Up in Ontario

Slow-Cooked Broke-Down Barbecue Beef Brisket Recipe

Last night we travelled into new territory: slow cooking. I've done stews and stocks before, so I'm no stranger to good smells filling the apartment and halls for long hours on end. But I'd never saddled up to something so close to the germ of barbecue culture. I'd never attempted a beef brisket.

But I'd bought one - a beauty from the Blue Goose Cattle Company retail outlet on the north shore. Now I needed to find out how to cook it to perfection. So I turned to the Internet and found that almost all the recipes out there called for similar ingredients and a similar process. Therefore, the recipe I'm about the lay down for you is not prescriptive. Rather, it's a starting point. It worked for me once and should probably work for you. But I encourage improvisation because in taking some risks new discoveries are made.

Last summer when cherries from the Okanagan were in season we had a load of cherries in the fridge and they weren't getting eaten fast enough. As anyone who has eaten too many cherries knows, you don't want to eat too many cherries, especially if you have somewhere to go beyond your front door. The effects of too many cherries can be vigourous, to say the least. Anyway, I pitted the cherries in the sink and then stewed the beautiful juicy meat in a large saucepan. I added some bourbon and some maple syrup, spices like pepper, onion salt and garlic salt, and reduced them for about 20 to 30 minutes. The cherries broke down and formed the most beautiful, glossy barbecue sauce imaginable. On barbecued pork ribs they made for a meal that some people still talk about with a certain reverence.

But that was then and this is now. Onwards to the brisket!

Broke-Down Barbecue Beef Brisket

Before you start, make sure you have enough time to do this recipe. There's about half an hour of prep, a day of marinading (recommended) and then seven and a half hours of leisurely cook time. If you want to serve brisket for dinner you need to start your recipe 24 hours ahead and your cooking before noon, unless you plan a fashionably late dinner (LD). Naturally? Alrightee.

Place your brisket in a large non-reactive roasting pan. I used a 9" x 16" pyrex glass pan that fit my brisket like a glove. Let the meat warm up for about half an hour on the countertop. Cover it if you like, of if anyone else in the kitchen likes you to.

The Marinade

In a measuring cup, or another good liquid-holding container, add:

• Worcestershire sauce
  
• liquid smoke
  
• soya sauce

I'd recommend a ratio of 1 part Worcestershire to 1 part liquid smoke to 2 parts soya sauce, depending on how smoky tasting you like it. Mix the ingredients and pour them over your brisket. Using your hands, rub the marinade into the brisket. Make sure you get it evenly into the meat, then flip the brisket over and get the marinade into the other side. Be careful when flipping the meat that you don't splash the marinade all over the counter, like I did.

Now season the beast. I used coarse-ground black pepper, garlic salt and onion salt. You might also try some seasoning salt (Hy's, if you please) or Montreal steak seasoning. Then I added some fresh thyme leaves and rubbed the spices into the meat on both sides. Go lighter on the seasoning on the second side because it will sit on the meat and not dilute in the marinade.

All done? Good, now put the brisket in the fridge for as long as you can (up to 2 days).

The Cooking

Take your pan and brisket out of the fridge. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). When she's ready to go, flip the brisket in the pan so the marinade has both sides moist. Then make sure you have the fattier side up. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, shiny side in. Make sure you've got your rack in the middle of the oven. Got it there? Great, now slide the brisket in and close the door.

Soon your place will smell so good you might not be able to stand it. If this is so, go for a walk, run some errands. This baby will be cooking for six (6!) hours. Don't peak at it, don't worry it while it's cooking. Just leave it be. Good, good things are happening and you just have to be patient and trust them.

The Finisher

It's six hours after you started to cook your brisket, so don your oven mitts and grab that baby with both hands. Place it somewhere to cool. Lift off the aluminum foil (careful of the heat and the steam and see what you hath wrought. The strips on the meat will be clearly separating, falling apart, in fact, and the meat will be fork tender. Be careful with it.

Now you want to move the brisket onto a cutting board to rest it while you get ready to finish the sauce. But the meat really is ready to fall apart, and it will fall apart if you try to move it quickly or without enough support. Be ready for this and either lift it in multiple places with a few wide spatulas, or press it apart and move it in a few piece.

Once you've got the brisket resting on the cutting board, preferably with a fat drain, have a look at what's left in the cooking pan. Any solid bits can be placed on the cutting board with the brisket. Pour the rest of the juices into a saucepot, making sure to scrape all the gorgeous browned bits sticking to the sides. Place the roasting pan aside, you'll need it later. Oh, and jack the heat on the over up to 400 degrees F.

This is a good time to open some wine, Take the cork out, pour one glass and have yourself a sip. Your guests will thank you for letting the wine breathe and you'll have a glass of wine going. Hurrah.

Okay, now the fat in the juice from the pan will have risen to the top of the saucepot. Tilt the saucepot and skim off the fat with a spoon. You can reserve this for later (for use with other roasts, or for adding to roasting vegetable and making the world a better place), because it's the kind of goodness and love that you know you crave. Or you can discard it.

Now place the saucepot with the skimmed juice over a suitable element on low-to-mid heat. Add:

• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• coarse-ground pepper
• garlic salt
• onion salt
• cayenne pepper

Use your own judgement on the spice amounts, you know how much you like. Pump up the heat to medium and bring to a bubble. Stir occasionally, reducing the sauce for about 15 minutes. While it's reducing, tend to your brisket.

I like to press the meat apart and have it stay in long, thin strips. Some people find this difficult and cut their brisket. Do what you like, but if you cut, please cut across the grain of the meat. When you've got it all broken down in a heap, return it to the roasting pan. Any juices on the cutting board, mix them back into the saucepot that's bubbling away. You might even sneak a taste of the brisket or the sauce now to get a promise of what's to come. Oh lordy.

Lay out the broke-down brisket in the roasting pan. When your barbecue sauce has reached a desired level of thickness, pour it evenly over the meat. Shake the roasting pan a little and make sure the brisket is nicely coated but not swimming in sauce. Slide it onto the same rack in the middle of the over for 10 minutes of finishing at 400 degrees F. The sauce will bake on the strands of brisket and happiness will ensue.

Deliver the steaming brisket, fresh from the oven, to plates. Recommended side dishes include baked Yukon gold potatoes, green salad and steamed asparagus. Any left over brisket will create revolutionary sandwiches. Left over baked potatoes should be sliced and pan fried with a spoon of the skimmed beef fat.