised brisket that transcends wood smoke.
INGREDIENTS
1 brisket flat (3 to 4 pounds)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 carrots, trimmed and peeled (1 diced and 3 cut crosswise into 3-inch chunks)
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1½ cups sweet kosher Concord grape wine (such as Manischewitz), or 1½ cups dry red wine plus ¼ cup granulated or brown sugar
2 dried bay leaves
2 to 3 cups beef or chicken broth or stock (preferably homemade or low-sodium) or water
1½ cups dried apricots
1½ cups pitted prunes
1 cup golden raisins
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. Using a sharp knife, trim the brisket, leaving a layer of fat at least ¼ inch thick (see here). Be careful not to over-trim. It’s better to err on the side of too much fat than too little. Generously season the brisket on all sides with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven (or roasting pan—though a Dutch oven is preferred) over medium-high heat. Add the brisket and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer the meat to a platter and pour out and discard all but 3 tablespoons of fat from the pot.
4. Add the onion, chopped carrot, celery, garlic, and 3 tablespoons of the parsley to the pot and cook over medium-high heat until softened and lightly browned, 5 minutes.
5. Return the brisket to the pot and spoon half the vegetables in the pot on top. Add the wine, bay leaves, and enough stock to barely cover the brisket. Cover the pot (if using a roasting pan, cover it tightly with aluminum foil), place it in the oven, and braise until semi-tender, 1½ hours.
6. Remove the pot from the oven and transfer the brisket to a welled cutting board; set the pot aside. Using a sharp knife or electric knife, thinly slice the brisket across the grain. Stir half of the carrot chunks and the apricots, prunes, and raisins into the juices in the pot. Using a spatula, neatly lay the sliced brisket on top. Pour in any juices from the cutting board and arrange the remaining carrot chunks and dried fruits on top. Season with salt and pepper. Add additional stock as needed just to cover the meat and fruit.
7. Put the lid on the pot and return it to the oven. Continue braising the brisket until the meat is tender enough to cut with a fork, another 1 to 1½ hours, or as needed. If there’s too much cooking liquid (the brisket should be moist, not soupy), uncover the pot for the last half hour to allow some of the juices to evaporate.
For maximum tenderness, cut the brisket into ¼-inch-thick slices midway through the cooking process.
8. Transfer the brisket slices to a platter. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fruits and vegetables to the platter and arrange them around the meat. Pour the pan juices into a gravy boat with a fat separator. (If you don’t have one of these, pour the gravy into a bowl or measuring cup and skim the fat off the top with a soup spoon.) Spoon some of the gravy over the meat and fruit, serving the rest on the side. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley over the meat and get ready for Jewish holiday awesomeness.
Note: Sometimes, Aunt Annette would add a peeled, seeded, sliced lemon to her brisket to offset the sweetness of the dried fruit. It’s a nice touch.
JEWISH DELI BRISKET
BRAISED WITH VEGETABLES
YIELD: Serves 6 to 8
METHOD: Boiling, braising
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOKING TIME: Depending on the brisket and other factors, 3 hours, or as needed
HEAT SOURCE: Stove, oven
YOU’LL ALSO NEED: A Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid; butcher’s string; a colander or sieve; a welled cutting board
WHAT ELSE: Preparing deli-style brisket is a multistep process. The first is to blanch the brisket, that is, boil it to remove the surface impurities. Next, you braise the brisket with aromatic root vegetables in the oven. This gives you a delectable by-product: an intensely beefy broth you can turn into soup by adding cooked barley, noodles, or the diced or pureed vegetables from braising. The brisket itself gets sliced and served hot, usually with horseradish sauce. Or—my preferred way—chilled and sliced paper-thin on a meat slicer. Try the latter on slices of challah with Horseradish Dill Sauce. One bite and you’ll wonder why everyone makes such a fuss about corned beef. Note: Your grandmother probably boiled the brisket in a stockpot on the stove. Oven-braising gives you the same result with a lot less supervision. The optional parsley root—available at Jewish food markets—combines the flavor of parsley and celery root. Tip o’ the hat to Jewish cooking authority Arthur Schwartz, who inspired this recipe.
