The Brisket Book: A Love Story with Recipes by Stephanie Pierson

Author:Stephanie Pierson [Pierson Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781449406998
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
Published: 2011-04-21T04:00:00+00:00

And while Nach has over 12,000 titles in the store at any given time, he is a passionate advocate for not cooking with recipes. His hope is that people will get to know and appreciate food on a much more visceral level—understanding the ingredients that go into a dish, learning what and why flavors go together, and then internalizing this knowledge.

BRISKETING WITH JOAN NATHAN

My day with Joan—who lives in a sunny, sprawling white house in a leafy suburb of Washington, D.C.—was a revelation. Joan is so relaxed in her kitchen that you immediately think, oh, it’s that easy? I don’t have to be all teaspoony and micro-measured, counting out the peppercorns? Joan’s kitchen, by the way, is probably twice as large as my whole apartment. It has vast counter space; a long, lovely country dining table; well-used pots and pans; cookbooks and fresh flowers. It’s a homey home for a cook who is not the least bit fussy or pretentious.

Joan prepped for my visit with a huge brisket flat, a sturdy four-pounder that she had had the butcher trim of some fat. Carrots, onions, celery, and sprigs of herbs surrounded this hunky meat, suggesting a colorful still life that could have been painted in the 1700s.

Throughout the prepping and the cooking, I asked Joan questions. Joan, you should know, is the ultimate multi-multitasker. At any given time during our brisket session, two phones would ring, six e-mails would come in, the plumber would have an urgent question about the drip in the ceiling, Joan’s assistant would need an okay for a speaking engagement, Joan would be discussing lunch (no brisket yet—it had hours to go), Joan would be looking for a wine opener, and the director for my book video would be waving Joan closer to the stove so we could get a shot of the brisket browning. And she didn’t miss a beat.

ME: “What makes a Jewish brisket so special?”

JOAN: “The love. Brisket is such comfort food. Smell my house.”

ME: “I think there should be a brisket fragrance—eau de brisket.”

ME, THINKING: “Could they spritz it at Bloomingdale’s? Hmm …”

ME: “What makes your recipe so special to you?”

JOAN: “Everyone grew up with their mother’s brisket and so did I. My mother made a kind of sauerbraten. She served it many times throughout the year, especially for Rosh Hashanah and Chanukah, with farfel, tiny bits of tiny noodles, like tiny Israeli couscous. She still makes it although she is a mere ninety-seven years old.”

ME: “Brisket basics?”

JOAN: “When you make it, get a first cut with some fat on it. There’s nothing worse than a dry brisket.”

ME: “Slice before or after cooking?”

JOAN: “After, with slices about ¼ inch thick.”

ME: “To freeze or not? The leftovers, I mean.”

JOAN: “Freeze always. No problem.”

ME: “If you’re Jewish and you make a terrible brisket, does that make you a bad person?”

JOAN: “It just means you probably don’t put in enough water for a good braise.”

JOAN, PUTTING HER BRISKET IN THE OVEN: “You can never have too much brisket.

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