Most tales that include cold-cured marinated brisket evoke joy and good will. Not so this.
I mean I made sure the story wrapped up on a good note, but there was the cost which whirled away down the potty, don’t think that didn’t hurt, and the time I’d spent each night giving the meat its massage of spices and salt. If I knew what I did wrong I’d just kick myself and learn and be done with it, but I don’t know what I did wrong. And what really got me bummed was missing out on the flavor that Laurie swooned over.
I know, I always get ahead of myself.
Let’s make like Julie Andrews and start at the very beginning: years ago I became enthralled by a recipe for Spiced Beef, a traditional Christmastime treat in the UK, in More Home Cooking. The book was written by Laurie Colwin, who passed away suddenly some 20 years ago, who I’ve never met, and yet miss like a best bud. We’re cut from the same cloth, as two of the 11 people on Planet Earth who champion English recipes. Hers was Elizabeth David’s version. I saw a recipe for Spiced Beef again in a vintage collection of UK recipes I bought at a used book sale. And there was a version of it on Nigella’s site, and another on boston.com. This looked Promising.
Laurie’s recipe made too much (it feeds 8-10), so I went with the recipe in my vintage cookbook instead. Whole Foods kindly sold me 3 lbs. of lean brisket, and I snatched up black peppercorns (1 tablespoon), whole allspice (1 tablespoon), dried juniper berries (1/4 cup), dark brown sugar (1/4 cup), and coarse salt (1/4 cup). It was a combo I had never tasted, and it sounded wild. Laurie called it magnificent. Game on.
The recipe said I was to coat the meat with the brown sugar, place it in a casserole dish, cover it, and let it sit in the fridge for two days. Then I was to crush the spices and salt, then scatter and press a tablespoon of it into the meat every day for 12 days. This dry rub would act as a preservative to seal in freshness*.
I followed the recipe to the letter. I’m a good listener. Okay, one thing—I finished in 11 days and not 12 because the rub ran out. But I coddled that meat like a flat pink newborn. I also took three more precautions:
1) To be sure it would keep four weeks after cooking, as it said it would, I called a butcher for a professional opinion. Went straight to the top—Lobel’s, NYC, five generations. Evan Lobel, who I saw a few years ago on television talking beef with Martha Stewart, picked up. I read the recipe to him and he disagreed with the longevity, thinking it would keep 10 days, tops. I found another opinion online that said 4-5 days. Fine, we’ll polish it off in a week.
2) I had a feeling my oven thermometer was slowly going on the fritz, so I replaced it.** I was right.
3) I set the pan on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, all the way in the back where it’s coldest.
Yesterday was cooking day. You take some or all of the spices off, drain off the liquid in the casserole dish, put the meat back in, add 3/4 cup of cold water to the dish, and cover it. Then you cook it on the middle rack of the oven for 3.5 hours at 275 degrees F. This is how it looked just before cooking time. I swear I sang little songs to it.
Can you tell anything’s wrong? Me neither.
After a half hour, I could smell it. That’s when I started to worry, and that’s when it started and ended—right there with my nose. It wasn’t horrible, just…off. I went through all of the question marks in my head.
Will it smell better once it’s finished cooking? Does it smell this way because it’s coated with sugar and a mix of spices I’ve never cooked before? Should I taste it?*** Do I lose my mind now, or wait until I have the meat nicely settling on a cooking rack?
I didn’t even throw it away immediately. Almost went through the last steps of weighing the meat under a board and letting it press down overnight. With as much as I pampered this brisket, it felt like it should be interred, maybe with chanting and a few carefully chosen words, not just tossed away. I put it in a Hefty freezer bag first, which isn’t the same as interment after a soak in myrrh, but decent.
Reliving this has been less than enjoyable. For you, too, right? Let’s bring on the holiday cheer.
I am a stage tech in my down time, and we learn to be problem solvers. If we don’t, we can at the very least foul up the show; and at the very most, get hurt or hurt someone else.**** And yesterday, after it hit me that the meat was gone, I was in a state: I’d eaten half a 72% blueberry-chocolate bar to drown my sorrows, so I was hopping. Plus I have a very big problem, in general, with failing *entirely*; if I fail at something, I want either to fix it or to wring the best out of it, and that’s on me to make happen. So I thought about it.
