My family is jewish, but we it was never a religious identification. It’s always been as much about food as anything. Despite going without it for 20 years and not missing it, brisket is comfort food for me. I made the mistake of offering and you all make the mistake of encouraging me.
I’ve actually got this cooking away at home as I type this. I did all the chopping last night and then threw it all together quickly this morning before I left for work.
Ingredients:
2.5 lbs brisket
2 cups dark beer
water
4-5 medium carrots, chopped
5-6 stalks celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 bay leaves
4 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon paprika (not pictured)
salt and pepper
First a few words about ingredients. Brisket is a cut of meat that has a great deal of connective tissue in it and as a result benefits from slow cooking at low heat with moisture. Perfect for a slow cooker. It tends to be a cheaper cut so it’s a good way to feed a crowd. I like leaving most the fat on, but if you prefer you can trim more off.
Any dark beer that’s on the sweet side should work fine. I’ve made it with stout, bock, and Smithwick’s. Today I’m using Kralovsky Lev-Black Lion, a Cech dark beer, but . Avoid anything that’s overly hoppy. As for the rest of the stuff, don’t get too hung up on the exact quantities. Use what you have.
Steps
First, sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper on the brisket, then brown both sides in a lightly oiled pan.
Transfer the brisket into the slow cooker and brown the onions in the same pan.
Add the beer to the slow cooker, then enough water to bring the liquid level to about halfway up the side of the meat. Add the onions, carrot, celery, bay leaves, garlic, paprika.
Cook for 9 hours on low.
The meat should be fork soft when done. Pull the brisket out of the cooker, let rest for 30 minutes and then slice cut across the grain. Serve on top egg noodles with the liquid and vegetables ladled over as a sauce.
It has been suggested by some that it isn’t really brisket if it isn’t equally good, or better the next day.
Definitely doing this. Next week.
I’ve got your back.
Thanks. Also, how do I go back and edit this? I’d like to add the more tag. That way people don’t have to scroll past it to see everything else.
“Edit this post” in the little floaty box in the upper right.
Do you see a floating semi-transparent box in the top right of your screen while on this page?
Nope.
Shoot. I’ll look into that.
In the meantime, you should have permissions to edit here: http://freekraut.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=5026
Just added the “more” for you.
thanks.
Whoops. Try again. Turns out there’s an “edit posts” AND an “edit published posts” permission.
ok, works now. thanks.
How about now?
No.
That’s making me really hungry. My family’s recipe involves cooking once with onions, then a second time with kraut and pressing brown sugar on top. I think I’ve eaten that way every Passover for the last 36 years.
Kraut, did you say kraut? Do you have any idea where we are?
I’ll do a post, but we generally only make it at Passover, so it’ll have to wait until [checks calendar] April 6.
Sooner, please
I’ll see what I can do – could be a good thing to make when I’m home with NBW-spawn #2 on Mondays.
THIS MOTHER FKING THIS
This looks delicious!
Thanks. BTW, I recognize your name from the Scout forums. Do those still exist?
Ya, I still go there to look at Lockard’s articles. I still subscribe.
Lunchtime!
Yeah, I should have eaten before posting that.
Brusque taint?
*drooooooooooooool*
{taps on Poppy’s morphine drip, reduces flow}
Man, this sounds good. The cooking of meat is forbidden in my kitchen by my vegetarian wife; any meat I cook must be done over coals on the grill in the backyard, with an onshore breeze to carry the wafting meat essence away from the house. This is one of the great tragedies in my life.
Sounds like you need to invest in a smoker. You know, as long as you are going to be out there cooking meat.
I agree Eleventy billion percent with this. Also a Big Green Egg.
Do you have one? I’ve been eyeing one for years and my old Weber finally fell apart, so I’ll be looking for a replacement in the spring. I’d love to hear your experience with using one.
I have one. It’s pretty fantastic as far as versatility goes.
I’ve done super high 650 degree temps to sear a steak and cook it in 4 minutes, and I’ve put a pork shoulder on at 11pm at 220 degrees and forgot about it for 14 hours, and that was on one load of lump charcoal. It holds heat REALLY well. Also since it’s ceramic it can essentially act like a kiln or a brick oven. I’ve done pizza on it, I did the Thanksgiving bird one year, and some people have even used it to bake bread.
There’s a learning curve with getting the temp to where you want it to be, but once it’s locked in it stays pretty consistent.
I’d been eying one for a LONG time, and Mrs V finally had to push me over the edge because I was having a really hard time dropping that much $$ on a BBQ, but I ended up giving away my gas grill (famously known as the BAG because I hauled it to several tailgates) and picked up a smaller Char Broiler to bring to games.
I have the “Large” BGE. It’s just about right. the Medium is too small IMO, and the XL is friggin gigantic.
Thanks, and go As.
That sounds like a great endorsement. I’ve done pizza on the Weber but it’s not quite hot enough to do them right. And I’d love to try to do some long smoking like you describe the pork shoulder. Hmmmm….
