Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published December 6, 2006 Click here for the current edition Boiled Brisket Of Beef Brisket seems unpromising. It's a fibrous cut with a lot of small connective tissue between the fibers. Any way of cooking it must persist for hours on end to make it edible. Try to grill or fry it and you'll have the most disagreeable and toughest piece of meat imaginable. But prepared slowly--four hours seems to be the magic interval--brisket becomes one of the most heartwarming of meats. It speaks of the comforts of home, of old times, of traditions. Boiled and cut into big cubes, it's the heart of a great homemade vegetable soup. Smoked and sliced thin, it's one of the two great subjects for barbecue. Cured ("corned") for a few weeks and then boiled, it's the centerpiece of either St. Patrick's Day or the kosher deli. Brisket comes from the part of the steer that would be its armpit if beef had armpits. If you buy a whole one, you'll see that it's flat on one end and rounded and bulky on the other. After having disassembled hundreds of these, I can tell you that the flat end is by quite a bit better. It cooks more consistently, and slices much easier. One of the curiosities of brisket is that, outside the flat end, the grain constantly turns and changes direction. Since this is a cut of meat you absolutely want to cut across the grain (otherwise it would be impossibly chewy), you have to stop every few slices and reposition the meat on the cutting board. I think the magic of brisket has largely to do with the small connective tissues you see between the meat fibers. When you cook it for a long time, these largely disappear, sort of melting into the lean and making it tender. It also gives the broth you make from the boiling liquid (if you cooked it that way) taste superb. Boiled beef brisket is especially good in these cooler times, surrounded as it usually is with boiled vegetables--carrots, potatoes, cabbage, etc. It's a classic dish in local restaurants, although it's not as widely served as it once was. The famous brisket is the one at Tujague's, where it comes with almost every meal. The one they serve for lunch on Tuesdays at the Bon Ton Cafe is even better, though. Sal and Sam's does it well, too. But it's simple enough to cook at home, which is where I usually eat it. I'm nuts about the stuff. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com