Retro Meaty Monday: Beef Brisket with Chili Sauce, Onion Soup & Beer

Another repost: we are actually going to have this for dinner tonight. But being a retail manager, I worked yesterday, drove home in snow, and am leaving too early this morning, after shoveling. Thank heavens I put this in the oven yesterday, cause I'll need a hearty dinner tonight. Careful, please, if it is icy where you are as it is here.

Since last September, I've been moving a 9 lb. brisket from one side of my big freezer to the other to make room for other stuff. It was such a good deal, on sale for the Jewish holiday, that I had to have one. My original plan was to cut it into two pieces, since unless I get what's called a "Packer Cut" brisket to smoke,  a big brisket is too much meat for a family of two. But it was already cryovac packaged and I just didn't want to break it open, so I froze it whole. It was time to cook it and freeze the leftovers.  

Last week I was shuffling through my Mom's recipe file that I inherited. I was looking for a blueberry muffin recipe that she made at least once a month, when I discovered three braised brisket recipes in there. Now here's the thing. My mother never once made a brisket. Sure, Mom boiled a corned beef brisket around St. Patrick's Day, but even then it was more likely to be ham and cabbage than corned beef. My Aunt May, who was actually my step-grandmother, was German Jewish and she managed to get me to eat things my Italian Catholic family never cooked. Like brisket. It was great. Everyone was always trying to fatten me up, indeed, I didn't tip the scales at over 100 lb. until I was past 35. She was a terrific  baker, and I would always stuff my mouth and my pockets with the cookies she made, but they were withheld until I ate some "real food" like ...brisket. It was wonderful

I've made a few braised briskets in my time, and smoked quite a few big boys. But  I have never tried the recipes that use onion soup mix, and liquids like barbecue sauce or ketchup in a braise. Always used lots of onions, wine, and other typical braised beef ingredients. So imagine my shock when I found a recipe using ketchup and onion soup mix in Aunt May's handwriting in Mom's recipe box, and scribbled along the edge in my father's unmistakable hand --"Judy's favorite".  

After Googling, I found that there are hundreds of brisket recipes on the web using some variation of Aunt May's onion soup recipe for brisket. Aunt May was on to something. Back in the mid-1960s,  adding processed convenience foods to recipes was considered innovative, and modern, as so many of these foods were new. Now that so many processed foods are on our "foodie shit list," a lot of people write them off, at best, as quaint, retro, mediocre recipes.  This is wrong.  Dumping a packet of onion soup mix over the roast was as au courant as making a recipe from Modernist Cuisine is today. It was called "Progress".

We come, no matter what anyone says about American cooking, from an enormous group of fine home cooks who cared about what was put on the table, and often had to do the best with what was on hand. If they hadn't, we likely wouldn't be here. Like it or not, many of these old recipes are a product of their time, and are part of our collective heritage.  They're still delicious, and deserve to grace your table from time to time. Aunt May's version has ketchup, onion soup and water in it; nothing more.  I have, of course, doodled this up a bit, and it's delish. I think my Aunt would call this Progress, too. 

Not picture perfect, but still perfect brisket.

Note: I happened to have an extremely large brisket. A more normal size brisket is about 7 pounds, and if you want to use a 4 pound piece, use half the amount of chili sauce, half the beer (drink the rest), 2 Tablespoons of molasses and half the garlic. Keep everything else the same. This needs to cook all day, and is much better chilled, sliced and then reheated on the next day in the abundant sauce, so plan accordingly. Freezes well.

Retro Braised Brisket

Serves 10

Ingredients:

1 7 to 8 lb. beef brisket, flat cut, with a 1/4"  fat cap
2  12 oz. bottle chili sauce or ketchup
1 packet onion soup mix
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

1/2 tsp. Marmite (opt.)
2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1 bottle lager beer or dark beer or stout

12 garlic cloves, peeled (about 1 head)
3 - 4 bay leaves
Salt when reheating if needed

Just needs some foil to cover the pan, and then it's cook time!

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275ºF. Mix everything through the black pepper in a medium bowl with a  whisk. Then mix in the beer.