Pastrami has become a darling of the barbecue world, not just the delicatessen. Corned beef enjoys equal popularity with Jewish Americans, Irish Americans, and deli lovers of other ethnic persuasions. But there’s a third meat in the deli trifecta, and the fact that it looks unappetizingly gray in no way diminishes its deliciousness. In fact, you could argue that it represents the purest manifestation of this tough, flavorful muscle from the steer’s undercarriage. I speak, of course, of deli brisket, which is nothing more than brisket cooked in water with aromatic vegetables, then thinly sliced for sandwiches. When I was growing up, brisket was the meat I went for on deli platters, and these thin gray slices of beefy bliss still hold a place of reverence in my heart. Think of it as barbecue without the wood smoke. And don’t think of turning this page without trying it.
INGREDIENTS
1 brisket flat (3 to 4 pounds)
2 to 3 quarts cold water
2 dried bay leaves
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
2 whole cloves
3 medium carrots, trimmed, peeled, and cut crosswise into 3-inch lengths
3 ribs celery (or 1 small, peeled celery root), cut into 3-inch lengths
2 leeks, trimmed and washed (see Note)
1 large or 2 small parsnips, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 3-inch lengths (optional)
1 parsley root (optional; see What Else)
6 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 2 tablespoons chopped to add at the end
6 sprigs fresh dill, plus 2 tablespoons chopped to add at the end
6 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 2 tablespoons chopped to add at the end
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Horseradish Dill Sauce (recipe follows) or your favorite bottled horseradish, mustard, and/or other condiments, for serving
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. Using a sharp knife, trim the brisket, leaving a layer of fat at least ¼ inch thick (see here). Be careful not to over-trim. It’s better to err on the side of too much fat than too little.
3. Blanch the brisket: Place it in a Dutch oven with cold water to cover by a depth of 2 inches. Bring the meat to a boil over medium-high heat. Using a ladle or large spoon, skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the brisket for 10 minutes, skimming conscientiously to remove any foam. Then pour off the excess blanching liquid so that the brisket is submerged halfway.
4. Pin the bay leaves to two of the onion quarters with the cloves. Add the onion quarters to the pot along with the carrots, celery, leeks, and parsnips, and parsley root, if using. (Note: If you like your vegetables with a little bite to them, add the carrots, celery, leeks, parsnips, and parsley root after 2 hours of cooking.) Tie the parsley, dill, and thyme into a bundle with butcher’s string and add it to the pot. Bring the mixture back to a simmer. Sprinkle in 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
5. Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the oven. Braise the brisket until very tender (test it by inserting a chopstick—it should pierce the meat easily). Normally this takes about 3 hours, but start testing after 2½. Check the brisket halfway through—the meat and vegetables should be half-submerged in the liquid. If the brisket is too dry, add water. When done, remove the pot from the oven and let the brisket rest in its juices for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Transfer the brisket to a welled cutting board. Strain the cooking liquid through a sieve (save it for another use—for example, it could become the base for a soup—see What Else; it will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 3 days, or it can be frozen in a sealed container). Set the vegetables aside or place them in an airtight container and refrigerate.
7. To enjoy the brisket hot, slice it across the grain into ¼-inch-thick slices, transfer it to a platter, and garnish with the boiled vegetables. To serve it cold, let it cool to room temperature, then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until well chilled (preferably overnight). Slice the cold brisket paper-thin on a meat slicer or by hand.
8. Whether hot or cold, serve the brisket with the Horseradish Dill Sauce or your favorite bottled horseradish, mustard, or other condiments. Heresy warning: I like to slather my brisket sandwiches with mayonnaise.
