Beef Brisket

After spending a day at the beach in San Diego we stopped at Kula Sushi in Irvine for dinner, then decided to hit the Korean market next door. While I was looking at the beef briskets Liz asked me if I knew how to cook it. "No," I said, resignedly placing the packet back into the refrigerator. But just as we moved on impulse hit me and I grabbed it back out and threw it in the cart.

Back home I wondered "Just how does one cook a beef brisket?" so I decided to hit up someone I was pretty sure would know. The Man came through, suggesting that because my cut was the Flat (lacking the layer of fat along one side) I should do a beer marinate to keep it tender while cooking (the role the layer of fat normally plays when one barbecues a brisket). He also recommended I slow cook this cut in the oven, covered or wrapped in foil, to keep it tender.

Alternatively, if I didn't mind a tougher cut, I could still marinate it and barbecue, but glaze it, and glaze it, and glaze it some more. That sounded like a lot more work than I was prepared to do. Not that I'm not afraid to stand out over the barbecue, tongs in one hand, beer in the other, but I'm rather partial to the "slap it in the slow cooker and forget about it until the house smell delicious and you start drooling" method of cooking.

Of course a beer marinate is not as simple as it sounds. What kind of beer are we talking about here? Lager? Ale? Draught? Bitter? Stout? It turns out Guinness is one of the most preferred beers to use as a marinate, as are English ales. Problem is my house currently has no beer, but we'll probably go shopping later so at least now I know one of the things we'll be looking out for. I also now know how to cook a brisket, but more importantly, how to shop for one. Thanks Daniel!