Battle Brisket: Deliciouser Brisket vs. Balanced Belly's Mom's Brisket

*Post by Angela.

I'm not Jewish, but whenever I hear the word "Passover," I have a Pavlovian drool response - my mind immediately goes to brisket. I need it. So this Passover season, I put the word out to my people for the very best brisket recipes. The two I received made me crazy with hunger just reading them. From my good friend Adam (who I like to imagine is my Jewish grandmother), I got an adaptation of a Smitten Kitchen recipe, which I've entitled "Deliciouser Brisket" with his approval. From fellow food blogger (and friend of a friend Amy, of Balanced Belly), I was gifted with her mother Arlene's brisket recipe - funny thing, Amy is virtually vegan and doesn't eat sugar, but she swears that if she was going to go back to meat, this would be her first meal. HUGE thanks to both of them for a wonderful meat heavy Easter Sunday.

This might get a little confusing, but for the most part, the following recipes are word for word what Adam and Amy sent to me.

 

List of ingredients for Deliciouser Brisket:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 large carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• Few pinches of salt
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (adjust to your heat preference)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 8 lbs brisket

In a 3-4 quart or (bigger pot), heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion, carrots, celery and salt and saute until they are soft.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute. 

 

De-glaze the pan with the wine (make sure you scrap all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan).  Add the beef stock and then the salt, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne, oregano and thyme, bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Pull off the heat and let cool a bit.

While the sauce is simmering, it's time to caramelize some onions.  In a 12-inch fry or saute pan heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the sliced onions.  Cook until caramelized 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally. Take off the heat to cool.

 

Place brisket in a slow cooker, spread onions over the top, then pour sauce mixture over the entire dish. Depending on the size of your brisket you might have to cut it in half to fit into the slow cooker.  That's fine, just make sure you get the onions in between the layers.

Cover with the lid and cook it on LOW for 10 hours. (I like to start it before I go to bed, and process it in the morning to rest over the course of the day in the fridge.) When the brisket is cooked but still hot, use a spoon to scrape off any large fat deposits adhered to the top and bottom of the brisket. (This part is easiest to do when hot (*Angela's note: I left on a little of the fat on for flavor purposes). The sauce will be de-fatted after it has chilled. Transfer the brisket and all of its sauce to a baking dish. Chill entire dish in the fridge for several hours and up to one day; this resting time will significantly enhance the flavor and texture of the meat. An hour before you’re ready to serve it: Preheat your oven to 300°F, and remove the dish from the fridge. Remove all of the fat that has solidified with a slotted spoon for a less oily finish. Carefully remove the meat from its sauce and place on a large cutting board. Cut the brisket into 1/2-inch slices.

 

While the brisket is out of the sauce you have a few options.  1) For a thinner chunkier sauce, leave it as it is and put the sliced brisket back in.  2) For a thicker sauce do the following: Move 1/2 - 3/4 of the sauce to a blender and blend. 

 

Pour that and the rest of the sauce into a pot over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer.  Take a teaspoon of corn starch or arrowroot and put it into a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. Add 1/2 cup cold water and stir.  Add the mixture to the sauce while stirring the sauce.  Simmer for a few minutes. 

 

If you want your sauce thicker, add more corn starch/arrowroot mixture (*Angela's note: I added about 1 tbsp + 1/4 cup water more).  You could also blend the entire sauce for a no-chunk sauce.

 

Carefully place the sliced meat (moving it in large sections with a spatula helps keep it together) back into the sauce and spoon the sauce over the meat. Replace the lid or cover the dish tightly with foil and reheat in the oven until it is bubbling at the edges — this usually takes up to to 30 minutes.

Now for Brisket #2!

List of ingredients for Balanced Belly's Mom's Brisket:

• Five pound first cut brisket
• One box of Lipton onion mushroom soup mix
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of ketchup
• Aluminum foil

Rinse brisket and pat dry. Take two 3 1/2 ft pieces of foil. Place perpendicular on top of one another. Place brisket on top of foil.

Pour one package of Lipton mix on top. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly on top of brisket.

 

Squeeze ketchup on top   Drizzle from one side back and forth until it's covered.

Close the foil and seal it tight. Bring two top pieces together and roll them down and fold down like a present, so it's air tight. Do same thing w foil piece number 2, so the brisket is closed in all directions.

 

Put in oven at 300 degrees for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. (*Angela's note: I was not as diligent as I should have been here - there was some leakage). When it comes out, let it sit for half hour to let flavors blend. Open carefully, take out meat and leave seasonings in foil to cut.

 

Slice in 2 different directions to find out the right way. The wrong way it looks like marble and you can see the fat. The right way you just see meat.

 

(*Back to Angela).  Aaand I'm the worst judge in the world. I really liked both - I really loved how hearty the Deliciouser Brisket was - it's truly a meal unto itself, and I love the texture that the slow-cooker simmer gives the meat. But I also adored the flavor of Balanced Belly's Mom's Brisket, sweet, tangy and salty. Plus, it was so, so much simpler than the other recipe. So for me, it was a toss-up. In any event, Mark and I spent the week eating brisket (for every single meal), which was delicious, as the flavors of both briskets improved with age, but interesting, intestinally. In any event, I now have two go-to recipes for incredible brisket, so I think everyone's a winner...