Note: To clean a leek, trim off and discard the dark green leaves (the top half) and furry roots. Make two lengthwise cuts in the leek, up to but not through root end, rotating the leek 90 degrees after the first cut. Plunge the leek up and down in a bowl of cold water to wash out any dirt. Change the water as needed (leeks tend to hide a lot of grit, so you may need to do this a few times).
Yield: Makes 1¼ cups
Gefilte fish without horseradish is punishment enough, goes an old Yiddish saying. You could say the same about horseradish and brisket. There’s nothing like this piquant, lemon- and dill-scented horseradish sauce for balancing the richness of the beef.
INGREDIENTS
½ cup mayonnaise (preferably Hellmann’s or Best Foods)
½ cup sour cream
A 2-inch piece horseradish root, peeled and finely grated (or to taste) or ¼ cup prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
½ teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Horseradish Dill Sauce will keep, in a sealed container in the refrigerator, for at least 3 days.
VENETIAN BRAISED VEAL BRISKET
YIELD: Serves 6
METHOD: Braising
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOKING TIME: 2½ to 3 hours
HEAT SOURCE: Stove, oven
YOU’LL ALSO NEED: A Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid; a strainer; meat claws (optional); a welled cutting board
WHAT ELSE: Italians eat a lot more veal than we do, so petto di vitello (veal brisket) is relatively easy to find in Italy. In the US, you’ll likely have to order it ahead from your butcher. One good mail order source for grass-fed veal brisket is straussdirect.com. If you can’t find veal, this will still be delicious with beef brisket—use an equal amount.
Let Texans have their chopped brisket sandwiches and Carolinians their pulled pork. I raise my fork for Venetian petto di vitello. This soulful shredded braised veal—redolent with wine, onions, and juniper—turns up at bacari (wine bars) across the city in fall and winter—part of the belt-loosening cichetti (tapas-like bar snacks) that comprise my favorite Venetian lunch. And no one serves it better than Francesco Pinto and his son Matteo at All’Arco, a tiny one-room bar where you feast standing up a stone’s throw from the Rialto Market. Veal brisket is smaller and more tender than its counterpart on a mature steer, and because it’s so lean, Italians insist on a wet cooking method, such as braising or stewing. Dish it up in a shallow bowl with crusty bread for sopping up the juices. Better yet, pile it onto ciabatta rolls with pickled onions—just like they do at All’Arco.
INGREDIENTS
1 veal brisket (2 to 2½ pounds)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, trimmed, peeled, and finely chopped
3 juniper berries, lightly crushed with the side of a knife
2 whole cloves
1 dried bay leaf
1½ cups white wine (red wine if using a beef brisket), plus extra as needed
1½ cups veal or beef broth or stock (preferably homemade or low-sodium) or water
For serving
6 ciabatta rolls, cut almost in half through the side with a serrated knife and opened like a book (optional)
Pickled Onions (recipe follows; optional)
1. Using a sharp knife, trim the brisket, leaving a layer of fat at least ¼ inch thick (see here). Be careful not to over-trim. It’s better to err on the side of too much fat than too little.
2. Generously season the brisket on all sides with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
4. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the brisket and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the brisket to a platter.
5. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pot. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned, 5 minutes.
6. Return the brisket to the pot, spooning half the vegetables on top. Add the juniper berries, cloves, and bay leaf. Stir in the white wine and bring to a boil, then add the stock.
7. Cover the pot, place it in the oven, and braise the brisket until very tender, 2½ to 3 hours. Add additional stock as needed to keep it from drying out.
8. Remove the pot from the oven and let the brisket cool slightly in its juices for 10 minutes. Transfer it to a welled cutting board and use a sharp knife to slice it thinly across the grain. Alternatively, pull it into meaty shreds with meat claws or two forks.
9. Meanwhile, pour the braising liquid through a strainer into a bowl, pressing the veggies with the back of a spoon to release the juices.
