When holidays happen and I can’t be with my family in the way I’m used to, I used to get lonely. I still get pangs of that loneliness, but ever since starting this here blog business, I realized that I can mitigate that longing for family and community by starting my own traditions and invoking them by making and sharing all of the dishes at the gatherings I love so much. I also have been lucky enough to have a mother-in-law who has seen me moping in years past and who decided to adopt my traditions and make gefilte fish from scratch, gluten free noodle kugels and chocolate covered matzoh so I don’t feel so lonely if I can’t go all the way upstate to visit family.
In my last year’s post on Passover, I made my favorite dish that my grandma makes. This year I decided to assume the mantle of all those who came before me and attempt a brisket. But, I also had to pack for another work trip to Mexico City and attend a friend’s birthday party that I simply refused to miss. I didn’t have the courage to leave the stove on, unattended, for hours. This called for a slow braise in the slow cooker–a cooking technique in which you first sear meat at a high temperature on the stove top, creating a nice brown crust then placing the food in a covered pot or slow cooker with a braising liquid for a couple hours. When it’s done, I reduce the sauce and make a fragrant, thick gravy out of it.
Don’t skip the browning part. It’s a luxury of life, a fundamental desire, like seeking out beauty and our natural pull toward water. It’s one of life’s great luxuries. To get a good sear, dry your meat. The drier the better. Use a very hot pan (my new pan arrived!!) and a little bit of oil with a high smoking point, like canola oil. For this braise I used a dry red wine (as always, one cup for me, one for the braise, rinse and repeat) and a fragrant rosemary, garlic, olive oil paste. You can braise meat in just about anything. The process softens the toughest cuts of meat because it breaks down the tough connective tissue and renders meat tender and flavorful. The kind of succulent meat that melts off the bones. A brisket really won’t taste good any other way.
Last year at this time I talked about how when you’re a kid the world is so big, so complicated, so replete with marvels and surprises that you don’t realize that you are both separate from it and part of it. Even with stories in the news and rituals like Passover seders, we as kids only know the reality that is ours. The only world that exists is the world as we know it. The world at large, with heartbreak, plague and loss is–if we’re lucky–an abstract idea. This year I’m thinking all of this as I watch my new niece change with every day.
As we grow up we learn our histories and life’s bitter lessons by heart. I came to the conclusion that we are all tending our gardens in the shade of the giant trees that were there before us and in due time we will be those trees too. Life leaves its mark and embracing that is the key to the transition between loneliness and satisfaction. I’ve found my power in accepting my stage in life with grace rather than resignation, even if nostalgia creeps in. My mother-in-law’s gesture of gathering is a precious addition to my brisket rather than the saving grace from loneliness that it used to be. Family gatherings are joyous because I realize now that they are not a given. Slow cooking this brisket is a step toward ownership of my place in this life cycle. And having my second work life in Mexico is a way of being foisted out of my routine and following a unique and unexpected path. Not a bad gig all in all.
Happy Passover, Easter, Spring, Semana Santa and/or rest of the week!
SLOW COOKED BRISKET W/ ROSEMARY GARLIC PASTE
Ingredients:
- 3 large garlic cloves, smashed
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, needles striped from the stem and chopped
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 (2 pound) beef brisket
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 3 large carrots, cut in 3-inch chunks
- 2 celery stalks, cut in 3-inch chunks
- 1 large red onion, cut into chunks
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into chunks
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 (8-ounce) can whole tomatoes, hand-crushed
- 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves or cilantro
- 2 bay leaves
Directions:
Mash the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt together with the flat-side of a knife into a paste. Add the rosemary and continue to mash until incorporated. Put the garlic-rosemary paste in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil; stir to combine.
Season both sides of the brisket with a fair amount of kosher salt and ground black pepper. Place a large skillet or over medium-high flame and coat with the remaining olive oil. Put the brisket in the pan and sear to form a nice brown crust on both sides.
Lay half the vegetables in the slow cooker. Add the brisket and cover with remaining vegetables. Pour the rosemary paste over the whole thing. Add the wine and tomatoes; toss in the parsley/cilantro, spices and bay leaves. Cover the slow cooker tightly and simmer on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours, until the beef is fork tender.
I recommend making this brisket ahead; allowing it to sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 nights will improve the flavor.
Remove brisket from the pan and let it rest on the cutting board fat-side up for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, skim fat from the surface of the cooking sauce. I like to reduce the cooking sauce by first removing the bay leaves, pouring it into a pan then using an immersion blender to blend the sauce with the garlic and onions. Leave it over medium to high heat until the sauce is reduced by half.
Once your sauce is ready, cut fat cap off the brisket. Pour the hot sauce over the brisket and serve. Slice the brisket across the grain (the muscle lines) at a slight diagonal. If you can make it ahead of time and let it marinate in the sauce for a day or two it’s infinitely softer and much more flavorful, but it’s wonderful served immediately as well. This can also be made in a roasting pan in the oven at 350F covered with foil for 3-4 hours or in a dutch oven over low heat for 3-4 hours. Enjoy!
