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Food
Got beef?
Beef brisket is an unattractive, tough, relatively inexpensive piece of meat that Southerners send to the barbecue for half a day and Yankees cook in the oven for the whole afternoon. Both camps are wise enough to give it what it needs: long, slow cooking to soften it to melting tenderness. On the steer, the brisket lies below the chuck (the large piece on the forequarter that includes the arm and shoulder). The meat has a stringy texture and strong beefy flavor that many people love. Cooked for hours with carrots, onions, and potatoes, the brisket turns into a kind of pot roast, which is gamier than the versions made with chuck or other typical stewing meats. But brisket can cook in liquid for a long time and still turn out dry, which is maddening after all that work. The "flat cut" (also called "first cut"), which is widely available, does not have much fat. You need some fat - it bastes the meat as it cooks. So the best brisket dishes are made with the whole thing, an 8- to 10-pound piece of boneless meat that has a flat bottom piece topped with a "cap" of fatty meat. The cap will keep the brisket moist during its long stay in the oven. If you make the brisket the day before you want to eat it, all the fat in the dish will solidify on top, and you can lift the fat off and discard it. The meat mellows overnight and seems to benefit from sitting in the cooking juices for several hours. Ten pounds of boneless meat goes a long way (though it shrinks during cooking). A whole brisket, in fact, feeds an army. But you want leftovers. They make a fine meat and potato pie, in which potatoes form the crust over a meat and onion filling. A small piece of leftover brisket in a salad with fennel, tossed with an orange vinaigrette, can be served on arugula leaves. When something as ordinary as brisket meets a green as intense as arugula, the day always ends better than it began. BRISKET POT ROAST 8- to 10-pound beef brisket (with the cap) Set the oven at 350 degrees. In a large roasting pan, place the brisket fat side up. Pour the tomatoes over the top. Sprinkle the meat with the chopped onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set the red onions around the edge of the pan. Cover the pan with foil, shiny side down, and transfer to the hot oven. Cook the meat for 3 hours, basting occasionally with the juices in the pan. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cover the carrots with several inches of cold water. Bring the water to a boil, and cook the carrots for 5 minutes. Drain them and rinse them with cold water, then transfer them to a plate. In the same saucepan, cover the potatoes with several inches of cold water. Bring the water to a boil, and cook the potatoes for 8 minutes. Drain them. Remove the brisket from the oven. Arrange the carrots and potatoes around the meat (or on top of the meat if the pan is too small). Baste the meat and vegetables with the pan juices and return the pan, uncovered, to the oven. Cook the meat and the vegetables for 1 more hours, basting occasionally with the juices in the pan, until the meat is very tender. Pour the sherry into the pan at the side during the last 30 minutes. To store the dish overnight: Remove the meat from the roasting pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Carve it across the grain into -inch slices, discarding the fat on the meat if you like. Put the meat in a large plastic container. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions, carrots, and potatoes from the pan and add them to the meat. Cover the container with its lid and refrigerate. Set a strainer over a bowl. Tip the cooking juices into the strainer. Refrigerate the cooking juices. When the mixture is very cold and the fat has solidified on top, discard the fat and ladle the cooking juices over the meat and vegetables. To serve: Carefully transfer the meat, vegetables, and cooking juices to a roasting pan. Cover with foil, shiny side down, and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes. Set the oven at 300 degrees. Reheat the brisket for 45 to 50 minutes, occasionally basting with the juices in the pan, or until the meat and vegetables are both very hot. Serve at once. SERVES 10 SHEPHERD'S PIE Whenever there is leftover brisket, onions, and potatoes, a pie is in order. The ingredients suit a classic shepherd's pie, which is offered in English pubs. It's traditionally made with a ground lamb filling and mashed potato "crust"; this version is filled with brisket and onions, then covered with mashed potatoes mixed with corn. Meat filling Vegetable oil (for the dish) Have on hand a 12-inch baking dish. Oil the dish lightly. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the onions and meat. Work the machine in on-off motions until the mixture is coarsely cut up. Add the eggs, chicken stock, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and smooth with a metal spatula. Potato topping 2 cups frozen corn kernels Set the oven at 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan combine the corn, chicken stock, cream, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cook the corn for 5 minutes or until it is tender. Remove it from the heat. In a bowl, mash the potatoes. Add the half-and-half, baking powder, egg, salt, and pepper. Mash until the potatoes are smooth. Stir in the corn mixture. Spoon the potato-corn mixture over the meat and transfer the dish to the hot oven. Bake the pie for 50 to 60 minutes or until it is set and brown. Serve at once. SERVES 6 BRISKET SALAD 3 cups leftover brisket, slices cut into thirds In a bowl, combine the brisket and fennel. In another bowl, use a fork to stir together the vinegar, orange rind, juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil. Pour the dressing over the meat and fennel and toss gently. Divide the arugula or spinach between two dinner plates. Arrange the meat and fennel on the greens. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve at once. SERVES 2 |
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