10. Pile the brisket onto the ciabatta rolls, if using. Spoon the juices and Pickled Onions on top. Or serve the brisket sliced or shredded with the juices spooned over it and the Pickled Onions on top or on the side.
PICKLED ONIONS
Yield: Makes 2 cups
Horseradish. Mustard. Pickled onions. Did you ever notice how much better braised brisket tastes when paired with a sharp-tasting condiment? Case in point: these simple pickled onions. Just remember to make them ahead of time so they pickle for at least 6 hours (or as long as overnight).
INGREDIENTS
1 cup distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Freshly ground white pepper
1 large sweet or red onion, peeled and thinly sliced widthwise
1. Place the vinegar, salt, sugar, and pepper in a nonreactive mixing bowl and whisk until the salt and sugar crystals are dissolved.
2. Add the onion. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let the onion pickle in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or as long as overnight.
Pickled Onions will keep, in a sealed container in the refrigerator, for at least a week.
WINE COUNTRY BRISKET
Braised WITH BACON AND MUSHROOMS
YIELD: Serves 6 to 8
METHOD: Braising
PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOKING TIME: Depending on the brisket and other factors, 3 hours, or as needed
HEAT SOURCE: Stove, oven
YOU’LL ALSO NEED: A Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid; a large strainer; a rimmed sheet pan; a welled cutting board
WHAT ELSE: In France, you’d use a wine from Burgundy for braising the brisket. I’m just as apt to reach for a pinot noir from Australia or the West Coast. You needn’t buy a Robert Parker pinup, but do cook with a wine you wouldn’t mind drinking. If you have the time, marinate the brisket in the wine overnight, then drain it and blot it well with paper towels—your brisket will be all the more flavorful.
Long before my immersion in barbecue, before my food writing, wine writing, and restaurant reviewing days, I spent a year in Paris learning how to cook. These were the glory days of classical French cuisine, when no amount of butter or wine seemed too excessive to add to a dish, when Julia Child would drop by La Varenne cooking school for a visit. I cook very differently now—starting with my heat source of choice, a grill or smoker. But my mouth still waters at the thought of those slow-braised meats sweet with aromatic root vegetables and rich red wine sauce. What follows is a mash-up of two French wine-braised beef classics: boeuf bourguignon and boeuf à la mode.
INGREDIENTS
For the brisket
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter, plus more as needed
4 thick strips artisanal bacon, such as Nueske’s, cut crosswise into ¼-inch slivers
1 brisket flat (3 to 4 pounds)
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 medium shallots or 4 torpedo onions (each 3 to 4 inches long), peeled and halved lengthwise
1 pound cremini or white button mushrooms, trimmed, wiped clean with a damp paper towel (any large mushrooms halved or quartered so all are the same size)
For the aromatic vegetables
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, trimmed, peeled, and finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 dried bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried)
½ cup Cognac, plus 1 tablespoon for finishing the dish
2 cups red wine (preferably pinot noir)
2 cups beef or chicken broth or stock (preferably homemade or low-sodium), plus extra if needed
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives or flat-leaf parsley
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. Line a platter with paper towels. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the bacon slivers and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 3 minutes. Transfer to a large strainer over a bowl.
3. Using a sharp knife, trim the brisket, leaving a layer of fat at least ¼ inch thick (see here). Be careful not to over-trim. It’s better to err on the side of too much fat than too little. Generously season the brisket on all sides with salt and pepper.
4. Add the brisket to the pot and brown it on both sides and the edges, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the brisket to a rimmed sheet pan.
5. Add the shallots to the brisket fat in the pot and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the shallots with a slotted spoon to the strainer with the bacon. Add the mushrooms to the pot and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to the strainer as well. Pour off and discard all but 3 tablespoons of the fat from the pot. You should have this much, but if extra fat is needed, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil.
6. Return the Dutch oven to medium-high heat and add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are browned, 4 minutes.
