Seven Bone Standing Rib Roast Recipe

Anatomy: The standing rib is the seven bone rib section of a steer. Typically, we use a USDA Prime export rib–which weighs in the range of 16-20 lbs.

Remember: Each bone serves 2 people

The Night Before

Utensils: Plastic or cellophane wrap

Ingredients:

  • Garlic powder
  • Paprika
  • Pepper
  • No salt at this time

Directions:

  1. Remove the freezer wrap and discard. (Some people, believe it or not, have roasted the rib roast with the cellophane wrap on.)
  2. Generously rub all visible surfaces of the meat and bone with a lot – and I do mean a lot – of garlic powder, paprika, and pepper (the odor of garlic should be as pervasive as when you walk down an apartment building hall entirely occupied by Jewish or Italian grandmothers).
  3. Wrap this seasoned hunk of meat tightly in plastic wrap and place it on a platter in the refrigerator overnight.

The Next Day

Utensils:

  • An instant-read meat thermometer
  • A broiler pan or cooking rack placed in a very shallow roasting pan

Ingredients: Salt (Optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. While your oven is preheating, take the roast out of the refrigerator, remove and discard the plastic wrap. If you want salt, now is the time to salt the meat.
  3. Place the rib roast on top of the broiler pan or cooking rack set upon a shallow roasting pan. The rib roast itself should stand above the edges of the roasting pan. This can be accomplished by placing the roast bone side down. You want to do this so that the standing rib will dry roast – that is, the meat and bones will cook without braising or steaming in its own liquid. Be sure the rib roast stands well above the edges of the roasting pan. This is the reason for using a rack.
  4. Unfortunately, roasting times are not set in stone. I use 11 minutes per pound for roasting at 350. (Roasting times may vary depending upon your own oven, and/or the atmospheric pressure or temperature.) Anyway, calculate 11 minutes per pound as an estimated time. This is where your instant-read thermometer comes in.
  5. About halfway through your particular calculated roasting time, insert the instant-read thermometer into the center of the roast (be sure it does not touch fat or bone) and take a reading.
  6. 125 degrees Fahrenheit is considered to be medium-rare. Remove the rib roast from the oven at this temperature and let it set at room temperature uncovered on a platter for 20 minutes. (Do not cover under any circumstances.) The carryover heat will continue roasting for another 10 degrees (135 degrees internal temperature). Don’t worry. It won’t get cold.
  7. At this time, the roast may be cut and served. For those of you who want a rib roast a little more done (pink), you may remove the roast from the oven at 130 degrees internal temperature and follow the same steps. Remember: If the piece of meat is not done well enough for your taste, you can always place the cut portions under a preheated broiler for one minute on each side. You can’t, however, take a well-done piece of meat and make it rare, so go for the lower internal temperatures.

Gravy

The best gravy for the meat is on the bottom of the roasting pan. Take all of the pan drippings and place it in a plastic container. Put this in the freezer for 20 minutes, the time the meat is setting. This makes it easier for you to discard the fat which has now come to the top of the container. Boil this in a saucepan and serve over the meat. If there is not enough natural meat juice, go into the freezer and use the beef stock you’ve been storing. If you’re not a Julia Child or Jacques Pepin, buy a can of Heinz beef gravy or College Inn beef broth, boil it, and pour over the meat.

Slicing

Take a knife and separate the meat from the bone. Cut the bulk portion of the meat (it now looks like a phony log you put into the fireplace) into slices and serve. For those who also want the bone, cut in between the bones and serve individual bones on a separate serving platter.

Leftovers

Slice the remaining standing rib into thin slices and serve on garlic bread with horseradish sauce.

Try A Meyer Natural Angus Tri Tip

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to eat great meat on a regular basis.  Last night, I tried my hand at Tri Tip.  This cut comes to Mister Brisket courtesy of Meyer Natural Angus.  This means the beef comes from cattle that are 100% angus and certified to have been humanely raised.  In addition, they were never given antibiotics or growth hormones.

Tri Tips come from the top of the bottom part of the Sirloin section in the hindquarter.  It’s typically tender if you slice it properly (against the grain)  The slicing is important because a full tri trip weighs 2-3 pounds and has grain moving in a few different directions.  For slicing instruction, I recommend watching this video.

