Beef

Brisket with Sweet-and-Sour Sauce

prehfusLeave a comment

Adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser (2021)

  • 1 large onion, quartered
  • 1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
  • 6 large cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine
  • 1 1/2 cups Coca Cola (regular – not diet)
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black peper, or to taste
  • One 6-7 pound first-cut brisket, rinsed and patted thoroughly dry.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients except the brisket in a food processor and process until smooth.

Place the brisket, fat-side-up, in a heavy roasting pan just large enough to hold it and pour the sauce over it. Cover tightly and bake for 2 hours.

Turn the brisket over and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour and check for tenderness. If it is fork-tender, you’re done! If not, cover loosely with foil and continue baking. Depending on the thickness of the brisket, this can take up to an additional hour. Keep checking every 20 minutes or so.

Once the brisket is done, take it out of the sauce and allow it to cool. Then wrap it in foil and refrigerate overnight. Pour the sauce into a container, cover it and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, transfer the brisket to a large cutting board and trim off the fat. Slice the brisket with a sharp knife against the grain. Remove any fat that has congealed on top of the sauce. Place the sliced brisket in a baking dish or roasting pan and pour the sauce over it, letting it run down between the slices.

At this point, you can reheat and serve using the instructions below. If you prefer to serve it later, wrap the whole thing in foil and freeze it or keep it in the refrigerator for a day or two until ready to heat and serve. If you decide to freeze it, thaw it in the refrigerator for about 24 hours before reheating.

When ready to serve, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the brisket and sauce, covered, for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Serves 12

Easy Brisket

prehfusLeave a comment

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! copyright 2001 by Ina Garten.

  • 5  pounds (or so) beef brisket, very well trimmed of fat
  • 6 medium yellow onions, peeled and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
  • 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 8 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 6 dried bay leaves
  • 1 (46-ounce) can tomato juice or low-sodium V8 juice.

Preheat the oven to 325° F.

Place half of the sliced onions in the bottom of a heavy roasting pan.  Place the brisket on top of the onions. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano. Rub the mixture on the brisket. Pile the carrots, celery, remaining onions, and bay leaves on the brisket and pour in enough juice to come about 3/4 of the way up the meat and vegetables (in my roasting pan, that’s the whole can). Cover the top of the pan with 2 sheets of parchment paper, then with a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Seal the edges well.

Bake for 4 hours, or until the meat is tender. Remove the meat from the pan and slice it against the grain. Remove the bay leaves and discard.  Put the vegetables, with sauce into a food processor with a steel blade.  Process until you get a chunky sauce.  Place the sliced meat in a 13×9 pan.  Pour in enough sauce to cover the meat.  There will be sauce left over that can be used for pasta or for use in other recipes.

At this point, you can refrigerate or freeze the brisket until ready to use.  (If you freeze it, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.) When ready to serve, heat the brisket in a 325° oven for 30 – 45 minutes, until the meat is heated through and the sauce is bubbly.

Serves 6 people, with leftovers.

NOTE: We think this is even better when prepared ahead and frozen for future use.

Pot Roast (just the meat)

prehfusLeave a comment

Submitted by Karen Schihl, who got it from The Milk-free Kitchen by Beth Kidder, c 1988, 1991.

  • 2 cloves garlic (I use 4-6)
  • 3 1/2 pounds boneless beef; flank steak is best, but beef chuck or round will do nicely (I buy 2 pieces of flank steak at Costco; 1 for tonight’s dinner, 1 to put in the freezer for a future crazy day).
  • 1 or 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil(I use olive)
  • 1 cup water or red wine (I like Ravens Wood Zinfandel)

Peel the garlic cloves and cut each lengthwise into 3 or 4 slices. With a small sharp knife, cut deep slits in the meat and insert a slice of garlic into each slit. Use about half of the garlic slices, then turn it over and insert the rest of the garlic slices in the other side. (I get impatient and put them all in on one side.)

Preheat a heavy pot and brown the meat in it in a little oil. Add the wine or water, cover the pot, and turn the heat down to a gentle simmer. Cook the meat about 2 hours, or until very well done. (I’ve pulled it off shy of 2 hours and it was fine).

The secret to a really good pot roast is to let the meat boil nearly dry at a late stage in the cooking process; after this add just enough water to produce about a cup of pan juices. Pot roast that has been overcooked, or allowed to cook without any water for more than a minute or two, will be dry, even though there is enough fat. Meat cooked this way is very flavorful and does not really need seasoning, even pepper.

Always cut roast across the grain of the meat, not with the grain. Flank steak can be cut against the grain and at a slant for larger pieces. Freezes well. Try to freeze whole. Upon thawing, slice cold meat and gently warm up on stove top in juices.

Serve with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies.  Pass a pitcher of the pan liquid when you serve the meat.

Serves 6.

Quick-Prep Slow Cooker Beef Stew

prehfusLeave a comment

    • 2 pounds stew meat
    • 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
    • 3 medium carrots, sliced
    • 2 ribs celery, sliced
    • 1 can condensed tomato soup
    • 1 can Campbell’s Beefy Mushroom Soup
    • 2 Tablespoons (or more) tomato paste
    • 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms (optional)

      Brown meat and onions in a non-stick skillet.  Place in slow cooker.  Add remaining ingredients.  Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

      Serve with noodles or baked potatoes.

      Makes 6 servings.

      Wine-Braised Chuck Roast with Onions

      prehfusLeave a comment

      Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, January 2005

      • 3-4 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
      • 2 teaspoons salt
      • 1 teaspoon black pepper
      • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
      • 4 medium-large onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
      • 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
      • 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
      • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried, crumbled (or more)
      • 1 teaspoon crushed fresh rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon crumbled (or more)
      • 1 1/2 cups dry wine (the original recipe called for white, but I used red)
      • 1 cup water

      Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees.

