Chile-Braised Beef Brisket and Jicama Salad

*Post by Angela.

Sigh. Remember way back when, I said I was going to try to cook more out of the cookbooks I already owned? Yeah, that really hasn't happened. I'm the worst at resolutions. But yesterday, I finally managed to come back around to that promise, doubling my fun with recipes from two separate cookbooks:  a chile-braised beef brisket from The Paley's Place Cookbook, and a jicama salad with watercress, romaine, and lime-cilantro dressing from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. Paley's Place is a beautiful little restaurant in Portland, Oregon, where I sent my parents as a present a couple of years ago, and the cookbook offers, in the words of Publishers Weekly, "an intriguing mélange of Eastern European Jewish, Mediterranean, mainstream American and Pacific Northwest culinary influences." Mark got me the gorgeous book for Christmas this year. And Mexican Everyday? While I can't say that I necessarily have a crush on Rick Bayless, he's probably the number 1 chef in the world with whom I'd want to be friends. Mark and I went to his Frontera Grill while in Chicago last year and had a fantastic meal, and knowing my affection for the adorable and friendly chef, my friends Stephanie and Adam got me his cookbook for my birthday.

This meal takes a LOT of extra effort and time (specifically the brisket, the salad was a snap!), but was absolutely worth it, especially since I was just tooling around the house all afternoon, not feeling too great. The brisket turned out meltingly tender, really spicy and smoky, and will yield some pretty great sandwiches this week, and the bright and refreshing salad was the perfect counterpoint to the heat of the beef. 

List of ingredients for the brisket:

• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 12 dried chipotle morita chiles, seeded (the original recipe calls for pasilla chiles, but I couldn't find any)
• 4 1/2 lbs beef brisket
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 14-oz can crushed tomatoes with juice
• 2 cups chicken stock

Brisket takes a while to cook, so I started early in the afternoon. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, then toasted the star anise and fennel seed over medium heat in a small skillet. Moving the pan around the heat, I toasted the spices for about 3 or 4 minutes until the aromas were released.

I ground the spices up with a combination of my immersion blender and food processor, along with 5 of the pasilla chiles, and ground. I couldn't get it finely ground (I think I would need like a coffee grinder or spice mill), but did the best I could.

 

I seasoned the brisket with salt and pepper, and then rubbed the spice mix all over the meat. I then covered it and put in the fridge to sit while I prepped the rest of the dish.

I put the leftover chiles in a bowl, covered them with the 3 cups of boiling water and let them sit for about 30 minutes to soften. Then I combined the chiles, 1 cup of the soaking water, and the sherry vinegar and blended it all until fairly smooth. In a large pot, I heated 3 tbsp olive oil over high heat and seared the meat all over until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. My brisket was bigger than my pot, so I had to cut it in half in order to get the job done.

I took the meat out of the pot and set it aside, then added the diced onion and sauteed until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. I stirred in the canned tomatoes, stock, and liquified chile mixture and brought it to a boil, then took the pot off the heat and added the brisket back in, making sure to submerge it in the braising liquid as much as possible. 

I covered it and stuck it in the oven for about 4 1/2 hours, until fork tender. About 1/2 hour before the meat was done, I moved on to the salad. Given how warm it was in my tiny kitchen (from the oven), I was really happy that this component of the meal didn't require any cooking.

List of ingredients for the jicama salad:

• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp grated lime zest
• 1/2 cup (packed) roughly chopped cilantro
• 1 jalepeno, stemmed and roughly chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium jicama
• 1 medium bunch of watercress, large lower stems broken off (about 2 cups)
• 4 good-size romaine leaves, cut cross-wise in 1/4" slices (about 2 cups)

First, I started with the dressing. I combined the oil, lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, jalepeno and a tsp salt in food processor, and blended the dressing until smooth, then poured it into a bowl and let it sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.

Next, I peeled the jicama. The estimable Mr. Bayless advises using a knife instead of a vegetable peeler to peel the jicama, as you'll cut a little deeper, which will get rid of the tough layer below the skin. This took me longer than it should have, but once I got it all peeled, I cut the jicama into sticks about 1/4" wide and 2" long.

Finally, I put the jicama in a bowl with the watercress and romaine, dressed everything with about 1/4 cup of the dressing, and tossed it all to combine, adding a pinch more salt and some ground black pepper.  

I really enjoyed this meal, even with all the work that went into prepping the brisket. When you think about the time I will save trying to figure out what to make for lunch for the week, it's worth it. And this salad? It's going in the go-to box. I love the crunch of the jicama, the subtle peppery flavor of the watercress, and the tangy brightness of the lime-cilantro dressing. Based on these results, I actually can't wait to dive back into these cookbooks to see what other treasures they hold...

Comments

[Shulie]

Such a smart balance the jicama salad with the brisket. Looks so delicious!! Perefct and comforting for a dreary day like today:)

[Evan]

that looks fantastic!!! I effing love brisket.

mmmm meat

[Angela]

Shulie-
Yeah! The dishes worked really well together, and I'm looking forward to leftovers tonight!

Evan-
I told you, man. It's Meaty May over here. And yes, brisket is THE BEST. You're more than halfway through the month, though!