The pic above is my dinner. My preparation was simple.  I placed the tri tip in a plastic bag with a few cups of BBQ Sauce, one cup of soy sauce and some granulated garlic.  Not fancy but it adds flavor.

Next, I allowed the meat to marinate for 24 hours.  It’s not necessary to do it for that long but I’d forgotten we had Open House at school for one of the kids.  Hence there was no time to cook dinner so my we picked up KFC while the Tri Tip sat in the fridge.  Incidentally, each KFC meal probably shortens my life but it is undeniably tasty.

The grilling is straightforward.  Place on one side for about 8 minutes then flip.  Tri Tips are thick so you have to take your time.  I removed from the grill when the internal temperature in the thickest portion hit 130 degrees.  Because this cut is not uniform in thickness, the fullest portions were rare to med. rare with the edges a little more done.  If you like your Tri Tip more well prepared, follow the advice given by the “Tri Tip Guy” from California.

I allowed the meat to rest for about ten minutes, then carefully sliced.  With baked potato and asparagus, it was a terrific meal.  I also have some wonderful leftovers.  I plan to slice them thin over the weekend, melt cheese on top, place on some crusty bread, add some raw onion and enjoy a Tri Tip sandwich.

60 Days of Age Follow Up – How It Turned Out

When Geoff Hewitt asked us to age a USDA Prime Rib Roast for 60 days, we were skeptical as to how it would turn out.  But, on Saturday, January 4, he picked up his meat. The image above is what it looked like.

We were skeptical as to how it would turn out.  Our assumption was that by the time we finished trimming the steaks, there would be little meat left.  Surprisingly, however, we didn’t have to trim as much as expected.  The rib almost seemed to have entered a state of  “suspended deterioration.”  Well, lets get to the point.  After cutting it into about 8 nice steaks, we gave the beef to the customer and asked him to provide a report.  Here’s what he had to say:

My outdoor gas grill unfroze and I was finally able to properly cook the first of the 60 day dry-aged steaks.  I took it out of the refrigerator this morning to allow it to get to room temperature before grilling.   I lightly Kosher salted both sides.  No trimming was necessary as your meat cutter did a fine job of removing edge fat and overly dry parts.  The steak had no smell at all, even at room temperature.  I heated the grill, all three burners on high, for twenty minutes until the thermometer read about 750F.  I grilled each side for approximately four minutes which gave me a steak with beautifully charred crusts on both sides, the grill marks being pitch black as were the edges.  As soon as I took it off the grill and walked inside, a big difference was noted – the steak smelled unlike any steak I’ve had before.  It was the exact smell I had been looking for for years; a fairly strong, almost funky aroma.  Would that hold up in the taste?  I let it rest for a few minutes while I dug into a side dish and finally cut off a small piece.  The interior was a perfect pink color top to bottom.  Just a perfectly medium rare piece of meat.  I was expecting the meat to be slightly dry due to the long drying but it was just as juicy as any steak I’ve had.  I know the roast lost four pounds in weight but I think most of that was a water loss, not a fat loss so the fat remained.  Losing all that water just concentrated the meaty umami flavor and added an earthy flavor that was better than I had hoped for.  Most steaks I’ve eaten lose quite a bit of liquid during eating and my steak often ends up in a pool of brown water/fat but that was not so with this steak.  It oozed very little moisture onto the plate since it was devoid of most of its water to begin with.  A huge plus.  That was probably the reason is developed such a beautiful char while cooking – it didn’t steam in its moisture while on the grill.  The funky taste I had hoped for was there but not to an overpowering level, just a nice additional flavor layer.  I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

As I told you, I’ve had many 28-day dry-aged steaks but really couldn’t see any difference in those from non-aged steaks.  I think 60 days is just about perfect.  The exterior of the roast was very hard at that point, requiring some, but minimal trimming, much less than Sanford and I thought and I doubt if aging for a longer time would make much difference as the remaining moisture would be locked inside by the dry crust. I have now spoiled myself to the extent that I’ll be having this done again.  No more supermarket steaks for me!

Thanks again, Hank and Sanford.  It’s a real treat to work with folks who take food seriously.

Geoff

50 Days of Age – A Rib Roast Challenge

Mister Brisket has never been a big proponent of dry aging beef.  In our experience we’ve found it has no discernible impact on flavor.  Enter Geoff Hewitt, a resident of New Franklin, who found us on the internet.  Hewitt emailed and wanted to know how we felt about aging a rib roast–for 50 days.

