I can’t believe it’s September 17th already. Summer is over…my birthday has come and gone…and Fall is just around the corner. Where does the time go?
I was out in the garden tonight. Deadheading some flowers and thinking about all the commitments I’ve made. I’ve fulfilled some of them, dropped a few and wishing how I can make everything happen. Basically, I’ve decided that it will happen when it happens. Much like the brisket that sat in my refrigerator since March. Don’t worry! It was in a vacuum sealed package and perfectly safe. My husband was going to make it, but as usual, he never got around to it until this past weekend. And what a story do I have to tell you!
He thought it would be so easy to make, follow the directions on the package. Stick it in the crockpot, pour in the seasonings, etc. and let it go for 4 hours with an occasional stir so it doesn’t burn on the bottom. Well, I must say that after 4 hours… the beautiful brisket was even close to be cooked through. In fact, it was so not done that we couldn’t even “put a fork in it”. So we left it to cook for another 8 hours and had a pizza for dinner.
Lesson learned: If the package says it will take 4 hours, check another recipe to be sure (well he did, but saw several different cooking times!)
Brisket Dinner – Sunday, September 16, 2012 |
So what else did we learn. Don’t use the pre-packaged seasoning that comes with brisket. There is way too much salt, so you need to season it yourself. There is a fair amount of fat with this meat…but if it’s cook right, the fat will mostly cook away and leave a nice flavor in the meat.
We paired the brisket with two kinds of potatoes – red and yellow. Always add a vegetable; we had green beans. And we had some bread because every good meal has bread.
And for the best part: this meal has been priced out at $3.00 – $4.00 per serving. And we had at least 5-6 servings out of this!
So if brisket isn’t your thing, that’s okay. But at least try it once if you haven’t. Learn from our mishaps and it will be even better than the one we had!
Buon appetito!