Chili Braised Brisket 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.

PULLED BRISKET CHILLI

Steps:

• Place the beef on a board and lightly score one side.
• Bash the cinnamon, cumin, paprika and oregano in pestle and mortar, then rub into the cuts in the beef. Season well with sea salt and black pepper, drizzle over a little oil and brown the brisket well in a large pan over a high heat.
• Place the bay leaves, whole peppers, plum tomatoes (breaking them up with the back of a spoon as you go), and the stock in a large pot and bring to the boil.
• Meanwhile, deseed half the chillies, then finely slice them all. Peel and finely slice the onions, then pick and finely chop the coriander.
• Add the chilli and onion to the pan with the brisket, cook for 5 minutes, then transfer the lot to the large pot, cover, and leave to simmer for 4 to 4½ hours, or until beautifully tender, stirring occasionally and adding splashes of water to loosen, if needed.
• Gently pull the beef apart using 2 forks. Remove the bay, add a little vinegar to taste, scatter over the coriander and adjust the seasoning to taste.
• For the guacamole, squeeze the avocado flesh into a bowl, discarding the skin and stones. Pick and roughly tear in the coriander leaves, peel and finely gate in the red onion, and squeeze in the lime juice.
• Have a taste, then tweak with more salt, pepper or lime juice, if needed. Roughly chop then scrunch in the tomatoes, picking out any large bits of skin.
• Deseed and finely grate in the chilli flesh and mix well. Serve with the chilli, tortillas and dollops of yoghurt. Delicious served with a fresh green salad on the side, too.

THE ULTIMATE BRAISED BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Drizzle brisket liberally with olive oil then season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Place a large Dutch oven or heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and add a 3-count of olive oil. Place the brisket in the pot and sear on both sides to form a nice brown crust. Remove from pot and set aside before adding carrots, onion and celery. Brown vegetables, then add the garlic, tomatoes, red wine, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and parsley. Add the brisket back to the pot, cover and roast in the oven for 3 hours until the brisket is fork tender.
• Remove the brisket to a cutting board and let it rest for 15 minutes. Strain out the vegetables and pour off some of the excess fat, then pour over the brisket.
• Slice brisket across the grain and serve over parsnip puree with roasted red onions and garnish with parsley.

BRAISED BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir carrots, onion, mushrooms, and celery until vegetables start to become tender, about 8 minutes. Spread vegetables into the bottom of a large, deep baking dish, retaining olive oil in skillet.
• Combine kosher salt, black pepper, chili powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and cayenne pepper in a resealable plastic bag. Pat brisket dry with paper towels and rub spice mixture all over the meat.
• Sear seasoned brisket in skillet over medium-high heat on all sides until browned and spice rub has formed a crust, about 2 minutes per side. Lay the seared brisket on top of the vegetables in the baking dish.
• Pour 1/2 cup cola soft drink into the hot skillet; scrape up and dissolve any browned bits of food on the bottom of the skillet. Pour hot cola and pan drippings over the brisket; pour remaining cola over meat. If cola does not cover meat, pour in enough water to cover. Drizzle lemon juice into the dish.
• Cover dish and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and cook until meat is very tender, about 3 more hours. Remove brisket and let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

INSTANT-POT KOREAN CHILE-BRAISED BRISKET AND KIMCHI COLESLAW

Steps:

• To pressure cook it:
• Rub the beef with the chile flakes, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
• Set the electric pressure cooker to sauté (or use a large skillet). Add a tablespoon of the oil, let it heat up for a few seconds, and then add a batch of the beef and sear until it's browned all over, about 2 minutes per side, adding more oil as needed. Transfer the beef to a plate and repeat with the remaining batches.
• If the pot looks dry, add a bit more oil. Add the onion and sauté until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute longer. Add the beer, gochujang, ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce, and sesame oil. Scrape the mixture into the pressure cooker if you have used a skillet.
• Cover and cook on high pressure for 90 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes, and then release the remaining pressure manually.
• To make the kimchi coleslaw, combine the cabbage, kimchi, both oils, lime juice, and salt in a large bowl and toss well. Taste, and add more salt or lime juice if needed.
• Transfer the beef to a plate or a rimmed cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. Set the pressure cooker to sauté and simmer the sauce for 15 to 20 minutes, until it is reduced by half or two-thirds (remember that it thickens as it cools). Use a fat separator to skim off the fat, or let the sauce settle and spoon the fat off the top. Serve the sauce alongside the beef, with the kimchi coleslaw.
• Slow Cooker Variation:
• Cut the beef into 6 to 8 pieces instead of 3 or 4 pieces. Marinate and brown as in steps 1 and 2. Place the meat in the pot and cover with the sautéed onion mixture from step 3. Cook on high for 7 to 9 hours or low for 10 to 12 hours.

CHILI-BRAISED BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chili powder, fennel seed, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper and rub all over brisket. In a large heavy ovenproof pot, heat oil over medium-high. Cook brisket until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.
• Add onion to pot and saute 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and saute 1 minute. Add beer and 2 cups water, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil; return brisket to pot, cover, and transfer to oven. Braise until brisket is almost tender, about 3 hours. Tilt pot and spoon off fat from liquid. Add potatoes, carrots, and 1 cup water; braise until meat is very tender, 50 minutes more. Transfer brisket to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes, then slice. Stir vinegar and cilantro into vegetables; serve with meat, sprinkled with more cilantro.

CHILE & BEER BRAISED BRISKET

Steps:

• Tear chiles into pieces and place in a large bowl. Cover with hot water and let sit until softened, at least 20 minutes. Drain.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place tomatoes and their juices, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and the drained chile pieces in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer back to bowl from chiles and stir in beer.
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add brisket and brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.
• Pour the chile sauce over the meat and bring to a simmer.
• Cover, transfer to the oven and bake for 2 hours.
• Stir in beans and continue baking until the meat is fall-apart tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour more.
• Transfer the meat to a cutting board and pull apart into long shreds using two forks. Stir the shredded meat back into the sauce.

BRAISED BRISKET IN CHIPOTLE ONION SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Set aside shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold meat or use heavy-duty foil to make close baking space for meat and set in larger pan.
• Combine garlic with brown sugar, cumin and salt. Rub mixture over surface of meat.
• Spread half of sliced onions in pan or on foil. Place meat on top. Scatter remaining onions over meat.
• Puree chili sauce with chipotles; spoon over meat and onions. Pour ¼ cup water around meat (not on it). Cover tightly with foil.
• Bake 3 hours. Remove top piece of foil; continue baking until meat is tender, 1 to 2 hours longer. Cool, then cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.
• To reheat, remove fat from meat and onions. Reserve small cluster of onions for garnish. Transfer remaining onions and pan juices to processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Use sharp knife, preferably electric, to slice meat across grain into thin slices. Arrange slices in shallow casserole. Spoon on some sauce; arrange reserved onions on top. Reheat, covered, in 350-degree oven, for 35 minutes. Reheat remaining sauce separately.
• Serve hot, drizzling with more sauce and passing the rest.

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.