2. Place the meat fat side down in a roasting pan, that just fits it, scatter the garlic and bay leaves over the meat, and pour the beer  mixture over the top. Flip the meat so the fat is up.

3. Cover the pan tightly with foil, and place in the oven. Roast about 3 - 4 hours, then uncover and carefully turn the meat. recover and cook another 2 to 3 hours until the meat is fork tender.

4. Cool the meat in the sauce, then remove and wrap separately. Chill the meat and sauce. When ready to serve, remove the congealed fat from the sauce, slice the meat in 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and reheat in the sauce, either in the oven or on top of the stove.

Braised Beef Roast with Coffee, Orange & Roasted Garlic Onion Jam

Well, here another Meaty Monday has rolled around and I haven't been cooking. I've been nursing a nasty case of shingles. Actually, as far as shingles are concerned, there are nothing BUT nasty cases. It is slowly clearing up, and I have just started back really cooking, and promise some new recipes after I get done testing some new dishes. 

Meanwhile, here's a post I wrote last year, and I am actually planning to make it this coming weekend when I have time to run out for a nice, little beef roast. Enjoy!

Looks like a good dinner already, doesn't it?

Now that it's officially Fall, I feel some justification in making the first pot roast of the season. "Pot roast" is the un-fancy name for braised beef.   The fact that it's also gone from the mid 80º's to the mid 60º's in the space of a day doesn't hurt, either. Not that pot roast isn't a good thing to make when the weather is warm since it makes a wonderful cold sliced meat or a sandwich, but somehow, the scent of a pot roast helps take the chill off the house, even if it's not cold enough to turn on the heat yet.

This braised beef recipe evolved from a half-jar of Stonewall Kitchen's totally delicious Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam, that was leftover from the weekend. Rather than give myself the chance to eat the rest of it with a spoon (or a chunk of oozy brie) when no one was watching, this is a truly tasty was to force myself to share it. And no, I don't work for Stonewall Kitchen, and they don't pay me in any way to say nice things about their products. I just like them and want to share. So there, lol. It's a wonderful cool weather dish, garlicky, sweet, orangey, and very beefy.

Savory jams can add so much to your cooking repertoire, or hors d'oeuvre table.
Keep and eye out for good ones, and keep a few in the pantry.

That little pot roast from last spring  you may remember, uses root vegetables that add a lot of rich flavor to the dish. My favorites are turnips, carrots and celeriac, aka celery root. If you would like potatoes, in addition to what's here, feel free to add a few firm, waxy potatoes like  Yukon Golds to the other roots under the roast.  This will make 6 servings, but your mileage may differ depending on how big your roast is, and how lean it is. Or how piggy your eaters are. My favorite is chuck for this, but a bottom round roast or a rump roast will work well, too. Chuck makes for a messy, falling apart roast, but  very juicy, the rump and round will be neater looking but a bit less juicy. Be sure to ask the butcher to tie the roast if it's unevenly shaped, so it will cook evenly, or tie it yourself with butcher's twine. Don't worry if your "roping" job doesn't look great, you'll take the string off the roast before serving.

Notes: I know the anchovy paste seems odd, but don't leave it out. It adds a certain depth (umami) to the juices that you can't get with anything else. If you must, you can substitute a teaspoon of mushroom base, or 1/2 teaspoon of Asian fish sauce. This can be made in the oven, or in a slow cooker. If you choose the slow cooker, after browning the meat, place the vegetables in the bottom of the crock, and set the browned meat on top, then add the seasonings and liquid, pouring it all evenly over everything. Cook on Low for 7-8 hours. Remove the orange zest, and thyme bundle if using, before serving. Do not even consider not browning the meat for this pot roast. Don't make me come after you. I'll know.

Braised Beef pot roast with Coffee, Orange & Roasted Garlic Onion Jam.
 Grab a plate and eat!