Replacing the brisket and starting over entirely without the benefit of knowing what went wrong—obviously that was out. I knew I wanted to taste what I should have tasted, that strange primitive combination of flavors with meat. THAT I could do, in a different way.
Night had fallen and it was still raining—had been all day. I put on my coat and turned my collar to the cold and damp. Then I went to the store and bought fresh ground turkey.
When I got home, I formed three patties and into them pressed 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Then I covered the pan and set it on the cold shelf of the fridge to soak overnight.
This morning with my mortar and pestle I crushed 1 teaspoon each of juniper berries, whole allspice, black peppercorns, and salt, pressed it into the patties, and set them back in the fridge for an hour. I sliced a wedge of seeded semolina bread for a roll, which is about as English as baklava, but so what, and I tossed some potatoes from the organic farm with some fresh horseradish from my friend Peggy, who grows it for Passover and always ends up with a yard full. Nigella said the beef goes well with horseradish potatoes.
Then I cooked everything, and then I ate everything, and it was freaking spectacular. I’m not even BSing you to make up for the lurid saga above. I got to taste those flavors. Serious happiness. And tomorrow’s and Tuesday’s burgers will probably be even better because they’ll have had a chance to marinate in the spices more.
Yes, I am going to try Spiced Beef again sometime. And if any readers out there have made it and have pinpointed where I screwed up, speak right up and help a girl out.
*I sound like a Gladware commercial.
**My oven’s 25 degrees off. The joy of cooking, indeed.
***This was the toughest to resist. You will be glad to hear I did not taste it.
****Or God forbid, hurt the set.
I sympathise. We did exactly the same thing last year. Did everything just as you described – slight difference in the spices involved, but the process was exactly the same. Same end result. Dodgy smelling, wound up in the bin. Haven’t had the guts to try again. 😦
Hi Jenny–So nice to hear from you! Yes, that’s the word: dodgy. If I learn what happened, I’ll drop you a line.
What else are you making this year? Happy Christmas 🙂
I don’t doubt your nose, but I would have tasted it.
Yeah…I may have been wrong, but I didn’t want to risk getting sick.
You might want to call Lobel’s again and ask one of the butchers what they think might have happened. I agree with your thinking about not tasting the meat; it’s never worth getting sick!
I was thinking about that. The gentleman I spoke with was new to the recipe; maybe someone else is familiar with it. Thanks!
Don’t use salt in the marinade that’s starting a cooking process and the meat gone be dry and taste like x
Try with out salt!
Good luck.
Best regards from Norway
Hi Janne–Thank you for your message! Salt is a preservative, though; won’t I have less of a chance of keeping it fresh if I don’t use any salt?
Was surprised to see this referred to as a ‘UK’ dish, Marisa, but when I checked out Elizabeth David’s Spices, Salt & Aromatics in the English Kitchen, she suggested it had been around for up to 300 years but during all the time I lived in England, nobody had ever heard of it. In Cork, in Ireland (not part of UK), however, it is a different story where it is not only an essential Christmas dish but is also eaten all year round and is regaining a national audience in Ireland. And, the reason it is so popular in Cork is it was most probably first conceived here, in the 17th century when Cork was the second most important port of the then British Empire and every single ship that sailed West stopped here for much of the provisions for the voyage, the better to pick them up at the very last opportunity in the days before refrigeration! In those days, meat was preserved in whatever fashion possible and Cork is also the source of ‘corned beef’, the dish Americans believe us Irish eat on St Patrick’s Day but probably hasn’t been consumed here for almost a hundred years! 🙂 British sailors sailed the world on a diet of corned beef and spiced beef and most probably developed a taste for spiced beef and subsequently brought that back to England, hence the Elizabeth David recipe and the notion that it is English.
