I was talking with My-Sister-The-Nurse on Saturday and told her that I had cooked a brisket last week. Of course, she wanted to know what Dear Husband and I were going to do with all that beef.
We’ve cut back on our beef consumption, but every now and then one of us just gets a taste for comfort food that features beef and I head for the kitchen.
I’m not sure how big the brisket was. I’d frozen it in two pieces but I cooked all of it. My guess is that it was two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half pounds. I really wanted to use it up before it developed freezer burn.
I sliced a mammoth onion pole to pole and set the wedges of onion in the crock pot. I set the beef, now cut into four chunks, on top of the onion, added beef broth, at least two bay leaves and seasoned with salt and pepper. You could add fresh thyme sprigs, tied together with kitchen string, if you like the taste of thyme. I cooked the meat all day long on low, until it could be shredded with a fork.
That evening we had brisket with gravy, mashed potatoes, cauliflower with sauteed bread crumbs, and green beans. I know…heavy on starch and fat, but every now and then your mouth says it’s the right thing.
A couple of nights later we used the next third of the beef in a barbecue with my Mother’s barbecue sauce. It’s made with ketchup, green pepper, onion, celery, brown sugar, vinegar, and Dijon (I think). I put pickling spice in a tea ball and submerge it in the sauce, which cooks on low for thirty minutes. We normally put a diffuser under the pan to keep from decorating the kitchen. I realize that this the perfect season for it to look like there is blood everywhere, but prospective buyers of the house might be turned off. If you don’t have a diffuser, or if yours is packed away as mine is, partially cover the pan with a lid, and stir the sauce occasionally.
Today I’m using the last of the beef and broth to make a beef barley soup. I have never cooked barley! You need to cook barley for an hour, so while it was busy absorbing all that water, I chopped celery, onion and carrots and sweated them in oil with a little minced garlic. I put a large sieve in the top of the stockpot and drained all the broth into the pan, straining out the onion and beef and most of the cooled fat. I discarded the onion and most of the fat, shredded the beef into small pieces and added it to the broth. Dear Husband likes a lot of broth, so I added a bit more to the pot along with the veggies, two bay leaves and a twist of black pepper. When the veggies are fork tender, I’ll add the barley and let it simmer a bit longer.
We really like soup, so if this turns out well, I’d be likely to try it again. What could be easier!?
And that’s my story of the week in brisket.
Your savory story reminded me of a few weeks ago when our local Kroger store (Dillon’s in Kansas) had briskets on sale. I put it on the shopping list for Chuck; but, he came home without it. He couldn’t believe that I meant for him to buy that much meat!
Sorry that your house has not yet sold. And…no…there was no further message to the email. Just “Happy Birthday”. And…your DH has one…so please convey best wishes to him.
You make me smile, Cop Car! Thanks for the birthday wishes.
I know….I had the same response to “all that meat.” We just don’t eat like that any more, and there are fewer here to cook for now. Sometimes a “planned-over” is necessary just to get a taste of something we remember being good.
The house will sell. We’ll drop the price a little, have a “stager” come in to help make the house as attractive as possible, and someone will come along who loves it as much as we do. 🙂
Getting meat on sale is the greatest! I love to be able to do a mass cooking, then use portions for different dishes. All you did with that brisket sounds great!
I’m glad you liked the post, Bogie. In your case, I’d add freezing some of the meat to the list. And, you can get smaller briskets that would give you a taste of it, without making it necessary to eat it for the next two weeks!
“I put pickling spice in a tea ball and submerge it in the sauce”
What an excellent idea. I have at least 2 tea balls that I never use, this is such a good idea and saves making and using those annoying little muslin parcels. Thanks!
Happy to be of help, BW. I can’t claim that idea as mine. My mother was the one to teach me to use a tea ball that way, and I have several in my kitchen just for infusions of spices. I’d hate having to bag up my own pickling spice!
We hope you and Mr. BW are doing well, and enjoying Autumn.