• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

3. Scatter half of the sliced onions in a Dutch oven. Pat the brisket dry with paper towels, then sprinkle the salt mixture evenly over both sides of the meat. Place the brisket, fat side up, on top of the onions and cover with the rest of the onions. Spoon in the water.

4. Cover the pan tightly with foil, then cover it with the lid. (You want to capture all the steam as the meat cooks.) Place the pan in the center of the oven and let the brisket roast, undisturbed, for 3 hours.

5. Remove the pan from the oven, uncover it (being careful not to get burned by the steam), and pierce the meat with a fork. If the fork goes in easily and the meat is tender, it’s done. If it still seems a bit tough, cover the pan again with the foil and the lid, put it back in the oven, and check it again every 15 to 20 minutes. Depending on the cut of meat, the total cooking can take as long as 4 hours or more, so be patient. (Grandma Betty reminds us that it is fine for brisket to be a little overdone. Ideally, one should need neither knife nor teeth.)

6. When you take the finished brisket out of the oven, uncover it and let it sit in the pan for at least 10 minutes before slicing it.

7. To serve, transfer the brisket to a cutting board and slice it thin across the grain. Spoon some of the very well cooked (and insanely delicious) onions and pan juices on top of each serving.

BETTY’S BRISKET WISDOM

Don’t remove the layer of fat covering one side of the brisket. It adds flavor and keeps the meat basted during cooking. It mostly dissolves during cooking, and whatever is left can always be cut away after cooking, if you prefer. Cut brisket across the grain in thin slices. If you cut with the grain, you’ll end up shredding the meat, which will still taste good but looks less attractive on the plate. You can also “pull” cooked brisket, by shredding it into chunks with two forks. This is great for filling tacos and sandwiches. You can freeze leftover cooked brisket—either whole, for another dinner or two, or sliced, as a stash of sandwich meat.

* * *

GET CREATIVE

Serve with lightly buttered noodles or Mashed Potatoes (Chapter 7: Sides) and a green salad. Alternatively, either Baked Potatoes (Chapter 7: Sides) or Deeply Roasted Cauliflower (Chapter 7: Sides) is a nice match for brisket, and both share the oven with the brisket while (or after) it cooks. (Any accompanying dish that requires a higher temperature can get oven time while the brisket is resting.)

Leftover brisket makes great sandwiches. Be sure to pile on some of the onions, along with whatever condiments (mustard, mayo, hot sauce) you like.

Shred the meat, mix it with the onions, and serve it as a filling for soft tacos or burritos, along with salsa, guacamole (store-bought or homemade—see Chapter 8: Party Snacks), and some rice.

Pile some slices of warm brisket and onions on salad greens to make a hearty dinner salad.

* * *

steak fajitas

Makes 4 servings

It’s always exciting to experience the sensory drama when a hot platter of sizzling fajitas is brought to your table in a Mexican restaurant. Here’s a recipe for making the same thing at home. It might be less of a performance piece, but it will taste just as great. Traditionally this is made with skirt steak, but flank and sirloin work equally well. The trick is to cook these fast, hot, and no more than medium-rare—which is nice, because it means minimal stove time for you. A cast-iron skillet is perfect for this.

1½ pounds flank, sirloin, rib-eye, skirt, or strip steak, about ¾-inch thick

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium red onion, thickly sliced

1 large red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch-wide strips

1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch-wide strips

1 large green bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch-wide strips

1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 good-sized clove)

1. Pat the steak dry with paper towels, and season both sides with ¼ teaspoon