Easy, Tasty Brisket

Charlie and I had a potluck a few days ago and the theme was "Where You're From" (it may or may not have been inspired by this episode of Top Chef). Since we're approaching Passover, I decided to make a brisket. I knew we were going to have a lot of people at our apartment, so I wanted to find a recipe that wasn't too labor intensive and would allow me to make a large amount of food. I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen which is based off of an Emeril recipe. I loved the slow-cooker method. Here's my version - enjoy!

Serves 10-12 servings

3 large onions, sliced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (adjust to your heat preference)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups beef stock (unsalted or low salt)
1 cup ketchup*
1 cup chili sauce* (I used this random bottle of Shaw's chili sauce that I had. You could also use a can of tomato paste and a squirt or two or sriracha for a similar effect)
1 cup brown sugar
8 to 10 pound brisket

* If you are very strictly kosher for Passover you’ll want to find versions without corn syrup in them.

Prepare the sauce: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and sauté onions in vegetable oil, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and most of liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add halved garlic cloves and saute for 3 minutes more. Stir in spices and seasoning (paprika, salt, black pepper, cayenne, oregano and thyme) and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a bowl, stir together the beef stock, ketchup, chili sauce and brown sugar.

Place brisket in a slow cooker, spread onion mixture over the top, then pour sauce mixture over the entire dish. Cover with the lid and cook it on LOW for 9-10 hours.

When the brisket is cooked but still hot, use a spoon to scrape off any large fat deposits adhered to the top and bottom of the brisket. (This part is easiest to do when hot. The sauce will be de-fatted after it has chilled.)

If your slow cooker has a removable inner dish, take that out of the slow cooker and put it into the fridge. Alternately, you can transfer the brisket and all of its sauce to a baking dish. Chill entire dish in the fridge for several hours and up to one day; this resting time will significantly enhance the flavor and texture of the meat.

You can reheat the brisket either in the oven or in the slow cooker. Deb from Smitten Kitchen reheated hers in the oven, but I decided to make this a real one-pot meal and reheat it in the slow cooker. If you're using the slow cooker, remove the dish from the fridge two hours in advance. If you're using the oven, remove the dish One hour before you’re ready to serve it and preheat the oven to 300°F.

Remove all of the fat that has solidified with a slotted spoon for a less oily finish. Carefully remove the meat from its sauce and place on a large cutting board. Cut the brisket into 1/2-inch slices. I had some trouble keeping my slices intact - I guess my brisket was just too tender :-).

If you like a smoother sauce, you can either run it through a blender or stick an immersion blender into the sauce.

Carefully place the sliced meat (moving it in large sections with a spatula helps keep it together) back into the sauce and spoon the sauce over the meat. Replace the lid or cover the dish tightly with foil and reheat in the slow cooker or oven until it is bubbling at the edges — this usually takes up to to 30 minutes in the oven and 75 minutes in the slow cooker on high.

Charlie's Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine

While Tova was visiting me in Boston, Charlie surprised us by making dinner using the slow cooker. It was his first time using a slow cooker, and the dish turned out beautifully! Since Tova and I didn't know exactly when we'd be home from our errands, he could just let the short ribs simmer away in the slow cooker until we were ready to eat. This recipe is adapted from Beth Hensperger & Julie Kaufmann's Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 c dry red wine, such as a Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon

2/3 c ketchup

3 T soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 T brown sugar

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

4 lbs beef short ribs, on the bone

2 medium-size yellow onions, chopped

Directions:

1. Combine the wine, ketchup, soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, and pepper in the slow cooker and mix until smooth.

2. Add the ribs, submerging them in the sauce. Distribute the onions over the ribs.

3. Cover and cook on LOW until tender and the meat starts to separate from the bone, 7-8 hours.

4. Transfer the ribs to a platter and set aside. Let the sauce cool for a bit, then spoon the liquid fat off the surface and discard.

5. Pour the sauce over the ribs and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Serving suggestion: Scrub a few potatoes, prick them, and pop them into a 400-degree oven about an hour before the ribs are ready. When the potatoes are done, place one in each bowl or plate, gently mash with a fork, and spoon the ribs and sauce over top.

Black Beans and/or Cuban Sofrito

Black Beans and/or Cuban Sofrito
--
Beans
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 3-4 hours
Yield: 1.5 quart


Ingredients
1 lb. dried black beans
16 strips turkey bacon (optional)
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
7 cloves garlic, minced
5 ½ cups water (4 ½ in a slow cooker)
2 chipotle peppers, whole, no need to wash off adobo sauce, if any (substitute w/ other chilis, or green/red bell peppers)
2 bay leaves
1½ tsp salt

Directions
Pick through beans, discarding all non-bean material and any beans that are broken or strange looking
Rinse beans and add to the pot
Fill with cold water to an inch above the beans, cover, and set aside for 5 hours
Drain beans
Pour in the water amount listed above
Turn heat to high
Rinse salt pork and add to pot
Add onion, chili or bell pepper, garlic, salt, and bay leaves
When boiling, reduce heat to low simmer and cover
Stir occasionally about 1½-2 hours, until the desired tenderness
Add water if needed
Remove the peppers and bacon
Remove 1 cup of beans & 1 cup of bean liquid and medium blend (until mostly liquid with small bits of bean)
Add mashed beans back into the pot
If desired, add sofrito (1/4 cup sofrito to 1 cup of beans)
Simmer uncovered for another 20 to 30 minutes until thickened to the desired consistency.
Serve over rice, next to rice, or by itself.

--
Cuban Sofrito
Yield: 2 cups
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green/red/yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 t salt
1 t ground cumin
1 T dried oregano, crushed
1 red habanero chile, seeded and chopped
2 bay leaves
2 tomatoes, chopped (optional)
3/4 cup canned tomato sauce or 3/8 cup (3 oz.) tomato paste mixed with equal amount of water
1 T lime juice
½ cup sherry

Directions:
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Add onion and pepper, and cook until onion is translucent.
Add the garlic, and saute until tender.
Add salt, pepper, cumin, oregano and bay leaves.
If using tomatoes, stir in and cook until all of the liquid is released, stirring frequently.
Gradually stir in the tomato sauce
Lower heat and cook a few more minutes, being careful to add sherry if mixture gets too dry
Taste, and adjust seasonings if needed
Thin the sauce down if necessary with rest of sherry (if more liquid needed use water)
Remove bay leaves and set aside
Pour into a high sided container and blend with immersion blender
Sauce is now done but can be cooked more, if desired, just put the bay leaves back in.
When finally taken off of the heat, add lime juice (taste before and after to verify if this helps)
Serve over meat, rice, beans, fish, or potatoes.

Escarole Soup with White Beans and Sausage

This is an easy and tasty slow-cooker recipe I made to use up some of the greens from my CSA share.

12.oz chicken sausage (any flavor), cut in 1/4" rounds
2 15oz. can cannellini beans,drained and rinsed
1 15oz. can garbanzo beans,drained and rinsed
1 28oz. can tomatoes, chopped, with juices
1 1/2 c chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1 small head escarole, chopped
1/4 c coarse ground parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

1. Combine sausage, beans, tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, and thyme in slow cooker and cook on low for 4-8 hours.
2. Stir in escarole and cook an additional 8-10 mins,until just wilted. Stir in the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.