“30 days doesn’t really change the flavor,” Hewitt wrote, “but do it for 50 and you’ll notice a difference.”

That got our attention.  When we’d aged beef in the past, it had never been for more than 30 days.  50 days?  Who knows?

Then he wanted to know if we’d be willing to age a roast for him.  We emailed back and forth discussing the issues involved.  The biggest problem is how much useable meat will be left in 50 days.   We agreed to keep him informed as to how the aging process was going so if it looked like there was any trouble a decision could be made as to what to do.  Then we selected a Meyer Natural Angus USDA Prime Rib Roast for him.  The weight is nearly 20 pounds.

We wiped it dry. And marked it.

And placed it in our cooler to age…until Jan. 4, 2013.

Will there be anything left by Jan. 2013?  And, if so, how will the flavor have changed?  Who knows?  But there’s one certainty…we’re gonna find out.  Stay tuned as we’ll periodically show pics of this aging roast so you can see how the meat is physically affected.   In the meantime, we salute Mr. Hewitt for his curiosity and interest in quality beef.

How To Smoke a Perfect Brisket w/ BBQ Expert Matt Vann

Start off with a Meyers All-Natural Angus Brisket (Whole Packer 13 to 16 lbs…when available)

  1. Put it in a full disposable foil pan.
  2. Inject with the following combination every inch (left to right; up and down):
    • 20 oz water
    • 6 oz Simply Apple Juice
    • 6 oz Peach Nectar
    • 3 TBSP Beef Base
    • 3 TBSP Au Jus Concentrate
    • 1 oz Chipotle Tobasco (optional)
  3. Lightly slather the brisket with Stadium Mustard
  4. Rub with the following rub
    • 8 TBSP Garlic Salt
    • 6 TBSP Granulated Garlic
    • 6 TBSP Turbinado Sugar
    • 5 TBSP Granulated Powder+ 2 TBSP Seasoned Salt
    • 2 TBSP Paprika
    • 2 TBSP Old Bay Seasoning
    • 1 TBSP Cumin
    • 1 TBSP Dried Basil
    • 3/4 TBSP Cayenne Pepper
    • 3/4 TBSP Black Pepper (Cracked Fresh..if you have it)
    • 1/4 TBSP Chili Powder
    • 1/4 TBSP Red Pepper Flakes
  5. Cook in your smoker (what ever would you like…hickory & pecan) @ 250 degrees)
  6. Spray with Simply Apple Juice every hour starting 4 hours into the cook process.
  7. When the rub on your brisket is set (when the bark has formed and it is on firmly) about 8 hours, double wrap the foil pan with foil.
  8. Cook the brisket until the internal temperature is 207 degrees in the thickest part of the brisket.
  9. Drain all of the drippings in the pan into a clear measuring cup or fat separator and discard of the (clear oily stuff)
  10. Wrap the brisket inside the pan back to keep it hot.
  11. Take the drippings (without the oily stuff) and boil it on med/high for 12-15 minutes (reducing it)
  12. Mix the reduced drippings with the following sauce recipe (I can’t give my sauce recipe away):
    • Take 16 oz of a ketchup store brand bbq sauce (that you like)
    • Mix 4 oz of dripping reduction
    • 2 oz worcestershire
    • 2 oz A1
  13. Slice the brisket, paint with sauce, enjoy it HOT!!!

[Editor’s note:  Matt Vann, a Clevelander,  is a frequent participant on the competitive BBQ circuit.  He has gone up against Pitmasters Myron Mixon at least “15-20 times” and beaten him on all but two occasions.]

Hot Dogs—Our Thoughts On What’s Best and Why

People have a lot of opinions about what constitutes a really good hot dog.  And at Mister Brisket, we’re no different. But here’s the thing–Mister Brisket is not just a Butcher Shop. We’re also a research institute. If we sell a product, it’s because through trial and error (hopefully not too much error) we feel it’s the best one available. Over the years we’ve sampled many hot dogs.  Best Kosher…Hebrew National….Sabretts….just to name a few. We’ve experimented with shapes and sizes. And we’ve tried them in various forms.  Two things are apparent to us. First, the best hot dogs are all beef. Specifically, they’re made from bull meat which is chopped, seasoned and then cured. Secondly, texture is as important as flavor.

