Cooking a Beef Brisket

With proper cooking tips, the least tender meat pieces can be made tender and juicy. The same holds true for a beef brisket, which is the cut meat from the breast area of beef. In the earlier days, this meat was considered worthless and used mostly in hamburgers. Today, it is popularly used as a versatile meat, especially because of its taste and low price.

It tastes good when it is braised, smoked, grilled, or barbecued. Besides the cooking part, proper selection of the meat is also important. As per your taste, you can opt for the flat cut or point cut. Though point cut is more flavorful, it contains more fat. Hence, if you are very conscious about the calorie intake, go for flat cut.

A corned beef brisket is nothing but salt treated meat. It tastes best when served with other vegetables. An alternative is, to cook potatoes, vegetables, and the beef in the same pot

• First of all, boil the corned beef in a large-sized pot, over a medium flame. Make sure that the meat is completely submerged in water.
• In case seasoning is provided in the packet, add it in the boiling pot. Otherwise you can add 2 tablespoons of salt, pepper, dill seeds, and other culinary herbs for seasoning.

• Always maintain medium heat and keep the lid on. Check for the water amount and add, if necessary. Cook the beef for about 4 hours or until the meat turns tender.
• Once the meat is cooked properly, take it out and let it cool for about 15 minutes. You can cut the meat in slices and serve it hot with another vegetable dish or a dip, like a spicy sauce.

Grilled beef briskets are simply delightful. If available, opt for a corn brisket as it tastes better when cooked over a grill. Even if you are planning to cook a brisket in the oven, you can follow the same basic tips which are discussed below

• Ignite the grill and place a foil pan or a drip pan.
• Then, lay a correct size aluminum foil (enough to wrap the meat) over a flat surface. Remove the beef from the packet and allow it to drip water (if needed) before transferring it to the foil.

• With the non-fat side facing down, place the it in the center of the foil. Then, gently wrap the meat to make it leak proof.

• The next step is to place the prepared meat in the center of the drip pan, over the grill. If you enjoy eating baked potatoes with it, wrap potato slices in a foil and place it on the grill too.

• Turn the beef and potatoes occasionally. Maintain the grill temperature within the range 250-275 ºF. Also, make sure that you keep a watch over the grill for safety purpose.

• Remove potato when it is done. After cooking the meat in its own fat for about 4-5 hours, you can check whether it is done or not. Take care that the oil drips in the drip pan (not outside).
• Let the grilled beef cool down. Add chopped vegetables and serve hot with your favorite sauce.

One advantage of consuming beef is that it is available all the year round. So, if you have different ways of preparing this dish, then, serving tasty meals to your friends and family members on weekends and special occasions will be fun.