SCENES FROM MEXICO:
They’re filming the new James Bond film here at the Zocalo, the main square in the historic district and the huge skeletons they built are awesome. I’m working like a dog this week, but I managed to finally get a reservation at Pujol!
This photo courtesy of Pujol.
Cielito (the anti Starbucks that kind of turned into the Mexican version of Starbucks, even though there is a Starbucks on many corners in Mexico too)
Semana Santa Holy Week Candles
They’re filming the next Bond movie in Mexico, right near the historic district where I work!
Azulejos, beautiful blue tile work.
Brisket is one of my favorite cuts of beef to prepare. It always tastes so good. Your tips on cooking brisket are excellent. I also like the seasonings you used.
Thank you so much, Jovina. I feel honored to be in your ranks now of cooking a good brisket. 😉
Slow cooked briskets, this is what I always wanted to be able to do. Well, I will try it now, with your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! I had the same problem. I just never did it or thought it was hard. This is fool proof. Enjoy, Cecelia and thanks for commenting.
I almost can feel an amazing smell of garlic and rosemary! That beef looks absolutely delicious, Amanda! To be honest, I’ve never cooked this part of meet, but I know the best way to prepare it – slowcooking.. 😀
Love your photos! 🙂
Thank you so much! Always nice hearing from you my friend. This was my first time and it really is worth it! So good. Enjoy the week! Xo
You have adopted a wise philosophy – and your MIL sounds liek a fine woman! Lovely recipe, I did a brisket the other day too, must be the weather 😉
So cool! You’re an excellent cook so im sure it came out well. Mil is a very sweet woman. And a great cook. I think it’s a spring thing!
Oh m Geeeee!!!!
Haha thank you! Xo
This is off the charts gorgeous Amanda. I think I’m going to have to go out and buy a slow cooker now. A few years ago when we remodeled our kitchen I used a slow cooker (almost daily) for a year! I got so tired of it I gave it away at the end of that year. I can imagine the aromatherapy of a brisket cooking for 6 to 10 hours is something to experience. I Love your post and your site looks fantastic. Love the lithograph utensils 😉 And it’s so nice to see your photographs from Mexico!
Thanks, Seana. You always leave the kindest comments. So funny that you gave it away! I’ve had mine for 2 years and this was my second time using it. So convenient and delicious. Thanks for the comment on my site. I designed the whole thing myself. It’s a work in progress. I hope you’re well. Have a great week! Xo
You just made me hungry reading your blog and we are both so very proud of you.
(Gma says “if you slice it before you rewarm it wouldn`t it be easier”).
Love Grandma
(and ur fatha)
🙂
Thank you, Dad and Grandma! I can’t compete with grandma or mom for that matter. Golden standards, but i can certainly try. Thanks for the tip. That makes sense to slice it first. It was so good. The whole place smelled like grandma’s house. Xo see you soon.
Loved the way you’ve written about food and it’s connection to tradition… a Chinese whispers passing on of recipes through generations.
In a past life, I would occasionally prepare a slow cooker meal before I left for work. Coming home to the smell of a delicious braise made that hectic existence so much easier to bear… I could almost believe in the tooth fairy again!
What a beautifully written comment. I can’t believe you threw your slow cooker away. But yes, that smell is like being welcomed into your home by generations past. I should use the slow cooker more often honestly. Xo I love hearing from you.
That brisket sounds amazing – I love the sound of the sauce! I might be trying this soon 😉
I guess those giant skeletons from the Bond movie must be for a Dia de los Muertos scene – how spectacular.
Thanks, MD. I always love hearing from you. It’s just meaty enough for your tastes! It’s good. The longer you let it stew after searing the more buttery it is. Just magical. I can’t wait to see what the skeletons are for! It’s awesome to watch them build them from scratch and there are flowers everywhere. So cool. Xo
It sounds like an exciting film set – I wish I had a ring side seat like you 🙂
🙂
good good good amanda,….. 🙂
😉 thank you as always!
Great post! And beautiful brisket! Love your photos.
Thank you, Mimi. It’s always nice to hear from you. Xo
I get to smell the brisket from Buenos Aires and seeing Mexico pictures makes me feel as if I were there. Love the recipe. I feel tempted to buy a slow cooker. Sabi
Hola Sabi!!!! I used the hand blender you sent for the wrong to make the gravy! I feel like you working in df. I remember you were there a few years ago and i was so jealous. We need to see each other again soon. With all of my Mexico air miles i could come see you in b.a.! I miss you and hope you are well. Let’s skype soon. Xoxo
Beautiful…words, wisdom, food and photography. Slow cooked meat is one of life’s, not so simple, simple pleasures.
Thank you, Stacey! I totally agree. Enjoy your relaxing Sunday!
Cool pics and I bet the dish tastes delicious
Thank you. It’s rare that i cook meat, but this one is a tradition. Have a good week.
Brisket and slow-cooker are a perfect combination, aren’t they? I love both although only I seem to cook meat less and less and yet I enjoy it so much when I do. Very late to the party but happy belated Passover / Easter… and mostly – spring. xo
Totally perfect, Lindy. So great to see you. I rarely cook meat, but this is an homage to generations. Happy spring to you too. I hopev yore doing well and i always get so happy to hear from you. Xo