Braised Beef Roast with Coffee, Orange & Roasted Garlic Onion Jam

Ingredients:

3 to 4 lb. Chuck or bottom round  beef roast
salt & freshly ground pepper
2T bacon fat or safflower oil
3/4 cup Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic Onion Jam
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee, hot
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
4 medium turnips, peeled and quartered
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut in thirds
1 small celeriac (celery root) peeled and cubed
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced 1/4"
1 tsp. anchovy paste
zest from 1/2 orange in 1-2 strips( use a vegetable peeler)
3 bay leaves
1 tsp of dried thyme leaves, or 1 small bunch of fresh thyme, bundled with string

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Season the roast on all sides liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the bacon fat in a deep dutch oven and brown the meat on all sides, allowing about 5 minutes a side. Remove the roast to a plate.

2. Stir the hot coffee, the roasted garlic onion jam, the balsamic vinegar and the anchovy paste together in a small bowl and set aside. Add the cut vegetables to the bottom of the pan, along with coffee mixture, and stir up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

3. Add the zest strips, the bay leaves and the thyme, stir, then add the roast atop the vegetable mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Cover the dutch oven, and place in the oven, and cook 3- 4 hours until the meat is fork tender (depending on the size of the roast), turning the roast over halfway through the cooking time.

5. Remove the roast from the pan carefully and cut into slices or chunks.  Remove the zest strips from the pot, along with the thyme bundle and discard. Serve with the vegetables and the pan juices. A green vegetable like steamed spinach (soaks up the yummy juices) or broccoli is a great side, especially if you are grain or gluten free, otherwise some mopping up bread is suggested.

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.

Retro Beef Brisket with Chili Sauce, Onion Soup & Beer

Since last September, I've been moving a 9 lb. brisket from one side of my big freezer to the other to make room for other stuff. It was such a good deal, on sale for the Jewish holiday, that I had to have one. My original plan was to cut it into two pieces, since unless I get what's called a "Packer Cut" brisket to smoke,  a big brisket is too much meat for a family of two. But it was already cryovac packaged and I just didn't want to break it open, so I froze it whole. It was time to cook it and freeze the leftovers.  

Last week I was shuffling through my Mom's recipe file that I inherited. I was looking for a blueberry muffin recipe that she made at least once a month, when I discovered three braised brisket recipes in there. Now here's the thing. My mother never once made a brisket. Sure, Mom boiled a corned beef brisket around St. Patrick's Day, but even then it was more likely to be ham and cabbage than corned beef. My Aunt May, who was actually my step-grandmother, was German Jewish and she managed to get me to eat things my Italian Catholic family never cooked. Like brisket. It was great. Everyone was always trying to fatten me up, indeed, I didn't tip the scales at over 100 lb. until I was past 35. She was a terrific  baker, and I would always stuff my mouth and my pockets with the cookies she made, but they were withheld until I ate some "real food" like ...brisket. It was wonderful

I've made a few braised briskets in my time, and smoked quite a few big boys. But  I have never tried the recipes that use onion soup mix, and liquids like barbecue sauce or ketchup in a braise. Always used lots of onions, wine, and other typical braised beef ingredients. So imagine my shock when I found a recipe using ketchup and onion soup mix in Aunt May's handwriting in Mom's recipe box, and scribbled along the edge in my father's unmistakable hand --"Judy's favorite".  

After Googling, I found that there are hundreds of brisket recipes on the web using some variation of Aunt May's onion soup recipe for brisket. Aunt May was on to something. Back in the mid-1960s,  adding processed convenience foods to recipes was considered innovative, and modern, as so many of these foods were new. Now that so many processed foods are on our "foodie shit list," a lot of people write them off, at best, as quaint, retro, mediocre recipes.  This is wrong.  Dumping a packet of onion soup mix over the roast was as au courant as making a recipe from Modernist Cuisine is today. It was called "Progress".

We come, no matter what anyone says about American cooking, from an enormous group of fine home cooks who cared about what was put on the table, and often had to do the best with what was on hand. If they hadn't, we likely wouldn't be here. Like it or not, many of these old recipes are a product of their time, and are part of our collective heritage.  They're still delicious, and deserve to grace your table from time to time. Aunt May's version has ketchup, onion soup and water in it; nothing more.  I have, of course, doodled this up a bit, and it's delish. I think my Aunt would call this Progress, too. 

