Brisket

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Posted at 9:33AM, 07 January 2009 by Jenni Muir - Food writer

For all the current talk about using cheaper cuts of meat, it's surprising brisket isn't easier to find. My supermarket doesn't sell it; neither do the local butchers. However, I've picked it up at the farmers' market and, before that came into being, would buy it online as part of a bulk meat order from an organic farmer-butcher.

Brisket is the 'man-boobs' of the steer (as my friend Claire says) and runs from the bottom of the neck down under the ribs. It's great for casseroles and pot-roasts but is also much more versatile that that. In the USA it's very much associated with barbecue and smoking, as well as salt beef. John Torode, who has recently written a whole book on beef, says brisket's wide, comparatively thin and even shape makes it the best cut for pastrami; he also uses it for a daube-style dish with red wine, port, Guinness, spices and fish sauce.

Anchovies provide a similar umami boost in this French 'Mariner's daubiere'. A few recipes see it layered up with bread that eventually dissolves to give a sauce. I also like the sound of Jill Dupleix's Chinese braised brisket with butternut squash and Sheepdrove's simple Guinness-flavoured pot-roast.

Normally, however, I do a variation on a recipe from the late American food writer Lee Bailey. It's easy: you rub the meat all over with a mixture of Spanish smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, sugar, pepper and fresh crushed garlic, wrap it in a double layer of foil and slow-roast it on a tray at 110°C for 4-7 hours, depending on the size of the joint. It doesn't really need gravy, though you can make one from all the luscious juices - I tend to save them to bung in soup a few days later.

For me brisket is a cost-effective way of having hearty organic roasts more often and if you like meat cooked well-done it's arguably the best cut to buy. No, it's not the same as sirloin or forerib, but it is good in its own way. A kilo of top-quality rolled, ready-to-roast brisket will cost a tenner or less; the same of sirloin can be £20-£35 organic or not (that's not including delivery, but even once you add that in, the prices of organic brisket compare favourably with that of premium meats in supermarkets).

Funnily enough, one of the cheapest places to buy organic brisket (and topside) is from HRH Queen Elizabeth II's Windsor Farm Shop, which sells produce from the Royal Farms and other small British producers. Their super beef is mostly from the Sussex breed and the brisket is just £6.95 per kilo. Delivery is £9.90 in England (roughly the same as most of the other organic delivery services I've tried) though, frankly, there's extra value in seeing the neighbours' nets and blinds flickering with excitement when a Royal Farms van turns up at your door. That's the sort of treat we all need at least once in our life.

Comments

James

7 January, 3:41PM
James

Real farm shops - where they butcher their own meat always have freezers full of brisket - it's the one cut they can't sell so you can often get a good discount on it. Great in the slow cooker - put it on in the morning before you go to work, and great with mash potato. The last time I did it, people couldn't get enough of it. And the left overs make lovely potted beef, or beef broth - ideal for those with colds/ flu.

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littleveghead

8 January, 1:55AM
littleveghead

If you're going to buy brisket here in the States, you'll need to ask for either the "first cut" or the "second cut". The "second cut" is much more suited for braising.

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kate

9 January, 3:55PM
kate

Try Tesco's I bought a lovely piece of organic brisket -pot roasted it with baby turnips carrots onion and a couple of bay leaves - used the sauce to make a thin soup and then sliced the meat and had with the veggies - delicious

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anncollier

10 January, 11:47AM
anncollier

Brisket is available in Morrisons & Somerfields plus at my butchers in Wareham, Dorset. I'm sure I've also purchased it in Tescos so which supermarket are you looking in?

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Lisa

10 January, 6:53PM
Lisa

I bought a joint of brisket this morning from Morrisons. They had plenty there. I cook it exactly the same as my mum - slow pot roast with braised butter beans. I can smell it now!!!

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Jenni

12 January, 3:23PM
Jenni

We have loads of little versions of the famous supermarkets near us, and the most convenient biggie is a Waitrose (sans brisket), though I see that Sainsbury have it on their home delivery service. In fact our local Tesco is so small they seem to not have room even for frozen peas. Strange - I would have thought a little local supermarket would take the milk, bread, eggs and frozen peas and build the rest of the shop around them.

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kittendothroar

13 January, 10:45AM
kittendothroar

Will check out the Windsor shop, is only up the road from me and thats a great price for 1kg of meat, will please the other half's meat desires!!

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totbean

6 March, 2:04PM
totbean

Â£7.85 for 1.5Kg @Mozza's. Slow cooked (4 and a bit hours) with the usual suspects and served with finely chopped onions, tomatoes and corriander in corn tortillas. Friday night here we come.

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