Friday, October 16, 2009

Freezer Friday: Beef Brisket

freezerfridaysmTonight I have about 8 pounds of beef brisket in my crock-pot.  Tomorrow morning, I will have a crock-pot full of falling apart ready to  use shredded beef.  First a bit about brisket.  *This is NOT corned beef brisket.  This is just a plain beef brisket.  I have purchased briskets that were a wonderful cut of meat and marbling that cook to perfection.  I have accidentally purchased others that were more marbling and fat than they were meat.  Look at your cuts of meat closely and make sure you're getting the meat you're paying for and not just fat.  It is usually a relatively inexpensive beef cut that you can use for a number of meals.  To be well prepared, brisket requires a long cooking time so the crock-pot works great!

brisketI found a great brisket today that was about 16 pounds.  I cut the meat in half and one half went to the freezer while the other went to the the crock-pot.  Mrs. Ringle's Brisket one recipe from Once-A-Month Cooking that I have used a number of times that has never failed me, and it's so easy you really can't mess it up.  Put your brisket in your crock-pot, fat side up.  Squirt 3-4 tablespoons of your favorite mustard (yellow or spicy) on top of it and spread it over the top.  Open a packet (or 2 if you have a large brisket) of onion soup mix and sprinkle over the top.  Turn your crock-pot on low and let it cook for 12 to 18 hours, until it is falling apart and shreds easily with a fork.



carryoverWe rarely have the meat as the center-piece of a  meal, although with the brisket we will have Hot Beef Sandwiches (brisket added to sautéed onions and peppers, served on sub rolls).  I plan on using some for Beef Stew tomorrow.  The rest I will portion out into quart size freezer bags and freeze it.  It will be thawed at a later time to be used in Burritos, Shepherd's Pie, Beef & Barley Soup, Hot Beef Sandwiches (again) and whatever inspiration hits me.  I plan to have 4-6 bags of meat off to the freezer, in addition to the remaining half of the brisket) after I pull some for sandwiches on Sunday and make the stew.

My house is already smelling good and it still has all night to cook!  I can't wait :D

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