Brisket for Baby Flava

Winter is the time to make comfort food. Those meals that fill our hearts with memories and our bellies with scrumptious slow cooked, sauced foods which make our mouths water and the winter doldrums melt away.

For Grammie Flava the comfort food of choice: Beef Brisket.

It is a simple recipe, can be made in advance and frozen, or made the day before you use it. It is not a quick dish, but needs little attention and always comes out right. If you make brisket and it comes out tough...you didn't cook it long enough simple as that.

Brisket and pot roasts are made with the tougher cuts of meat and braised, cook with dry heat then wet and cooked for a long time. The method, braising and the length of time tenderizes the meat.

The cut of beef I like best is first cut beef brisket...trimmed to leave a little bit of fat for flavor, but not a huge amount.

The recipe was originally my Mom's and used Lipton onion soup mix...I'm sure many of you know the recipe. I stopped using the soup mix because (horror upon horror) they still use MSG! No worries, I ended up changing the recipe to make it even better with a little twist my Mom would never have seen coming.

GF's Twisted Beef Brisket
3-4lbs of First cut Beef Brisket
1 large onion, medium dice
1-2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1 jar of Muir Glen Organic Cabernet Tomato Sauce
1/2 bottle of Stonewall Kitchens Maple Chipotle Sauce

Place brisket (fat side down) in roasting pan. Cover with chopped onions, salt and pepper. Cover pan tightly with lid or foil and cook at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Uncover, turn roast fat side up. Pour sauces over meat and add 1/2 jar of water...mix.

Cover and cook for an additional 2 hours. Check for doneness by inserting fork. If fork comes right out it is done...if there is any resistance recover and cook for at least 1/2 hour. If sauce is to thick you may add more water.

When done, degrease sauce. Trim fat from brisket and cut meat very thin at an angle across the grain and place back in sauce. (You may refrigerate overnight and the fat will harden and can be lifted right out of the sauce. )

Serve with mashed garlic potatoes, potato latkes, kasha and bows.

Comfort food at its best...and for Baby Flava...soft, tasty...she'll be smacking her lips and wanting more.