(Review) The Brisket Book

Title: The Brisket Book: A love story with recipes
Author: Stephanie Pierson
Pub Date: October 2011
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Source: I received this from the publisher for my honest review.

About the book:
Food writer, cookbook author, and brisket zealot Stephanie Pierson contends, “Some foods will improve your meal, your mood, your day, your buttered noodles. Brisket will improve your life.”

Brisket is so easy to warm up to, no wonder everyone loves it. Families pass brisket recipes down like heirlooms. Chat rooms are full of passionate foodies giving passionate opinions about their briskets–and each one claims to have the best brisket recipe ever! When Angel Stadium of Anaheim introduced a BBQ brisket sandwich, it promptly won a national contest for best ballpark cuisine. This lively book offers everything from brisket cooking tips to chef interviews to butcher wisdom. Color photographs, illustrations, and graphics ensure that brisket has never looked better. The recipes include something for everyone: Beef Brisket with Fresh Tangy Peaches, Scandinavian Aquavit Brisket, Sweet-and-Sour Brisket, Barbecued Brisket Sandwiches with Firecracker Sauce, a Seitan Brisket (even people who don’t like meat love brisket), and a 100% Foolproof Bride’s Brisket.

If brisket does indeed improve your life, then The Brisket Book promises to be the ultimate life-affirming resource for anyone who has savored–or should savor–this succulent comfort food.

I have to send out another huge thank you to Andrews McMeel for sending me The Brisket Book for review.

I absolutely love cookbooks. Personally for me growing up I had parents who never wanted to try anything so we never really had cookbooks. We always ate the basic stuff and I loved going to friends houses because they always had new and different things. So when I moved away I always swore that I would have cookbooks and that I would always be open to trying new foods.

Thankfully I have a family who loves trying new recipes/foods. So when a new cookbook comes in we are always excited to flip it open and devour the book.

I have to say that this is the first time I have seen a cookbook devoted solely to brisket and this cookbook doesn’t disappoint because there is a ton of brisket recipes in the book. The recipes range from braised to barbecued to oven cooked to slow cooked. You name it you can probably do it.

The Brisket Book covers everything a cook book should such as cooking advise, butcher insight, the history of the brisket, chef interviews, plus tons of photographs, illustrations, cartoons and graphics. The recipes are all easy to follow and come from all kinds of sources (Chefs, cook book authors, etc).

The one I decided to make was Texas Oven-Roasted Beef Brisket and it was really good and I have to say that it tasted much better the second day. The only thing is I adjusted the recipe a little bit because I can’t eat really spicy food.

Texas Oven Roasted Beef Brisket
Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 bay leaf, crushed
• 1 (4lb) beef brisket trimmed
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a small bowl, make a dry rub by combining the chili powder, salt, garlic, onion, pepper, sugar, dry mustard and bay leaf. Season the brisket all over with the rub. Place the brisket in a roasting pan and roast, uncovered in the oven for an hour.
3. Add the beef stock and enough water to yield about 1/2 inch of liquid in the pan and then tightly cover with aluminum foil. Lower the heat to 300 and continue to cook untils its fork tender about 3 hours.
4. Transfer to a cutting board and trim off any excess fat and then thinkly slice the meat against the grain. Serve with pan juices.

Thanks again Andrews McMeel for sending this to us. Bon appetite everyone.