Rosie's Back With Brisket.

Hello, readers. Sorry I've been gone away so long. I've been doing a bunch of work at Casa Hawthorne. Trying to organize, file, get my stuff together. Got a new, bigger, wider (legal sized) file cabinet upstairs to replace the crappy WalMart file cabinet that I would scrape my knuckles on whenever I went inside to retrieve a file, then it would tip over whenever I pulled the drawers out. Right now, I have piles and piles of files on my living room floor, waiting to be organized and filed in my new file cabinet. Also, I apologize for the last few recipes I've put forward for you. Leftover and anchovies are two words that do NOT belong in the same sentence together. Like oyster and jelly. It's just wrong. On so many levels. Plus, Mr. Hawthorne's "beef stroganoff" just about did me in. Disgusting, inedible, crap. Mr. Hawthorne did remind me that Dixie liked it. I responded with, "Dixie licks her own ass. Probably to get the taste out." So, I'm trying to rebound here and regain trust with my readers. So ... TA DAHHHHH! I give you the BEST beef brisket. Now, what is brisket? Brisket is the chest muscle of a cow, located near the front legs, so it gets a good workout standing and walking around. This exercise makes the brisket tough, but very flavorful. Brisket is also a big cut. The whole brisket is what the butchers get. They trim it into flat and point cuts. The flat cut is long and thin with a thick layer of fat on top. Usually this cut is what you see in stores. The point cut is thicker, smaller, and marbled with more fat and connective tissue. This usually gets ground into hamburger meat.

Here's my flat cut of brisket.

Turn it over and there's all the fat. I hate that butchers do this. This is the side of meat on the bottom of the package.

So, I started to work on this layer of fat, teasing it away with the point of my knife.

Until it was gone.

Next, I washed the meat off, and patted it dry.

Here are the spices for my RUB - A nice, intense spice mixture I rub on the meat before braising. The spiciness is a lovely contrast to the salty meat. Ingredients: 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 teaspoons dry mustard 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Here's the brown sugar with the spices on top. Purty!

Vigorously rub the spice mixture into the meat.

Next, prepare the meat for braising. Pour in about 2 cups of water in the pan. Braising is a technique where tough meats are simmered in a pan with liquid. The pan is covered, creating a steam bath. Moisture surrounds the meat, but it's gentler than boiling. Boiling temperature is 212 degrees. Braising temperature is about 185 degrees. So, you can braise meat longer because it doesn't cook as quickly. Gives you more time to tenderize. Meat is made up of muscle fibers, connective tissue, fat, and water. "Exercised" muscles, like brisket, are tough with thick muscle fibers and more connective tissue. "Exercised" muscles need to be cooked differently from "lazier" muscles. With a cut of meat like brisket, you have to find a cooking balance - long enough to break down the fibers and connective tissues, but not so long the meat dries out.

After one hour, pour off the liquid, and add in another 2 cups of water. Cook for another hour.

Here's the shrunken meat after 2 hours. Pour the liquid out.

And add in 2 more cups of water. With braising, some of the saltiness of the beef is released into the liquid, but the fibers are relaxed enough to reabsorb the braising liquid and reabsorb the flavor. Changing the water three times is a good way to keep the flavor pumping back into the meat, without all the saltiness.

After the third hour, the meat is ready for its glaze.

I placed the brisket into another pan, since the heat needs to go up to 450 degrees for the glaze.

My glaze ingredients: 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon ginger

Spices atop brown sugar, mustard, and soy sauce.

I brushed the sweet-hot glaze over the beef, then put it back in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes to finish it off.

Here's the delicious brisket. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Next up: cabbage mix.

I have green cabbage, cauliflower, radicchio, onion, and radishes from the garden.

Coarse chop and slice ingredients.

Heat olive oil in pan and add the cabbage and cauliflower. Add in a bit of water, cover, and let steam.

After a few minutes, add in the radicchio, onions, and radishes.

Finally, some caraway seeds go in.

And here's my wonderful corned beef and cabbage. I had just pulled off this meat, it was so tender. If you cut it, cut it against the grain.

I'm not kidding. This is the best corned beef you'll ever have. The sweet-hot glaze gives you a terrific caramelized, brown coating that is perfection next to the spice and salt.