Guest Blogging: The Traditionalist

You know those recipes that you can just tell didn’t come from a cookbook? That taste as though they’ve been perfected with every passing year, getting better and better as they’re handed down from generation to generation? These recipes are so indulgent, so comforting, so soul-satisfying that you wish they were a part of your family’s repertoire. They might not involve fusion-cuisine, complicated gadgetry or inventive garnish, but they’re pretty much impossible to beat in the deliciousness category.

This is one of those recipes.

Serebrin’s Superior Brisket
Serves 6-8.

The meat of it:
4-5 lb. beef brisket from your favorite local butcher
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, cut in half
4 bay leaves
salt and black pepper

Trim fat from meat if so desired. Rub meat with the cut side of the cloves of garlic, and season with salt and pepper. In a large sauté pan, sear meat on both sides over high heat. Set aside.

Get saucy:
1 c. tomato ketchup
1 c. ginger ale
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
½ c. good red wine

Mix all ingredients together and reserve.

More than one way to cook a brisket:
Crock Pot Method—Place brisket in a crock pot and top with juice from sauté pan, sauce mixture, sliced onions, cut garlic, and whole bay leaves. Cook for 8 hours on low (this option yields a savory, tender, no-knife-needed piece of meat).

Oven Method—Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Arrange meat in an oven-safe baking dish and top with juice from sauté pan, sauce mixture, sliced onions, cut garlic, and whole bay leaves. Cook, covered with tin foil, for 2 ½ to 3 hours.

*Note- For either of these methods, if there isn’t enough liquid between the braising juice and sauce mixture to come half-way up the sides of the meat, add a little more ginger ale or water.

When meat has finished cooking, pour off all liquid into a small saucepan and reserve. Let brisket rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

(Optional: chill meat overnight before pouring off liquid. This will bring fat to the top of the liquid for easy removal, but, oh, that fat sure is tasty!)

Eat your veggies:
½ lb. red or other small thin-shinned potatoes, cut in half
8 oz. package of baby carrots
2 tbsp. fresh or 2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 can chicken broth
12 oz. fresh button mushrooms, cut in half
2 tbsp. butter
¼ c. good red wine
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a large baking dish with cooking oil spray and add the potatoes and carrots. Pour the chicken broth over and season with rosemary, salt and pepper (don’t be afraid to go heavy on the rosemary). Bake, uncovered, for one hour or until potatoes are fork-tender.

In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Sauté the mushrooms until browned and tender. Add the red wine and let cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add the mushrooms to the sauce pan of reserved gravy and keep warm over medium-low heat.

Do what you want, but this is how I roll:
Serve brisket with mushroom gravy and veggies on the side, a couple bottles of red wine, and a fruit-oriented dessert (and yes, pies are fruit-oriented).

L’chiam!