      Pat beef dry and rub all over with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Heat oil in an ovenproof 5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown beef on all sides, about 15 minutes total.  Transfer beef to a plate.

      Add onions to pot and sauté over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until soft and brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add wine and water and bring to a boil. Return beef to pot, then cover tightly and braise in oven, turning once after 1 hour, until beef is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours total.

      Let beef stand, uncovered, in onion sauce about 30 minutes.

      Preheat oven to 350°F and transfer remaining beef to a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Season with salt and pepper and return beef to sauce. Reheat, covered, 20 minutes.

      Lawry’s Day Before Beef Brisket

      prehfusLeave a comment

      Submitted by Julie Lichtenberg Stern, who got it from her friend Linda Hahn, who got it from from Lawry’s The Great California Lifestyle Cookbook.

      • 1 Tablespoon liquid smoke
      • Seasoned salt
      • Garlic powder
      • 6-7 lb. brisket of beef, unseasoned
      • 1 large onion, finely chopped
      • 1 cup ketchup
      • ¼ cup water
      • 1-1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar
      • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
      • 2 teaspoon liquid smoke
      • 1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

      Rub liquid smoke, seasoned salt, and garlic powder on both sides of meat. Place in baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for at least eight hours (I skip this step). Add onion, re-cover and bake in 325 degree oven for two hours. Cool and slice in ¼ inch thick slices. Combine remaining ingredients and heat. Pour sauce over meat slices. Re-cover and refrigerate for four hours or overnight (I skip this step, too). Bake in a 325 degree oven for one hour to heat through.

      Makes 8-10 servings

      Willy’s BBQ

      prehfusLeave a comment

      Submitted by Diane Caylor Jasper, who writes:  “This is Willy Dreuth’s (husband of Linda Caylor Dreuth) recipe.  He would always make BBQ on one of the days we visited. When I asked him for the recipe he said that it was in his head. One day I picked his brain as he made it and wrote it down. It is delicious!”

      • 1 onion
      • 3/4 cup water
      • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
      • 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
      • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
      • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
      • 1 teaspoon mustard
      • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
      • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
      • garlic to taste
      • 2 pounds pre-cooked, cubed meat.

      Combine ingredients in a sauce pan.  Using medium heat, stir until sauce bubbles.  Add meat.  Cover and simmer until meat breaks down (a couple of hours ? depending on the size of the pieces and the type of meat used).

      Bob Stevenson’s Spaghetti Sauce

      prehfusLeave a comment

      Submitted by Mary Ciambelli and Bill Wasinski, who consider this “the best spaghetti sauce known to humans”  Thanks to Bob for allowing them to share it!

      • A few cloves of garlic, diced
      • A good size yellow onion, diced
      • 1.5-2 pounds of ground meat. Italian sausage (sweet or spicy or mixed); bison, lean ground beef or some combination of all.
      • Italian seasoning, two palmfuls.
      • Bay Leaves 3 or 4. Pull them out before eating but leave them in for the leftovers.
      • Red Wine 2-3 oz. (too much makes it bitter, too little you don’t get the flavor)
      • 1 heaping tablespoon of sugar
      • Olive oil to brown the garlic and onions.
      • One big can and one small can of tomato paste. Flavor + Sweetness
      • One big can of tomato sauce.
      • One big can of diced or crushed tomatoes (Better yet, buy canned whole tomatoes and
      • Squish them in your hands and put that squished stuff in the sauce). Put the liquid from the can into the sauce.
      • One big can of water.
      • Never think about adding salt (plenty in the canned tomatoes)

      Assembly

      Open all of the cans and dump them into your stock pot. Place on low-simmer heat. Dump in the one can of water, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, sugar, and wine.

      Stir.

      Sautee the onions in olive oil until almost clear. Dump into the sauce including the residual olive oil.

      Sautee the garlic in lots of olive oil so that it is all swimming. As soon as it starts to think about getting brown STOP and dump the oil and garlic into the sauce.

      Brown the meat. Just let it get fairly gray. Dump off as much of the grease as you can.

      Put the meat into the sauce after grease removal.

      Cooking

      Bring the sauce to the lowest boil possible. Once it begins to boil, you want it to be quite watery. Add water if needed at this step (may be just fine). Return to simmer.

      The longer this simmers, the better it is (at least an hour but no matter how long it simmers its always better as leftovers. All day is good. Just keep putting in water if it gets too thick and cook it down again). This sauce keeps for at least a week in the refrigerator and can also be frozen. Never make a smaller batch.

      Use pasta that holds a lot of sauce like penne or seashells. To live longer use whole wheat pasta.

      Buon Appetito!

      Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

      prehfusLeave a comment

      Adapted from Familyfun.com

      • 4 cups hot water
      • 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
      • 2 Tablespoons sugar
      • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
      • 1 large or 2 medium onions, cut into wedges
      • 1 (approx. 3-pound) corned beef brisket, packaged with spices
      • 8 small yellow or white potatoes, scrubbed and cut into quarters
      • 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into thickish slices
      • 1 small head of green cabbage, cored and cut into 10 wedges

      In a 6-quart electric slow cooked, combine the water, vinegar, sugar, pepper, onions, and contents of seasoning packet that came with the corned beef, mixing well.  Place the corned beef in the mixture.  Scatter potatoes and carrots over the top and along the sides.

      Cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours.  Remove the lid and scatter the cabbage wedges over the top. Cover and continue cooking on high 3 to 4 hours longer, or until the beef is tender.

      To serve, cut the beef into slices and serve with the vegetables with some of the cooking liquid spooned on top.

      Makes 6 to 8 servings.