Brisket Chile Food

BRISKET CHILE

Steps:

• Saute onions, garlic, and peppers until tender in canola oil with salt in an 8-quart cast enamel pan over medium-high heat. Add spices and cook for 1 more minute. Add meat and tomatoes, lower the heat to medium or medium-low and simmer for 2 hours. Remove from heat and add cilantro.
• Serve in soup bowls and top with sour cream and cheddar cheese for garnish.

CHILE-BRAISED BEEF BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In a small skillet over a medium heat, toast the star anise and fennel seed. Move the pan across the heat, letting the spices gently roll inside. Do that for about 3 to 4 minutes or until you begin to smell the toasting spices. Transfer into a spice mill or a coffee grinder. Add 5 of the chiles and grind until finely ground. Season the brisket with salt and pepper, rub with the spice blend, cover, and refrigerate while continuing with the recipe.
• Put the remaining 7 chiles in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Set aside and let soak until the chiles have softened, about 30 minutes. When soft, reserve the chiles and 1 cup of the reconstituting water. Discard the rest of the water. In a blender, liquefy the chiles, the 1 cup reserved soaking water, and the sherry vinegar. Set aside.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over high heat and sear the brisket in the hot oil on all sides until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the brisket from the pan and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and sauté until they become translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, stock, and chile mixture and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the brisket, cover, and braise in the oven until fork tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours, skimming occasionally to remove excess fat.
• When done, slice and serve hot with the braising liquid alongside.
• To Drink
• The hot climate of southern Oregon produces one of my very favorite Spanish varietals, Tempranillo, which loves meat braised with tomatoes, ground chiles, and spices. The black-fruit flavors of this grape and the tannins stand up well to the braised beef. Two Oregon wineries, Abacela and Dominio IV, produce fine examples of this grape varietal. A companion choice would be a French Rhône wine from Chapoutier: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Saint Joseph, or Crozes-Hermitage. These wines have spice, smoke, and lingering tannins that speak to all the flavors of the brisket. -K.P.

BRISKET CHILI

Steps:

• Trim and chop brisket into 1/2 lb pieces. Sear sides of beef in a large cast iron pot or braising pot. Remove meat when caramelized on all sides and saute sliced onions in rendered fat left in pot.
• In a side saute pan toast all spices together. Once onions are caramelized, scrape bottom of pot and then add all ingredients and meat.
• Cover meat 3/4 of the way with beer and stock. Cover and simmer for 5 hours or until meat falls apart.
• Serve with shredded cheddar and cracker. At the restaurant they serve with "Garlic Cheddar Spurs", which is puff pastry cut into stars and brushed with butter and garlic and topped with shredded cheddar, then baked to a golden brown.

BEEF BRISKET CHILI

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, brown beef and onion in oil in batches; drain. Stir in the beans, kielbasa, salsa, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chiles, garlic and seasonings. , Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3 hours or until meat is tender. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice and zest. If desired, top with cheddar cheese and sliced green onions.