Meaty Monday: Summer Slow Cooker Braised Retro Brisket

A week or so ago, when it was impossibly hot and humid, I was lying under my AC vent dreaming of beef brisket. Even me, a recovering amateur BBQ competitor, likes to think about a juicy pot roast, something other than  grilled or barbecued meat. The very thought of running the oven for hours, even with AC going full tilt, just put me off when it's sweltering outside. But then I thought of my mother.

When the weather was really hot and sticky, as it usually is in Philadelphia in the summer, she would cook a pot roast over night, either in the oven or in her brand new electric crock, aka a slow cooker, which became quite popular when I was in high school. It always was made with a packet of onion soup, and a cup or two of Italian vermouth.We lived in a hundred-year-old house, and we had window air conditioners and whole house fans, and we would run through the steamy halls from one cool room to another. Not the sort of atmosphere in which you wanted to do anything that would make the house hotter. But back then, we ate at home most nights, and in summer we often had cold sliced  beef with potato salad or green bean salad, and Jersey tomatoes and corn or a warm pot roast sandwich on a roll later in the cooler part of the evening.

I spotted a really nice small brisket at the market this week, just a wee bit under 4 pounds, and the rest is history. Even though this dish has some barbecue sauce in it, it's not barbecued beef. It tastes like summer, in a very beefy, juicy way, and is marvelous cold for sandwiches or platters.  Mom always used a packet of soup mix in her pot roasts, and it does add a lot of flavor to the finished product. Plus it makes this really quick to assemble, and it can cook while you are staying cool doing other things. Like working all day, or, sunbathing. This is quick and simple to start in the morning and just takes a few minutes to finish at dinnertime.

Yes, that is steam rising from my beautiful, delicious braised brisket!

Summer (Crock) Slow Cooker Braised Retro Brisket

4 lb brisket
1 bottle (12 oz.) dark beer
1 cup smoky barbecue sauce
2T Worcestershire sauce
1 packet of onion soup mix

1.Into a 5 - 6 quart slow cooker, add the Worcestershire, the barbecue sauce, the dark beer and the onion soup mix. Stir well to mix. Place the brisket into the sauce mixture fat side down, and then turn to coat in the liquid so it rests fat side up.

2. Start the slow cooker, and cook on low for about 7 - 8 hours until the meat is fork tender. Remove the meat from the crock, and let stand about 7-10 minutes to cool slightly before removing the fat layer on top, and then slicing. Serve hot, with some of the pot juices, or cool, as part of a platter with salads or in a sandwich. If you want, you can reduce the juice in the crock slightly to thicken it before serving.

Makes about 6 servings.

Simple, Quick, Butter Braised Asparagus

Succulent, juicy and tender early spring asparagus

I found the first asparagus in the market today, from this hemisphere. Spring is coming. It's early spring somewhere... Time to share my favorite way to fix asparagus with you. I've been making this asparagus recipe for so long, my family thinks I invented it. I got it from my friend next door  in our old neighborhood, Marge, sometime in the 1980's. As I recall, she found it in a magazine like Gourmet or Food & Wine. Up to that point, I had generally steamed asparagus, or quickly sautéed cuts in butter. It was expensive for newlyweds, and I hadn't started my own asparagus bed yet. In the 80s, we steamed EVERYTHING, and usually until it wasn't quite done. See what Cuisine Minceur did for us? Gave us crudités for dinner. Anyway, when she served us this at dinner, it was the essence of asparagus, and it was perfect. You're just baking it, covered, but what's happening is it's braising in its own juices, and wonderful, marvelous  butter.

Back then everything was steamed. Now, everything is roasted. After a while, I get sick of roasted  vegetables. It seems all you see is roasted this and roasted that. You can even buy vegetables frozen already roasted.You know the fad is trending away (hopefully) when you can buy them ready-roasted, frozen in bags.  Problem is, roasted vegetables aren't always succulent. tender and juicy. Sometimes they're downright tough, and dry, if the cook hasn't been paying attention. You have to stay on top of things roasting at a high temp, or all you'll have is burnt scraps to compost. What's great about this technique, is you can pop it in the oven, and go about making the rest of the meal, and then put it right on the table if you bake it in a nice dish.

These will cook in under 30 minutes, unless your asparagus is large and tough. This recipe is a shining opportunity to get creative with your seasonings. Instead of plain butter, a compound butter like chive or truffle is fabulous, or you can drizzle with plain extra virgin olive oil, if you prefer, in place of the butter. Flavored oils, like blood orange olive oil is delicious, here too, or garlic oil. I won't look if you want to include some chopped fresh garlic, some lemon zest, or a little soy sauce. All are worthy inclusions.

Asparagus ready to cover and bake. These are dotted with truffle butter.
You can nap or fix the rest of the meal while they cook.

Simple, Quick, Butter Braised Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 lb. medium asparagus
2T butter or oil of choice
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Wash the asparagus, well, and snap the stems, or peel them.

2. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer, or at most, a double layer in an oven to table baking dish that they just fit into. Dot with the butter or drizzle with oil, salt lightly and pepper.

3. Cover the pan tightly with a lid or heavy duty aluminum foil, and bake for 25 -30 minutes, 30 to 35, if they are thicker than your index finger, or a little woody.

4. Uncover and serve.