7. Add the ½ cup Cognac and flambé: Heat it just slightly (to body temperature), then carefully touch a match to it. (Stand back, of course. To be extra safe, roll up your sleeves and have the pot lid within easy reach to smother the fire if it gets out of hand.) When the flames die down completely, add the wine and bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Stir in the stock, bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Return the brisket to the pot.
8. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Braise the brisket for 2½ hours, checking every half hour or so to make sure the meat doesn’t stick to the pan. Add stock as needed so the meat is half-submerged.
9. Uncover the pot, and using a large spoon, spoon off and discard any fat floating on the surface. Stir in the reserved bacon, shallots, and mushrooms and their juices, cover the pot, and return to the oven to continue braising until the meat and vegetables are fork-tender, another 30 minutes, or as needed. If there’s too much cooking liquid (the brisket should be moist, not soupy), uncover the pot for the last half hour to allow some of the juices to evaporate. When done, remove the pot from the oven and let the brisket rest in its juices for 10 minutes.
10. Again, skim off any fat that has risen to the surface. While you’re at it, fish out and discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Transfer the brisket to a welled cutting board and use a sharp knife to slice it thinly crosswise across the grain.
11. Return the pot with the sauce and vegetables to the stovetop and bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Simmer until about 4 cups of liquid remain, 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place the remaining tablespoon of Cognac in a small bowl, add the cornstarch, and stir with a fork to form a paste. Whisk this mixture into the sauce and boil for 1 minute. The sauce will thicken slightly. Correct the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste; the sauce should be highly seasoned.
12. Return the sliced brisket to the sauce and serve directly from the Dutch oven, or arrange the meat, sauce, and vegetables on a large, deep platter. Sprinkle with chopped chives and dig in.
GERMAN BEER-BRAISED BRISKET
(BIERFLEISCHE)
YIELD: Serves 6 to 8
METHOD: Braising
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOKING TIME: Depending on the brisket and other factors, 3 hours, or as needed
HEAT SOURCE: Stove, oven
YOU’LL ALSO NEED: A Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid; a welled cutting board
WHAT ELSE: You’ll want a beer that goes easy on hops (which are responsible for a beer’s bitterness) but long on flavor. A German dunkel (dark beer) or Belgian red comes to mind.
Germans and Austrians call it Bierfleische (“beer-meat”). Belgians and French call it carbonnade. I call it one of the best excuses ever to combine brisket and beer in a single dish. In a nutshell, you braise the brisket in beer with a mountain of caramelized onions. Traditionally, you cooked the meat in a Dutch oven in the fireplace, with embers piled on the lid. The French word for coal is charbon—hence the name carbonnade.
INGREDIENTS
1 brisket flat (3 to 4 pounds)
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds onions (3 to 4 large onions), peeled and thinly sliced crosswise
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Düsseldorf-style mustard (or other favorite mustard), plus extra for serving
1 can (14 ounces) plum tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1 tablespoon for serving
1½ cups dark or red beer or stout (keep some extra beers on ice for serving)
1½ cups beef or chicken broth or stock (preferably homemade or low-sodium) or water, plus extra as needed
2 dried bay leaves
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. Using a sharp knife, trim the brisket, leaving a layer of fat at least ¼ inch thick (see here). Be careful not to over-trim. It’s better to err on the side of too much fat than too little. Generously season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the brisket and cook, turning with tongs, until browned on both sides and the edges, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the brisket to a platter. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pot.
4. Add the butter to the pot and set it over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the onions and cook, stirring often, until they’re a deep golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes. You may need to lower the heat if the onions start to burn.
5. Stir in the brown sugar, tomato paste, and mustard and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, ¼ cup parsley, beer, broth, and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Return the browned brisket to the pan, spooning half the onion mixture on top so it sandwiches the meat.
6. Cover the pot, place it in the oven, and braise the beef until it is fork-tender. Normally this takes 3 hours, but start testing after 2½. Check every half hour or so to make sure it doesn’t dry out or burn. If it starts to dry out, add additional stock or water; if there is too much liquid (the brisket should be half-submerged), uncover the pot during the last half hour to allow some of the juices to evaporate. When done, remove the pot from the oven and let the brisket rest in its juices for 10 minutes.