In our experience, the best hot dog is an all beef Chicago Style dog in a sheep casing. The flavor is outstanding–not too highly seasoned or garlicky or somehow mucked up with gimmicky flavor enhancements. And the sheep casing provides a wonderful texture. You get a snap and a crack when you bite into a quality beef hot dog in a sheep casing. Larger dogs in hog casing will be more chewy. And skinless dogs, which are very popular in Cleveland, lack the firmness of a natural casing dog. The picture above shows exactly what we sell.  It is a fabulous dog and comes six to a pound.

Three Mister Brisket Natural Casing Hot Dogs grilled in shop on a bun with deli mustard (Batampte), sauerkraut and swiss cheese. Yes, we sell this at our shop!

The next issue with hot dogs is method of preparation. Sentiment often plays a big role. Some people enjoy them steamed because of memories from old Cleveland Stadium. Others boil them because that’s what Mom did. Some will put their hot dogs on a stick and hold them over a fire in order to relive camping adventures.  Ultimately, however, you gotta grill the dog. The reason? Texture. The natural casing dog on a hot grill will slowly expand then fissures will develop where the casing cracks. The picture above gives you a look at your model citizen. Consistent grill marks and cracks in the casing show that these are perfect for consumption. As to what to put on the dog, well, that’s up to you. Purists insist solely on mustard but if you like ketchup as well, it’s your prerogative.

Hot Dogs are often thought of as a summer item but true aficionados enjoy them year round. If you like hot dogs, Mister Brisket wants you to give ours a shot. In addition, to the ones in natural casing, we’ll get you skinless by request. Or, if you want, we carry a jumbo version of the same dog that comes two to a pound (aka Frankenwurst). We have a dog for all styles. Just tell us which one, and we’ll have it for you.  Please note–Mister Brisket Natural Casing Hot Dogs are a special order item. If you want a large quantity, give us several days notice so we can make sure to have them in stock.

Corned Beef

At our store, we have a large convection oven.  Each corned beef is placed inside a cooking bag that we seal with a heat resistant twist tie.  Next, we punch several holes in the top of the bag and place it on an oven tray.  The corned beefs are then placed in the oven fat side up and cooked for slightly over three hours at 300 degrees.  Now, this method works well for us but may not be suitable for you.

If you don’t have a convection oven—or cooking bags–you can still bake your corned beef.  First, heat your oven to 325 degrees.  Secondly, use a roasting pan with a lid.  An eight pound raw corned beef in a home oven should take a little over three hours.  Remember, place it fat side up in your roasting pan and keep the cover on.  If you have a meat thermometer, then consider your corned beef done when it reaches 190 degrees.  You don’t need to add any liquid; your corned beef has plenty of fat.

The most common method of preparing a corned beef is to boil it. Place a large stockpot on the stove and put in the corned beef.  Add several quarts of water (at least enough to comfortably cover the meat).   Bring the water to a rolling boil.  Then, turn down the temperature and allow the corned beef to simmer for about three hours.

Slicing Your Corned Beef

There is only one rule for slicing corned beef—cut directly against (perpendicular) the grain.  The grain is easy to spot.  Just look at the lean side of the meat and you’ll see it all run in a similar direction.  It can become tricky when you’re slicing both the point and flat section together.  When that occurs, stick with the direction that the flat section is going.  There is a lot of fat in between the two sections.  Remove as best you can.

If this seems like a lot of work, keep in mind that Mister Brisket offers free slicing on all corned beefs that are purchased from our store.  You can cook it in advance (see next paragraph), bring it to our store, and we’ll de-fat and slice it for you.

An Option—Cook it Ahead of Time

One smart thing to do is to cook your corned beef several days before you plan to serve it.  This makes the trimming and slicing much easier.  The process is basic.  First, cook as you normally would.  Then, allow the meat to cool for several hours at room temperature.  When it’s done wrap it in foil.  Next, place it in your fridge.  When you’re ready to serve, trim off the excess fat and slice your corned beef.  Now, just re-heat.

Re-Heating Cold Corned Beef

The easiest thing to do is to place your slices of corned beef in a cooking bag and seal it.  Do not punch holes.  Next, put the cooking bag in a pot of boiling water and let sit for about ten minutes.    Another method is to place the corned beef in a steamer or double boiler.  Also, you have the option of placing your sliced corned beef in your roasting pan.  Pour on a little water.  Heat the meat for around 45 minutes at 275 degrees.  The meat is ready when it’s hot.