I’ve even read that people have smoked cheese on them, but it takes a bit more preparation and set up in order to keep temps at 100 or below.
Thanks, and go As.
This sounds amazing.
I don’t but I would kill a man or maybe two for one. When I go to law school and make real money Im going to buy my uncle one.
make what now?
I guarantee you make dramatically more money than I do. Hell Im making 13k less this year than I did last year.
Its probably not dramatic. I had a bunch of scholarship money, but I still had loans.
Anyone with a net worth above zero is ahead of anyone who paid their way through law school (at least without pre-school savings) for at least several years.
That shit’s expensive.
Very lawyerly of you two to change the subject.
Exactly.
I didn’t say it’s some cripplingly dire circumstance. Just that a huge amount of the money that comes in goes right back out again to student loans. Like 25% of post-tax income, plus any over-payment.
And yet one of my best friends started at 150k out of Michagan and I have a bunch of other friends from Hastings that start at 125k. There is no way that gets down to 43k.
you don’t want those jobs
Which is still different than what were talking about. Even if my tax rate and loan burden go way up Id still be making substantially more money as a lawyer.
I still have loans too. Im sure with a family you have more commitments but you don’t make 40k.
Oh man, the good old days when I made 40k with a PhD and two kids. That…was not what I had expected going in.
yeah. Im not complaining Im better off then a lot of people but its not a lot of disposable income.
Sounds delicious. Any possible non-alcoholic substitute for the beer?
I could be mistaken, but cooking it removes the alcohol content doesn’t it?
Thanks, and go As.
But that also turns it into a hot beverage.
asvd. I’m sure it probably cooks out, but I’d prefer not to buy beer. I have no problem buying cooking sake or mirin, which have alcohol–but those don’t really double as a drink. It’s not that it would be against any specific rule–I just won’t buy it on principle alone.
I always substitute alcohol with vegetable stock. Even plain water is fine for slow cooking.
I do not cook with alcohol, regardless.
Really? How do you braise anything?
Braising can be done with any kind of liquid, even water.
yeah lets be honest… that doesn’t empart any flavor.
What about NA beer? I have a muslim friend who likes his Clausthaler from time to time, and I would think it would work fine for cooking.
There’s a saying here that drinking non-alcoholic beer is like following a porn movie on a radio…
It’s a good saying.
The best answer to that question can be found here.
The TL;DR is that yes, it does but it takes longer than most people think.
That’s pretty interesting.
It also reminds me that water-ethanol mixtures form azeotropes, meaning that distilling a 50/50 mixture of water-ethanol will never get you a product greater than about 97% ethanol. To get more pure than that you’ve got to play some fancy tricks. The flip side to that is that if you are trying to isolate the water out of a 99% ethanol solution, you’ll stall out at 97%.
Diethyl, what an azeotrope
Without any knowledge about this subject, I do believe there are non-alcoholic beers that might suffice. Or, like Mike says, cooking will render the beer non-alcoholic.
Generally speaking, you can use anything as a braising liquid. Water is fine. If you want to add some flavor w/o using beer or wine, you can try beef stock or fruit juice.
KRAUT JUICE!
Actually, that’s not a bad idea …
Pomegranate juice… for that medium rare look.
I heart pomegranate-infused balsamic vinegar.
It’s always on huge discount at my local market for some reason.
A T. of that in this recipe would be awesome!
Yeah, but carbonated liquids kick muchicus assicus in breaking down meat in a slow cooker.
If using cola or orange soda is not Mormonkosher, maybe club soda would work.
(note: orange soda definitely adds a sweet flavor. I only use it on pork)
Cola would be fine–we can drink it without eternal hellfire. I’ll have to try that.
Apple beer FTW
Actually, I bet that would be fantastic. I’m going to give it a shot.
When I’m back home. Currently in San Clemente for the week for orientation.
Say hi to my parents in OC
Your parents still log onto **?
The question has been pretty well answered, but apple beer would be great. I’ve also seen recipes using onion soup mix.
If you’re ever at risk of facing eternal hellfire, summon me. Satan owes me a favor or six. I’ll get you an elevator pass AND a Pepsi.
Was that a still from “Eternal Sunshine Of What Dreams May Come”?
sacrilege!
Bloom, you can’t trust people here like you did in Muncie.
Well remembered.
A Muncie girl…
[beams]
I once used Nighttrain to make a pot roast because I was under 21 and someone left it at our house for a party… it was really good.
Ewww
I know. But when youre 20 you improvise. Also it was pretty tasty, as it was slightly sweet.
Not so fast there.
cheap fruity alcohol can be a fine marinade base.
It’s all about Cherry Kijafa liqueur… unless you’re gonna soak the meat in Tussin… pretty much tastes the same.
I think if I did too much focusing on the thought of nighttrain I could make myself vomit right now.
It was one of the three legs of a “triathlon” event in college.
