Happy Hanukkah! Tonight is the 5th night (the photo above is from a past year on the 8th night, not to confuse you).
So my husband and I were in Costco last week when I was looking for a brisket to make during Hanukkah.
I have always bought what they refer to as the flat or first cut which is the top part of the whole brisket, and much leaner than the whole brisket.
When sold in the stores it is trimmed of most of the fat with a thin layer remaining.
The whole brisket includes the flat cut and the point, both muscles, separated by a layer of fat, requiring a good deal of trimming.
You actually end up with 2 briskets which is a plus since cooked brisket freezes so well.
I had read in the past the advantages of using the whole brisket, and was intrigued. There is more marbling in the meat, resulting in a more flavorful and juicy piece of meat than the leaner flat cut.
However, there is more prep work involved in the trimming of all that fat.
Costco only had whole briskets, and the price was just $2.99 per pound versus the price of the flat cut, $10.00 per pound which he would have to charge me if he trimmed it to give me the flat cut.
Weighing in at over 10 pounds for the smallest whole brisket I could find I decided to go for it, and hope for the best as far as my butchering skills go.
So for $30 I went home with the equivalent of 2 briskets.
Additionally, I had decided to try a new recipe I was apparently late to discover.
It comes from the legendary Nach Waxman, owner of Kitchen Arts & Letters, on Lexington Ave. in NYC. check out their website here
In addition to Waxman’s impeccable taste in cookbooks, he is famous for his brisket recipe, which calls for no water, and slicing the meat halfway through the cooking.
This is the go-to recipe for knowledgeable brisket lovers. Who then share it with others. Who share it with, perhaps, the Obamas (word has it this is the recipe they served at their Passover Seder in the White House several years ago).
So warm and welcoming, the secret is what Nach did way before anyone else: slice the meat midway through cooking.
It is even better served the day after you make it or later if frozen. Just reheat, covered, for about one hour at 325 degrees F. (If frozen, defrost first in refrigerator then proceed as above).
Here is the recipe for Nach Waxman’s Brisket… ( Followed his recipe but used the whole brisket)
(Nach Waxman’s brisket of beef, “The New Basics Cookbook” by Julie Rosso & Sheila Lukins)
Here’s how Nach describes this brisket in the intro to the recipe…
“This is a traditional Eastern European dish of the utmost simplicity but with a flavor so distinctive and vigorous that few can believe how elementary it is or how few ingredients it contains. It is wonderful the day it is made, but even better on succeeding days- hot or cold. And it freezes well, with no loss of flavor.”
Ingredients
1 first-cut beef brisket, ( 5 to 6 pounds)
Note: First-cut brisket is leaner than the second cut and has only a thin layer of fat on its top side
1 to 2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour, for dusting
Coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup corn oil (may substitute canola or vegetable)
8 onions, peeled and thickly sliced, and separated into rings
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 and ½ teaspoons coarse Kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, quartered (or more to taste )
1 carrot, peeled (I used more carrots)
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Trim the brisket of most of its fat, and dust it very lightly with the flour. Sprinkle with pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a large heavy flameproof casserole (or roasting pan). Add the brisket, and brown on both sides over medium-high heat until some crisp spots appear on the surface.
4. Transfer the brisket to a dish. Keeping the heat medium-high, add the onions to the casserole or pan, and stir, scraping up the brown particles left from the meat. Cook, until onions have softened and developed a handsome brown color, 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the heat, and place the brisket, along with any juices that have accumulated, on top of the onions. Spread the tomato paste over the brisket as if you were icing a cake. Sprinkle with pepper and the coarse salt. Add the garlic and carrot.
Cover tightly with a lid or double aluminum foil. Place the pan on the middle rack in the oven, and bake for 1 and ½ hours.
6. Remove the pan from the oven, and transfer the meat to a carving board. Cut it into 1/8 to ¼-inch -thick slices. Return the slice to the pot, overlapping them at an angle so that you can see a bit of the top edge of each slice (in effect resembling the brisket, slightly slanted). Correct the seasoning if necessary, and if absolutely necessary, add 2 or 3 teaspoons of water to the pan.
7. Cover and return the pan to the oven. Cook until the meat is brown and fork-tender, 1 and ¾ to 2 hours longer.
Slice the carrot(s), and transfer the roast, onions, juice, and carrot slices to a heated platter.
Notes: I adapted this a bit. I used more carrots and more garlic than called for.
I added a small amount of ketchup on top before returning it to the oven once we sliced it for a bit of sweetness.
Since I made a whole brisket you will notice the 2 briskets sliced above. I accumulated more liquid due to the higher fat content of the whole brisket.
I separated most of the onions from the juices, refrigerated the juices and onions separately until I could easily remove the fat from the top of the juices.
I then added about half of the onions to the juices in a saucepan and used my immersion blender to incorporate the onions into the sauce.
The result was delicious as my husband and I both sampled the finished dish. I then froze both briskets in the gravy, and will be defrosting them and reheating it to be served this weekend along with latkes and homemade applesauce.
More photos to come!