As to your cooking problems: we mix ALL ingredients together, including the sugar (I fail to see the point of the two days of sugar only despite it being in the ED book and definitely do NOT leave the salt out as suggested above, that’s actually potentially dangerous) and rub it ALL into every nook and cranny of the dried meat. It is then put in an earthenware dish in a fridge and turned every day for anywhere between three and ten days. The longer you leave it, the spicier it will become. Some liquid will seep out but that’s fine. After that, it is slow simmered, COMPLETELY submerged for up to three hours until cooked. If to be eaten cold, press down with a weight and put in the fridge. Other than that, I’d wonder about the quality of the meat you were using? All Irish beef is grass fed and with none of the growth hormones found in American beef. I reckon you should find yourself a nice piece of organic brisket and have another crack at it because it’s a stunning dish when done properly. Best of luck with it! 🙂
Thank you SO much for writing–for the history lesson and for the instructions! I feel better already. Some questions and comments:
“we mix ALL ingredients together, including the sugar (I fail to see the point of the two days of sugar only despite it being in the ED book and definitely do NOT leave the salt out as suggested above, that’s actually potentially dangerous)”–I can do this.
-“and rub it ALL into every nook and cranny of the dried meat.”–I did not rub it into every nook and cranny–couldn’t using just 1 tablespoon a day–but certainly can if all ingredients are together and done in one shot. I bet this was the culprit.
-“It is then put in an earthenware dish in a fridge”–does it have to be earthenware? I used a Pyrex glass dish and covered it with aluminum foil.
-“and turned every day for anywhere between three and ten days. The longer you leave it, the spicier it will become. Some liquid will seep out but that’s fine.”–okay.
-“After that, it is slow simmered, COMPLETELY submerged for up to three hours until cooked.”–Submerged in water? How do I keep it from boiling over? At what temperature should the oven be set to? How can you tell it’s cooked? (My recipe said a knife should slide in easily.)
-“If to be eaten cold, press down with a weight and put in the fridge.”–so after submerging and cooking, it’s pressed and chilled? for how long?
-“Other than that, I’d wonder about the quality of the meat you were using? All Irish beef is grass fed and with none of the growth hormones found in American beef.”–I sought out meat with no hormones/steroids/antibiotics and will again. No worries there.
So many questions–hope it’s not a deterrent 🙂 Thank you once again, and looking forward to hearing from you!
Hi Marisa, sorry for delay but Xmas press deadlines, college assignments and my full time SoccerMom status have me goosed when it comes to finding time!
1. Yep, every nook and cranny, a teaspoon a day wasn’t going to do much for you.
2. Pyrex is fine, really, what you’re keen to avoid is a reactive surface e.g. stainless steel. Personally, I don’t cover it either but a loose sheet of foil and maybe a damp cloth to weigh it down should suffice – you are not trying to make it airtight.
3. You are actually going to cook it on the stove top, not the oven. Get a very large heavy duty pot with plenty of room for around the meat as well as above and fill it full of water. Add a fresh bay leaf. Why? Because I add a bay leaf to everything—they have unsurpassable mojo! Bring to a low boil and then turn down to a simmer. Some people would bring it to the boil, empty it all out and repeat (this time with the bay leaf), believing it will remove impurities but I’m happy to skim if necessary. As for how long? In effect, you are cooking at a low heat or slow cooking, breaking down the collagen so you should certainly be checking after two and a half hours. Whatever you do, keep detailed records. If you’re first effort is not to your satisfaction, note areas where you might have fallen down. Cooking times will be one area to pay attention to.
4. Weighing it down overnight should do the trick, anything from 12-24 hours. Personally, I infinitely prefer it cold and used as a class of pastrami-style meat. My kids love it in sandwiches.
5. Well done on the beef quality and I hope you enjoy a smidgeon of fine Irish Spiced Beef this Christmas, Marisa! Beannachtaí na Nollaig duit! j
J–Thank you ever so much.
Do I bring it to a boil before I let it slow simmer?
I can’t tell you the relief I feel, and can’t wait to try again next year! Wishing you and your family the very best, and a delicious spiced beef! ❤
that’s correct, Marisa, bring it slowly to the boil (I think if you do it rapidly, it tends to give the meat a bit of a ‘shock’, causing it to to ‘tighten up’)
and then turn down to slow simmer, have a lovely xmas and am looking forward to hearing about your next effort, j 🙂
Thanks again, J–and a happy Christmas to you, too!