Yeah we had Bum Wine Wednesdays… but I never really got into that. I was the upscale drinks kid in college. Also we had an awesome house drink that we called ambrosia:
1 half gallon Paul Newmans Lime Aide $2
1 half gallon Paul Newmans Lemon Aide $2
1 bottle of peach schnapps
1 handle of cheap vodka
Best alchipop ever
Sounds similar to some of our house concoctions.
Well its basically 2 gallons of booze for ~20 bucks… pretty good stuff.
Yeah, we used to do 5 gallon coolers of sex on the beach with frozen OJ, cranberry, schnapps, vodka, and then enough grain to get to the right proof. About the same cost ratio.
I love Chopped. I’m no chef, but often times I can come up with something not too far off.
Ralph just made some amazing, Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes!! OMG
Were they better than Chickie’s pomegranate cheesecake from last August?
That was damn good cheesecake, but in the cupcake category these are the best I have ever eaten..
What could go wrong?
OMG These are so good!
Chopped seems cruel and too irreverent for how hard the contestants/chefs work.
same with Top Chef.
The Next Iron Chef seems too rigged, but other than that, the format is serious/reverent enough for my tastes.
I agree, who cooks with those ingredients?
Yeah, Okay, we need to you make a dessert, and we have…..Heavy whipping cream, raspberries, semi sweet chocolate chips and anchovies…..your time starts now!
Graham cracker anchovie tarts with rasberry chocolate mousse, lol!
mmmmmmmmmm…delicious!! Next tailgate please!
Liar! I died.
HA!
It’s torture!
I prefer cooking to be artful and sensual.
cable access and/or adult channel cooking shows?
I think the Cooking Channel already has them.
Gives a different twist to the term “food porn”.
I love that term.
Let me know when season 1 of “The Naked Contessa” is released on DVD.
Or FK Feasts.
Whats really a shame is how much the cost of Brisket has gone up recently.
As someone who has never cooked (or even eaten) brisket — is there much difference between that and a tri-tip?
Some of you know I can sorta cook tri-tip okay.
Thanks, and go As.
Brisket is much much tougher and is best cooked in liquid.
Tri-tip is super versatile and can be cooked most any way you like.
I also have never cooked or eaten brisket, but damn all of the sudden I hear about beef brisket all the time, it must have become trendy recently, everytime Ralph is watching food network i hear someone mention beef brisket!
It’s significantly more popular elsewhere in the country, from what I gather.
Also tri-tip is I guess pretty hard to find if you’re not on the west coast.
Thanks, and go As.
Yeah when we lived in Atlanta there was no such thing as Tri Tip, the butcher at Kroger’s Grocery store just looked at us funny when we asked about it.
this. Tri tip is unheard of other places I don’t know why but its a far superior cut and is similarly priced out here. Go to BBQ places and you can get a lot of brisket tho
Brisket is common both in Jewish food and in Texas style BBQ (which is what a lot of the bay area BBQ joints like Everett and Jones are, more or less). I’m pretty surprised that you guys have never had it.
Tri-tip is (or was) exclusively a California thing, and is not really similar to brisket at all, except insofar as they are both big cuts of beef.
And let me just say that I do enjoy big cuts of beef!
The brisket at Armadillo Willy’s is quite good. I love it. It doesn’t love me so much, though.
Is that a restaurant or quick service?
It’s a sit down type of place. It’s not horrible. There’s one in Dublin.
Thanks, and go As.
Ok cool..I couldnt tell from the website…Thanks!
Generally cheaper cuts of meat are getting more popular (because they are more flavorful but harder to prepare).
Tri-tip (I learned after the butcher talked me into buying my first one ever) is rare because it’s long been popular in California, and because you get very little tri-tip per cow.
Also rare/flavorful: Hanger steak (aka butcher steak, aka onglet). Sadly becoming more popular and more expensive.
welcome to my life.
Ribeyes use to be way way cheaper too. Fucking Americans learning how to cook.
My dad loves Hanger Steak. He has me bring him some from Cafe Rouge or Star Grocery every time I go see him.
They are a really flavorful cut. Goes great with Chimichurri
Any idea what oven temp would correspond to low on the slow cooker? 250? I have another clay pot that is great for slow roasting in the oven.
That’s a good question. I’d think 250 would be about right. It’s a little difficult to get the actual temp of a slow cooker as it varies based on a number of factors. After a couple hours the liquid should be at a low simmer.
If you do this I would suggest cooking it with the plan of eating it the following day. That way if the temp is off and it takes extra time you aren’t sitting around hungry for 2 hours.
I HAVE TO STOP READING THIS THREAD ABOUT AMAZING DELICIOUS THINGS I CAN’T EAT YET!!! {cries helplessly}
YOU WILL READ, AND YOU WILL REMEMBER
can you eat Ice Cream….because I would like to talk about Ice Cream…
Doing this tomorrow with Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout.