For comparison…
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My husband always use to smoke a brisket for hours outside, then bring it in, wrap in foil and finish it off in the oven for a couple hours until tender. The only problem with that method was the house smelled like a BBQ joint but not in a good way. So now it’s the reverse… Bake in the oven until almost done then back on the smoker.
As a funny aside: Years ago on CH a young lady bragged about her brisket with a BBQ sauce that had “2 bottles of liquid smoke” in the mix. Needless to say, that thread didn’t end well.
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FWIW, in the past my Costco (Redwood City CA) has had whole briskets periodically, even Prime grade!
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When faced with a recipe involving ketchup, I swap in canned tomato puree or crushed tomatoes for a third to a half of the Heinz.
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I was just pointing that out. I shop a lot differently from most people.
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I find them as corned beef every now and then, and use them to make pastrami.
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Here is my write-up on Grandmother Bebe’s brisket, as amended. I write my notes for a working document titled “A Delivery Skipper Cooks.” I haven’t made the brisket yet and the following will get edited based on the real world before it goes in the document in the “Cold Weather Sailing” section.
Grandmother Bebe’s brisket recipe
1 3-4 lb. brisket (some fat, not a lot; trim as appropriate)
salt, pepper, paprika
2 good-sized onions cut in eighths
1 lb carrots
1 lb celery
ketchup maybe tomato sauce/vinegar/ground cloves
There are two alternatives for cooking: in an oven or in a slow cooker. Regardless the goal is a long slow cook to break down cellular structure that leads to the tender goodness that is brisket. The oven will take a good bit of propane so if you’re going to take this route you might look at rotating other things in to share space with the brisket. Consider baking bread and making bacon. Slow cookers take surprisingly little electrical energy but if your electrical system can’t sustain roughly 100 Ah for dinner that isn’t an option for you.
For the oven, preheat to around 325 degrees F (165 C). Lubricate a pan. Veg go in the bottom of the pan as a bed, meat on top seasoned on both sides. The fat cap on the brisket goes up so the fat will melt over and into the meat. Spread ketchup over the fat cap of the meat. A clean paint brush does nicely. The brush you just used to varnish the companionway boards is not clean. Cover the pan with foil and cook for 4-1/2 hours.
Alternatively dump the veg into a slow cooker with the seasoned meat on top, cover with ketchup, and cook on low for ten to twelve hours.
Let cool and refrigerate at least overnight. Scoop out the fat that rises to the top. I’m told this makes good bait for fishing. I can’t say. I’m the poster boy for why that activity is called “fishing” and “catching.” Reserve the veg and gravy. Slice the meat into thick slices against the grain. Against the grain is critical to tender brisket or indeed a tender product from most inexpensive cuts of meat.
The veg can be served as a side.
The gravy may need some thinning. Use a mix of water and ketchup.
If ketchup is in short supply or to reduce sugar try substituting tomato sauce with a bit of vinegar and some ground clove.
Reheat sliced brisket in a stove top pan with the gravy. Freezes well long-term.
credit TheLibrarian, as amended
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Cool to know Bebe’s brisket will live on! Hope you enjoy it.
I’ll report back. grin
Bebe is far from the first grandmother in my document. I do the best I can to give credit where due. Frankly it makes what I offer to others more approachable and a bit more fun.
In other threads we have talked about the long rambling stories on food blogs before you get the recipe. I work mine in. grin
Are you the seafaring chef to your cohorts?
Using up all your fuel on one dish isn’t normal, is it?
Not “the” but “a.”
Most boats carry two 20# or two 8 kg tanks of propane for cooking. That lasts a long time, even with long cooks. Most of us still watch consumption. As long as the oven is hot you might as well cook other things at the same time.
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I’m from Kansas. Sailing and boats, besides Jon boats, were not on my radar.
My BIL, however, is/was a Naval Academy grad and dedicated and enthusiastic sailor,
sailing out of somewhere on the SF peninsula close to Atherton. I think he even races.
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The thing is that I’m from Pittsburgh where I think it may be a felony to use any other brand of ketchup. We even used to go on factory tours at the Heinz plant which I loved, plus you would always get a highly coveted pickle pin…
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Sounds delicious. I may have to make this version for Rosh Hashana.
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You can use other brands, you just cant go to the opera or a baseball game. Do they still have Cott sodas in Pittsburgh? Their raspberry was excellent.
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I’m not familiar with Cott sodas, but we left in '63, so maybe after my time.
Their logo was “It’s Cott to be good.”
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I know Dave stipulated this was the Jewish brisket thread, but I just had to share these from a KC bbq.
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What’s not to like???!
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As if this thread is something special and immune to drift? grin That KC BBQ looks pretty good to me. My BIL has a smoker - I might dip my toe in that someday. In the meantime I’m limited to an outdoor gas grill and wall ovens.
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