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1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon dry mustard

½ teaspoon celery seeds

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place the onions, celery, garlic, peppercorns, allspice berries, and bay leaf in a deep roasting pan. Set the brisket on top, then pour in boiling water until the brisket is covered.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake until nearly tender, about 2½ hours.

Transfer the meat to a large cutting board; discard all the liquid, vegetables, and aromatics in the pan.

Whisk the shallot, tomato puree, brown sugar, vinegar, smoked paprika, Worcestershire sauce, coriander, ground allspice, cloves, dry mustard, and celery seeds in a large bowl until the sugar has dissolved.

Return the meat to the roasting pan; slather with the tomato sauce mixture.

Bake, uncovered, until the meat is fork-tender and the sauce is bubbling, about 1 hour. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the brisket from the pan and slicing against the grain (see below).

Note: If you can’t find smoked paprika, substitute 1 tablespoon regular paprika and 1 teaspoon liquid smoke.

Variations: Substitute honey for the brown sugar.

Add 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes with the tomato puree.

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Slicing Beef against the Grain

Meat should be sliced so that the most fibers are exposed in each cut. In American butchering techniques, the fibers run through the cuts, not along their surface planes. Sometimes you can see the fibers on the outside of the cut. If so, slice 90 degrees to their direction. At other times, run your fingers along the surface of the meat to tell which way the fibers are running. Once in a while, it’s just trial and error: slice a small piece off the end of the meat and look at the fibers.

Thinner cuts like steaks should also be sliced “on the bias”—that is, into wider strips. To get the most width out of the strips, tilt your knife so that the blade angles slightly and is thereby held on a diagonal to the meat itself. Slice across the meat, removing a wider cut than you would have if you’d sliced straight down.

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Beef Ribs with Plum-and-Rum Barbecue Sauce

A barbecue favorite, beef ribs are the decadent treats found under a standing rib roast. They can be difficult to track down outside of Texas, but most butcher counters will have them in the back. Makes 6 servings

Two 3-pound racks beef ribs

Plum-and-Rum Barbecue Sauce (recipe follows)

To make the ribs in the oven: Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Fill a large, lipped baking pan with ½ inch water; place a footed large wire rack in the pan. Set the ribs on the rack, then cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the pan and the foil; pour off any hot liquid in the pan. Reduce the oven’s temperature to 350°F. Baste the ribs with the prepared barbecue sauce, then roast, uncovered, until the ribs are tender, until the meat is pulling away from the bones, 1 to 1½ hours.

To make the ribs on the grill: Set up the grill for indirect cooking by heating half of a gas grill to high heat or building a high-heat, well-ashed coal bed on one side of a charcoal grill. Place a drip pan underneath the portion of the grate that’s not heated; set the ribs over the pan. Baste with the prepared sauce and cover the grill. Barbecue until the ribs are mahogany colored and the meat pulls back from the bones, mopping frequently with more sauce, 1½ to 2 hours.

In either case, transfer the ribs to a carving board; let stand for 5 minutes. Carve between the bones and serve with additional barbecue sauce on the side.

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Five Other Uses for the Plum-and-Rum Barbecue Sauce

Make a double batch; place it in a slow cooker with a 4-pound pork loin. Cover and cook on high for 8 hours. Shred the meat into the sauce and serve on buns as an easy version of pulled pork.

Use it as a mop for chicken breasts or thighs on the grill.