Not picture perfect, but still perfect brisket.

Note: I happened to have an extremely large brisket. A more normal size brisket is about 7 pounds, and if you want to use a 4 pound piece, use half the amount of chili sauce, half the beer (drink the rest), 2 Tablespoons of molasses and half the garlic. Keep everything else the same. This needs to cook all day, and is much better chilled, sliced and then reheated on the next day in the abundant sauce, so plan accordingly. Freezes well.

Retro Braised Brisket

Serves 10

Ingredients:

1 7 to 8 lb. beef brisket, flat cut, with a 1/4"  fat cap
2  12 oz. bottle chili sauce or ketchup
1 packet onion soup mix
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

1/2 tsp. Marmite (opt.)
2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1 bottle lager beer or dark beer or stout

12 garlic cloves, peeled (about 1 head)
3 - 4 bay leaves
Salt when reheating if needed

Just needs some foil to cover the pan, and then it's cook time!

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275ºF. Mix everything through the black pepper in a medium bowl with a  whisk. Then mix in the beer.

2. Place the meat fat side down in a roasting pan, that just fits it, scatter the garlic and bay leaves over the meat, and pour the beer  mixture over the top. Flip the meat so the fat is up.

3. Cover the pan tightly with foil, and place in the oven. Roast about 3 - 4 hours, then uncover and carefully turn the meat. recover and cook another 2 to 3 hours until the meat is fork tender.

4. Cool the meat in the sauce, then remove and wrap separately. Chill the meat and sauce. When ready to serve, remove the congealed fat from the sauce, slice the meat in 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and reheat in the sauce, either in the oven or on top of the stove. 

Marvelous Many Mushroom Beef Braise: The Unplanned Dinner.

Almost ready: Many Mushroom Beef Braise

I was planning to fix a shrimp dish for dinner tonight. But the shrimp should have been removed from the freezer about the time I was looking at the Christmas lights at Costco (didn't buy). Then, when I got home, the electrician had just arrived to service our backup generator, and the house power was shut off. So I didn't open the freezer, because I couldn't see a damn thing in the basement, anyway. My other task this afternoon was to divvy up some top round beef into freezer packs, and even though none of it was on the planned menu, a pound of trimmings and chunks suddenly became the basis of a very good, fairly quick dinner. It's fairly quick because, once you get it into the pot, you can walk away for an hour...to do something useful, like write a blog post. And it tastes like you slaved for hours. Just don't tell.  Soothing, and warm you right down to your toes.

Actually, this sort of thing is great with ground meat like beef, lamb or venison. It cooks faster, and makes a fabulous sauce for homemade  whole wheat fettuccine or other fresh wide wheat pasta.  With this chunky meat version, we usually have it with brown rice or a bean puree, and something green. Totally, delectably, wonderful.

Can I eat yet??

Many Mushroom Beef Braise
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

2T bacon fat or safflower oil
1 lb. top round beef in 1-1/2" cubes
1 medium yellow onion, halved and sliced 1/4"
8 oz. sliced baby bella mushrooms
.25 g package of mixed dried wild mushrooms, soaked, in 1 cup hot water 10 minutes
1 cup mushroom stock homemade, boxed or made from mushroom base
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
salt
freshly ground black pepper
fresh parsley, sprigs and some minced

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a dutch oven, or other heavy bottomed pot with a cover. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Brown the meat in the hot fat on all sides, about10 - 15 minutes over medium-high heat.

2. Lower the heat to medium, add the sliced mushrooms and onions, stirring until the mushrooms release some liquid. Add the sherry and stock, and stir up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer.

3. Add the dried mushrooms, and their soaking liquid, careful to hold back any sediment at the bottom of the bowl. Add the dried herbs, stir well, brig back to a simmer. Cover and cook 1 hour, until the meat is tender. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

Braised Beef Roast with Coffee, Orange & Roasted Garlic Onion Jam

Looks like a good dinner already, doesn't it?

