When I asked Steve at Prather Ranch Meat Co for a piece of meat to braise, he immediatley led me to a brisket. I wasn't thrilled with the idea. I've had lots of nasty boiled briskets with boiled vegetables, but Steve insisted a brisket could be a thing of beauty. I decided to go along with him.
Late one night, it dawned on me I hadn't cooked the brisket, so I sent out an S.O.S. to one of my online food forums and decided to give the brisket a slow, overnight braise. I would have used the electric slow cooker (Crock Pot) but the brisket was too large.
Rancho Gordo Brisket
1 large brisket, trimmed of excess fat
3 small onions
5 cloves garlic
2 ounces Rancho Gordo New Mexican Chile Powder
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
salt
In a large pot or casserole, add the brisket, fat side down.
Slice the onions and surround the meat. Squash and peel the garlic and add to the pot.
Mix the chile powder, oregano, vinegar, water and salt together and then pour over the meat. It should be barely submerged. Add more liquid if needed.
Heat the oven to 375F and when heated, add the pot uncovered. Immediately lower the heat to 225F. Allow to cook for several hours.
Turn the meat over in the pot.
Cook for several more hours until the meat can be broken up with a fork.
Remove the pot from the oven and remove the meat. When cool enough to handle, scrape any leftover fat and discard. Strain the cooking liquid and then chill until the fat hardens and can be removed (overnight is best.) Gently reheat the meat with the sauce and serve with raw onions and lime wedges.
I put the casserole in the oven at about 11 p.m. and then woke up at 2:30 a.m., almost overwhelmed by the aroma. I went in to check on the meat, fearing that maybe I should have left the top on to avoid too much evaporation, but there was plenty of liquid left. I flipped the meat and then went back to bed. In the morning, the whole thing was perfection.
Breakfast? Brisket tacos, with queso fresco and cilantro, of course!
I've said it before, but I prefer to cook with chiles rather than the powder, but I have to humbly admit, our chile powder is killer and especially with something that cooks as long as this, there is none of that chile powder graininess than can mar a chile colorado or chili con carne. I thought
later that I could have added some tomatoes and cumin, but this is a beautiful pure chile and pure meat flavor experience and I'm glad I didn't.
Looks great Steve. Any chance you can add "aroma-vision" to the blog?
Posted by: bloviatrix | October 19, 2007 at 09:00 AM
Yes, out tech staff is working night and day on it!
And thanks to you. You were my main source of information on Mouthfulsfood on how to cook this thing.
Posted by: Steven Sando | October 19, 2007 at 10:35 AM
Can't wait to try this recipe. That's my kind of breakfast!
Posted by: Michelle | October 21, 2007 at 02:44 PM
Wow !!! And, DANG. We have like, some synergism going on here. I did nearly the same thing over at meathenge last weekend. Posted it on the 18th, all night braised brisket.
Too cool.
xo, Biggles
Posted by: Dr. Biggles | October 21, 2007 at 03:32 PM
That is amazing Dr. B! I was nervous about not covering it but it was no problem and of course I think it made the liquid more interesting. I wonder if cooking it in clay had something to do with retaining the moisture. Of course I think clay pots can cure anything!
Posted by: Steven Sando | October 22, 2007 at 08:35 AM
Hey Steven,
This is why I love these long cooked hunks o' meat. You get to play with your food all day, all night. If you notice the liquid going down too fast, tight fitting lid. Not going down fast enough? Lid off. This last time I used parchment paper. It mostly covered, but left a little bit so steam could escape, very nice.
xo, Biggles
Posted by: Dr. Biggles | October 24, 2007 at 07:53 AM