Classic Beef Stew

(Feeds 6)

Ingredients

  • 2-2 1/2 lbs beef chuck chunks
  • 2 tbsp olive oil, 1clove crushed garlic
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic, 3 large onions cut up
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (sub dried thyme if needed)
  • 5 large potatoes–peel and cut into chunks
  • 5 large carrots cut up
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat a large deep skillet for which you have a cover at med. high…add the oil and crushed garlic clove then stir for 1 minute…remove and discard the garlic…add the beef chunks a few at a time. Turn them so they brown on both sides. Keep adding…Season the beef with salt and pepper as it cooks…remove the beef with a slotted spoon when it is browned. Spoon out the fat from the pan as best as possible…Turn down the heat to medium. Add the onions, stirring, until they soften…Add the flour and cook, stirring, for another couple minutes…Add the beef stock, wine, thyme, bay leaf and the beef chunks. Turn down the heat to low and cover. Let it cook for 30 minutes…Uncover the pan. The mixture should be soupy. Add the carrots, potatoes and turn up the heat to bring it back to a boil. Now turn it back down and cover. Leave alone for at least a half hour. At this point see if the beef and veggies are tender. Cook until they are. Add more salt and pepper during this process if necessary…Add the minced garlic and peas. If the stew is too soupy, remove the cover and turn up the heat until some of the excess liquid has boiled off. If the consistency is good, let sit covered until the peas are heated. When peas are finished, serve and enjoy.

If you want to make the stew but not serve it right away, remove the beef and vegetables from the liquid. Place the beef and veggies in one container and the liquid in another. When ready to serve, place back in the skillet, cover and heat.

Individual Tenderloin Steak Recipe (Filet Mignon)

(1 tenderloin steak per person)

We can cut the tenderloin into 1-1/2 to 2 inch thick pieces. You will have anywhere from 4 to 6 steaks that resemble thick hockey pucks. Depending upon size, there may be an odd tail piece. This is good for stir-fry or sautéing with peppers and onions. You will also notice ground meat wrapped for the freezer. This is from the trimmings.

Freezing and defrosting:

Follow the same procedure for freezing and defrosting as described in the Tenderloin for Roasting recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tenderloin steak per person
  • Enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet – approximately 1 tablespoon per steak
  • Salt and pepper (optional)

Utensils:

  • A skillet – preferably cast iron. (Try to avoid Teflon skillets – the oil simply doesn’t get hot enough.)
  • A cookie sheet or pizza pan

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Remove the filets from the refrigerator and take off the cellophane.
  3. Pour the oil into the skillet and heat it on medium-high. You’ll know the oil is ready when you take a drop of water, toss it in the pan, and it skips across.
  4. Place the steaks in the hot skillet and sear them on each side. That is, you want a crust to form on each side.This will take about 2 minutes per side.
  5. Remove the seared steaks and place them on the pizza pan or cookie sheet and bake them uncovered for 5 minutes at 350 degrees.
  6. Take them out of the oven and allow them to rest on a platter for 5 minutes.

Mister Brisket’s Comments:

This country is blessed with the finest beef in the world. There is absolutely no need for a sauce to mask or adulterate the flavor of a great piece of beef tenderloin. The French sauce their filets, Chateau-briand, etc., to cover, at best, a very mediocre piece of meat. However, if you want a sauce and “bedding,” here are easy recipes. You can use either one or both.

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) of canned beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon of potato starch
  • 1/4 cup of Madeira wine

Utensils:

  • Saucepan
  • Wooden spoon

Directions:

  1. Dump the 8 ounces of beef broth in the saucepan and heat it to boiling.
  2. Take the tablespoon of tomato paste and place it in the boiling beef broth. Allow it to dissolve.
  3. Stir the 1 tablespoon of potato starch into the 1/4 cup of wine until it dissolves. Do not add the potato starch directly into the broth mixture. If you do, you will have achieved my late mother-in-law’s lump-style, down-home Rumanian gravy. Potato starch must always be dissolved before adding it to another liquid.
  4. Pour the dissolved potato starch mixture into the boiling broth mixture. Continue the boiling until the mixture has thickened and the alcohol from the wine has evaporated. When you can’t smell the alcohol any more, you know it has evaporated.
  5. At this point, you want to reduce your heat just to keep the sauce warm.

