Sorta Seder

If you have eaten brisket more than once, you have probably had it prepared in more than one style. Smoked, braised, grilled, in a taco, on a sandwich, in a bowl of pho, or with a side of kugel. Brisket is versatile and tastes just as delicious nearly naked with a minimal rub just off the smoker as it does after hours in a hot oven smother in sauce--- or eaten chilled straight from a ceramic dish in the fridge two days later. 

before going under the broiler

after broiling

I love brisket off the smoker, Texas Style.  Even more, though, I love braised brisket. Tangy, tender, smothered in a sauce of it’s own juices, red wine, and spices. I can’t pinpoint where I first had this kind of brisket, or when I became so fixated on it. Most of my early memories of brisket are at a Jewish deli or a BBQ joint, where the brisket is served with some sauce or jus, but mainly on the side.  The brisket of my dreams have always been made of is the kind someone’s grandmother would serve. The kind there wasn’t even a real recipe written down for---just a list of ingredients and sage kitchen wisdom.

brisket in a sea of vegetables

I don’t know, maybe it’s one of those I loved you before I met you situations.  Growing up, we had sour beef and pot roast, both similar dishes.  Maybe I had a Bubbe in a past life and enjoyed a lifetime of Seders. I don’t know, but whatever it is, I’ve been dying to prepare my own brisket for some time.

Brisket is a great meal for a crowd, so the weekend I would be down in Maryland with my immediate family, brother in law, and sister’s mother in law seemed like the perfect opportunity to test my chops of the cut of meat I had mostly held in my hands between a roll before.  It was also the weekend of Passover, and being that we would be eating together on Saturday and not Friday when most celebrated the holiday, I dubbed this meal my Sorta Seder.

brisket in a graveyard of veg

Being that it was a Sorta Seder and not a real Seder, I Googled Passover menus and recipes with a selective mindset.  I wanted a bright, festive plate with lots of vegetables and a light starch option, not just a square of Kugel and a rabbit’s helping of bitter greens. Everyone in my crowd loves Middle Eastern food, but I didn’t want the meal to mimic a typical plate at the neighborhood Mediterranean BYO.

hubba hubba

arms trembling post barre

This is the menu I decided on:

• Green Salad (mache, endive, and baby arugula) with radishes, orange segments, and green onions. Shallot vinaigrette.
• Roasted carrots and parsnips served over radicchio with a sweet fig dressing, topped with toasted pistachios.
• Israeli cous cous with lemon and parsley.
• Middle eastern spiced brisket with leeks and apricots
• Pavlova with whipped cream and tropical fruits (mango and kiwi)

Anne showed me proper cutting technique, although maybe a dessert fork wasn't the best stabilizer here, it was next to the cutting board

Every plate had lots of vegetables---were we eating country ham, grits, and pineapple bake the next day, after all---and there were a lot of bright notes among all the fruity elements.  We even ended the meal with ginjinha my Dad brought back from Portugal that week, and the cherry flavored alcohol rounded out many of flavors perfectly (as well as our digestion). 

le plat

I followed the recipe to a T, as I try to do whenever I make something the first time. My timing was a littttttllllle off if you read the recipe word for word,though. I let the brisket marinate about 12 hours, woke up at 5 am the next day, got it in the oven, went to Barre, came back and waited a few more hours to take it out of the oven (about 3.5 hours of cook time).  It was out of the oven by 10 am, so it had time (about 8 hours before dinner) to sit and let the flavors meld together. I stuck it back in the oven about an hour before we ate to slowly reheat.   Maybe it would have tasted even better if it had another day to sit, but I’ll figure that out next time. It definitely would've been easier to have it done the night before and not have to spend so much time with it the kitchen day of, but it was worth it! (link to recipe below picture of the gorgeous pavlova)

Spiced Brisket with Leeks and Apricots