7. Transfer the brisket to a welled cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut it crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices. Discard the bay leaves. Stir the sauce a few times, adding salt and pepper to taste. Return the sliced brisket to the sauce. Dust with the remaining parsley and serve with mustard and more of the beer you used for cooking.
CHINESE RED-COOKED BRISKET
YIELD: Serves 6 to 8
METHOD: Braising
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOKING TIME: Depending on the brisket and other factors, 3 hours, or as needed
HEAT SOURCE: Stove, oven
YOU’LL ALSO NEED: A Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid; a welled cutting board
WHAT ELSE: You’ll need a few Asian ingredients for this brisket, most of which can be found at a good supermarket or natural foods store. If you’re feeling bucks up, try a premium soy sauce, like Takesan Kishibori Shoyu, a first-pressed Japanese soy sauce aged in wood barrels for more than a year (available from Amazon). Otherwise, use Kikkoman or Eden. If you can’t find Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine), substitute Japanese sake. Star anise comes in star-shaped pods with a smoky, licorice-like flavor. Alternatively, substitute Chinese five-spice powder (of which star anise is the main ingredient).
When it comes to Chinese meat dishes, most Americans think of stir-fries, but braising is popular for tougher cuts, like brisket. Which brings us to a technique called “red cooking”: braising meats in a fragrant mixture made sweet with honey, salty with soy sauce, and aromatic with star anise, ginger, cinnamon, and tangerine peel. (The soy sauce gives the meat a reddish tint—hence the name.) Think of this as the Chinese analogue of the Jewish brisket with dried fruits and sweet wine found here.
INGREDIENTS
1 brisket flat (3 to 4 pounds)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing) or sake
⅓ cup toasted (dark) sesame oil
¼ cup honey or sugar
4 cloves garlic, peeled and flattened with the side of a cleaver
A 2-inch piece fresh ginger, cut lengthwise into ¼-inch slices, flattened lightly with the side of a cleaver
4 scallions, trimmed, green parts finely chopped, white parts flattened with the side of a cleaver
3 strips fresh tangerine or orange zest (½ by 1½ inches; removed with a vegetable peeler)
2 whole star anise pods or 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
A 1-inch piece cinnamon stick
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. Using a sharp knife, trim the brisket, leaving a layer of fat at least ¼ inch thick (see here). Be careful not to over-trim. It’s better to err on the side of too much fat than too little.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the brisket and cook, turning with tongs, until browned on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the brisket to a plate, pour off any excess fat, then return the meat to the pot.
4. Add 1 cup water, the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, scallion whites, and all but 2 tablespoons of the scallion greens (keep the remainder chilled for serving), tangerine zest, star anise, and cinnamon. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
5. Cover the pot, place the brisket in the oven, and braise until very tender (test it by inserting a chopstick—it should pierce the meat easily). Normally this takes about 3 hours, but start testing after 2½. Stir from time to time to make sure the brisket doesn’t stick to the bottom or dry out. (The brisket should be half-submerged—if it starts to dry out, add more water.) Uncover the pot for the last half hour or so to concentrate the braising liquid.
6. Remove the pot from the oven, cover it, and let the brisket rest in its juices for 10 minutes. Transfer the brisket to a welled cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut it against the grain into ¼-inch-thick slices.
7. Meanwhile, use a large spoon to skim off and discard any visible fat that pools on the top. If the sauce still seems too liquidy, place the pot on the stove and boil until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Serve the brisket in the pot (or on a deep platter with cooking liquid spooned over it) with the reserved scallion greens sprinkled on top. (You can fish out the chunky seasonings, like the ginger, cinnamon stick, and star anise, if you like, but I leave ’em in—they’re tasty to nibble.)