Bedding Ingredients:

  • 1/2 stick of butter or margarine
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 8 ounces of regular, fresh mushrooms – the ordinary white kind that are harvested in Pennsylvania coal mines with the dirt still on them.
  • 1 large (softball size) Spanish onion

Utensils:

  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 wooden spoon

Directions:

  1. Wash the dirt and assorted gunk from the mushrooms with cold water until they are thoroughly clean.
  2. Slice the mushrooms sideways so that they look like a bunch of umbrellas.
  3. Slice the onion so that you have nice little circles.
  4. Place the butter and olive oil in the skillet and heat them at medium-high temperature until they are bubbling.
  5. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the onion to the skillet. Smoosh them around with the wooden spoon until they are transparent and soft in texture. This takes about 10 minutes.
  6. Add the mushrooms to the onions and sauté them until they are one-third of their original size. This takes from 7-10 minutes.

Serving:

Place a portion of the sautéed mushrooms and onions* on each plate and set a piece of tenderloin steak on the mushrooms and onions. Pour the sauce* over each tenderloin portion and serve.

*The sauce and bedding can also be used for the whole roasted beef tenderloin recipe, separately or together.

Leftovers:

Serve cold on toasted garlic bread with hot mustard or horseradish sauce.

Classic Mister Brisket Brisket Recipe

(Serves 8-10)

Utensils:

  • A large old-fashioned roasting pan – the blue one with the white speckles. Speckled roasters are usually available in most hardware stores. Be sure to buy the size that holds a 20-22 pound turkey – the label on the pan should spell out its capacity. Unfortunately, I have not convinced the roasting pan manufacturers to think of briskets; they think in terms of turkeys. But if it’s big enough for a 22-pound turkey, it’ll be big enough for a 6-10 pound brisket.
  • A medium-size mixing bowl
  • A large plastic container with a lid

Ingredients:

  • One First Cut Mister Brisket Beef Brisket–typically weighing from 5-8 lbs
  • 1 bottle Heinz Chili Sauce
  • 1 envelope Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix
  • 2 (12 ounce) can cola – don’t use diet cola

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Place the brisket fat-side-up into the roaster. (The brisket can be taken right from the refrigerator and put into the roaster – it does not have to be at room temperature.)
  3. Pour the chili sauce, onion soup mix and the cola into the mixing bowl and stir several times. (Many people are tempted to taste this concoction. Trust me, it tastes “challucious.” You’ll taste it after the brisket is cooked.)
  4. Dump this mixture over the brisket. You can lift the brisket up and let some of the liquid spread under it. It won’t hurt.
  5. Cover the brisket and roast it at 325 degrees until the flat portion is fork tender — anywhere from 3 to 3-1/2 hours. By “fork tender” I mean that the meat is tender, but there is still a slight tug on the fork as you pull the fork out of the brisket. If it is not fork tender, cover the brisket and return it to the oven, checking at 15-minute intervals.
  6. When the flat section is done (fork tender), remove the brisket from the roaster and allow it to cool on a platter. When the gravy is cooled, pour it into the plastic container, cover and refrigerate it. Wrap the cooled brisket in cellophane and place it into the refrigerator overnight. Once it’s refrigerated, the roasted brisket and cold gravy can remain there for at least a week before it’s sliced, reheated and served.

Slicing, reheating and serving:

The easiest thing to do is to bring the cold, roasted brisket (please leave the gravy at home) to the store and we will defat, slice and aesthetically replace it in your roasting pan. If you’re too busy with work, car-pooling, tennis lessons, lunches, aerobics classes, power lifting or feel that Taylor Road is impossible for your schedule, you’re going to have to slice it yourself.

Here’s what to do:

  1. Get a real sharp knife and trim off all visible fat from the top of the brisket. Do this on a cutting board.
  2. Turn the brisket over on what was the fat side. You should be looking at the muscle grain of the brisket. Take your knife and slice the brisket against or across the muscle grain. If the slices appear stringy, stop! You’re slicing the wrong way.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and remove the cold gravy from the refrigerator. You’ll notice that all of the fat has congealed at the top. Remove the fat and throw it away.
  4. Heat the gravy in a saucepan until it boils.
  5. Pour this hot gravy over the brisket slices, cover the roaster and reheat your brisket for one hour at 350 degrees.