Superbowl Sunday Brisket

Every Sunday for much of my childhood, my dad cooked pot roast for dinner. It was my grandfather’s favorite dish and I think my dad and aunt, too, spent their Sunday evenings gulping down this hearty dish as kids. Quite frankly, I hated the cooked, mushy vegetables.  But, gimme a hunk of meat, thick broth, crispy bread and a side salad, and I’d be game for pot roast.  The aroma of a pot roast left simmering on the stove for hours on a chilly Sunday afternoon is one of the most sublime scents in this world.

Pot roast is a traditional Irish dish consisting essentially of beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions and/or whatever other inexpensive root vegetable is one hand, along with beef broth, beer or cider.  It’s a humble dish, with modest beginnings among the peasants in Ireland and is cooked slowly in a tightly sealed pot on the stove.  The name pot roast actually refers to the cooking method or the cooking device, rather than the meal’s contents. I’ve read that it likely originates from a time when dense pot-ovens were suspended over a fire in a hearth, so the meat and vegetables cooked slowly and without direct heat.  The result is a tender beef stew-like dish that warms you from the inside out.

I came across a cute little poem about the dish online.  It’s from the 1800s, and praises the Irish stew for its ability to satiate one’s hunger:

Then hurrah for an Irish Stew 
That will stick to your belly like glue.

Brisket is a modest dish of similar ingredients.  Rather than a weekly staple, brisket is more commonly reserved for holidays like Rosh Hashanah or Passover, but it has found its place on many a Shabbos table as well.  Traditionally, the beef used for the dish should be a brisket cut (go, figure) because it’s a large, kosher cut of meat located at the cow’s chest and can feed many hungry mouths. It’s affordable price also made it a top choice among impoverished Eastern European Jews. It is traditionally pot roasted slowly with onions, garlic, carrots, parsnips and flour.

The one I made had a more modern twist with a tomato-based stewed-vegetable sauce. Brisket sometimes gets a bad rap because it’s easy for this cut of meat to turn out dry, flavorless and tough. Made right, with a tight aluminum foil or solid cover to seal in the moisture, it too, will warm you from the inside out. It will also fill your home with one of the most delicious aromas imaginable.

It’s really, really cold here in New York City (remember that I spent the last five years in San Francisco, where the temp seldom drops below 50 degrees) and it snowed Saturday night, so a warm beef brisket seemed like just the ticket.  This particular Superbowl Sunday started with Steve and I running a four mile race in Central Park–snow on the ground and all–so if ever there was a Sunday that was destined for homemade brisket, this one was it.

The below recipe was adapted from Ina Garten’s (of Barefoot Contessa fame) recipe. I’ve heard that Steve’s mom is a little embarrassed about the fact that she doesn’t know how to make, or chooses never to make brisket, so this recipe is dedicated to her.

I’ve always loved the philosophy of “cook on Sunday, eat till Thursday” wherein one spends the better part of a Sunday cooking several dinner-sized meals only to refrigerate or freeze them and reheat and eat for lunch and dinner throughout the week.  The idea is that the practice saves money and weeknight cooking time, provides for healthier meals than takeout, and makes for a really fun Sunday (so long as you don’t also have to do all the dishes).

The brisket I made probably could have fed five people, no problem. (I could make a joke here about Jewish moms and their tendency to prepare an over-abundance of food, but I will refrain). In a city where a sandwich or salad at lunch can easily run you at least $15, leftovers for lunch is ideal.  I don’t have it together enough to actually pull this off all week, but when we cook, we try to make enough to cover us for lunch the next day (and succeed about 3-4 days a week).  And, I mean, seriously?  Is there anything better in this world than a brisket sandwich?  Don’t answer that.  No, there isn’t.

While red meat isn’t rumored to be the healthiest of options, it is admittedly among the tastiest things you can eat. With this meal, and the ensuing days of leftovers, I think Steve and I will have had our allowance of red meat until summertime.

Let me pause for a brief message about cooking in a tiny Manhattan kitchen: this recipe is going to be tough. You’ll have to MacGyver your way through it. We live in a subleased studio at the moment, and while this recipe is achievable, it wasn’t the easiest of places to make it happen.  My advice is to complete the prep work in stages and clean your available counter space as you go. It also helps if only one person is in said tiny Manhattan kitchen at the time that the components of this dish are being prepared–too many cooks in a tiny Manhattan kitchen is a recipe for relationship disaster. (There I go with the puns again).

*Recipe for Brisket*

Serves 5 (or 2, with loads of leftovers)

Ingredients
3 pounds beef brisket
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons ground black pepper
4-8 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch chunks
4 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 yellow onions, peeled and sliced
3 dried bay leaves
23-ounces tomato juice (from a can or jar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

You will also need a roasting pan (before making this recipe, we went out and bought one of these.  I still don’t know where we’re going to store it now), aluminum foil, parchment paper. Apparently tomato juice and aluminum foil react unpleasantly if they touch (hence the parchment paper).  The more you know!

Begin by peeling and cutting the carrots and onions, and washing and cutting the celery.  Set aside.

Peel and mince the garlic, and place in a small bowl together with the salt, pepper, and oregano.  Mix well.  I love garlic, so I used eight cloves. Tis might be overkill for some, so use less if you prefer.  On your cutting board, rub the spice mixture on both sides of the meat. Let sit for a minute or two.

Place the brisket in the roasting pan, and pile the carrots, celery, onions and bay leaves over it.  Next, pour the tomato juice into the pan so that it comes about 3/4 of the way up the meat and veggies.

Cover the pan with two long sheets of parchment paper and then cover that with the aluminum foil.  Remember to make sure the foil and the tomato juice don’t have a opportunity to touch!

Bake for 3 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender. In our petite oven, I had to put the pan in at an angle, and set the timer on my phone for 1 hour, 45 minutes, then turn the pan for the remaining 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Myles the cat was very interested in what was going on in the kitchen (clearly he did not get the memo about one cook in the kitchen at a time).

As the hours passed, he paced in front of the oven.

And then stood there, smelling and staring longingly.

When the time’s up, remove the meat from the pan and keep it warm. Place the pan on two burners and boil the vegetables and sauce over medium heat for another 30 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened.

To serve, slice the meat across the grain.  (Steve had to help me with this part).

Serve with the vegetables. I also made a quick couscous and sliced some baguette (I’m a big fan of sides that aid in sopping up delicious sauces).  Though he didn’t taste it, I think Myles approved.  I recommend serving this modern take on traditional Jewish brisket with a nice California Cabernet.

Sorry, Niners, I was rooting for you!  Better luck next year. Cheers!

{image credit:  All photos were taken by Kate and Steve at Convert Confidential}