Now that it's officially Fall, I feel some justification in making the first pot roast of the season. "Pot roast" is the un-fancy name for braised beef.   The fact that it's also gone from the mid 80º's to the mid 60º's in the space of a day doesn't hurt, either. Not that pot roast isn't a good thing to make when the weather is warm since it makes a wonderful cold sliced meat or a sandwich, but somehow, the scent of a pot roast helps take the chill off the house, even if it's not cold enough to turn on the heat yet.

This braised beef recipe evolved from a half-jar of Stonewall Kitchen's totally delicious Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam, that was leftover from the weekend. Rather than give myself the chance to eat the rest of it with a spoon (or a chunk of oozy brie) when no one was watching, this is a truly tasty was to force myself to share it. And no, I don't work for Stonewall Kitchen, and they don't pay me in any way to say nice things about their products. I just like them and want to share. So there, lol. It's a wonderful cool weather dish, garlicky, sweet, orangey, and very beefy.

Savory jams can add so much to your cooking repertoire, or hors d'oeuvre table.
Keep and eye out for good ones, and keep a few in the pantry.

That little pot roast from last spring  you may remember, uses root vegetables that add a lot of rich flavor to the dish. My favorites are turnips, carrots and celeriac, aka celery root. If you would like potatoes, in addition to what's here, feel free to add a few firm, waxy potatoes like  Yukon Golds to the other roots under the roast.  This will make 6 servings, but your mileage may differ depending on how big your roast is, and how lean it is. Or how piggy your eaters are. My favorite is chuck for this, but a bottom round roast or a rump roast will work well, too. Chuck makes for a messy, falling apart roast, but  very juicy, the rump and round will be neater looking but a bit less juicy. Be sure to ask the butcher to tie the roast if it's unevenly shaped, so it will cook evenly, or tie it yourself with butcher's twine. Don't worry if your "roping" job doesn't look great, you'll take the string off the roast before serving.

Notes: I know the anchovy paste seems odd, but don't leave it out. It adds a certain depth (umami) to the juices that you can't get with anything else. If you must, you can substitute a teaspoon of mushroom base, or 1/2 teaspoon of Asian fish sauce. This can be made in the oven, or in a slow cooker. If you choose the slow cooker, after browning the meat, place the vegetables in the bottom of the crock, and set the browned meat on top, then add the seasonings and liquid, pouring it all evenly over everything. Cook on Low for 7-8 hours. Remove the orange zest, and thyme bundle if using, before serving. Do not even consider not browning the meat for this pot roast. Don't make me come after you. I'll know.

Braised Beef pot roast with Coffee, Orange & Roasted Garlic Onion Jam.
 Grab a plate and eat!

Braised Beef Roast with Coffee, Orange & Roasted Garlic Onion Jam

Ingredients:

3 to 4 lb. Chuck or bottom round  beef roast
salt & freshly ground pepper
2T bacon fat or safflower oil
3/4 cup Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic Onion Jam
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee, hot
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
4 medium turnips, peeled and quartered
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut in thirds
1 small celeriac (celery root) peeled and cubed
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced 1/4"
1 tsp. anchovy paste
zest from 1/2 orange in 1-2 strips( use a vegetable peeler)
3 bay leaves
1 tsp of dried thyme leaves, or 1 small bunch of fresh thyme, bundled with string

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Season the roast on all sides liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the bacon fat in a deep dutch oven and brown the meat on all sides, allowing about 5 minutes a side. Remove the roast to a plate.

2. Stir the hot coffee, the roasted garlic onion jam, the balsamic vinegar and the anchovy paste together in a small bowl and set aside. Add the cut vegetables to the bottom of the pan, along with coffee mixture, and stir up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

3. Add the zest strips, the bay leaves and the thyme, stir, then add the roast atop the vegetable mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Cover the dutch oven, and place in the oven, and cook 3- 4 hours until the meat is fork tender (depending on the size of the roast), turning the roast over halfway through the cooking time.

5. Remove the roast from the pan carefully and cut into slices or chunks.  Remove the zest strips from the pot, along with the thyme bundle and discard. Serve with the vegetables and the pan juices. A green vegetable like steamed spinach (soaks up the yummy juices) or broccoli is a great side, especially if you are grain or gluten free, otherwise some mopping up bread is suggested.