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Cooking Brisket quickly.


Michaeltheonion

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I was recently invited to do a black box in a rather public forum. I recently received the secret ingredient. Brisket. I am familiar with this cut of meat, having smoked it before. However what concern me is the time. I have 5 hours to cook the protein nicely, create garnishes and serve it to 50 people. I usually like to brine or cure the meat for hours if not days before cooking. However I feel with the time constraints this may present a challenge. The Particular cut I will be preparing is going to weigh in at just over 4 kilos. I want to avoid taking it apart as much as possible because the fat may leach out.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

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Jewish style is to braise it flat like a pot roast with about a 1/4" of fat cap on top. The preference is just for the flat end, but if you have the whole brisket, you just do it in a larger rectangular roasting pan. A brisket puts out lots of its own liquid, so you don't need to add any braising liquid--just a spice rub. Here's how my grandmother did it--

http://familyoffood.blogspot.com/2008/01/jewish-soul-food.html

Of course you can change the spices to whatever suits. Fortunately Grandma never got into that thing where you slather it with Lipton Onion Soup Mix and tomato paste and wrap it in foil, but that was a popular method in late-mid-twentieth-century Jewish-American households.

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I'm with Dave. Consider the pressure cooker.

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Make that +4 on the pressure cooker. I don't think there's any other way to be sure you'll break down the connective tissue in the timespan you have.

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

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Make that +4 on the pressure cooker. I don't think there's any other way to be sure you'll break down the connective tissue in the timespan you have.

MelissaH

No, it can definitely be done not using a pressure cooker, especially if it is "only" 4kg per brisket. If you have the equipment, smoke it - the results will be magnitudes better than a pressure cooked brisket and far more impressive to the diners.

The source of my post above: http://tvwbb.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1780069052/m/6360093154?r=190102983#190102983

(more info here: http://tvwbb.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1780069052/m/6930045465)

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2 Votes for the grill / smoker. We use a high heat method for brisket all the time and five hours is plenty for an 8 and a half pounder. Following a version of what was posted above, no matter what rub or paste you plan on using. Plus then you can chop the point and slice the flat giving you dual presentations.

Clark

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This Emeril Lagasse Passover Brisket recipe is a winner, and will cook in the allotted time. I brown it on the stove, not in a high heat oven, which also saves some time. The meat should not completely fall apart in your hands, as it might if you let it cook the entire time he suggests. No pressure cooker required.
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