We have the lovely Boglárka Kiss of Vadrózsa Tarot to thank for this hop’s theme. Her co-wrangler is Jay Cassell. Here is what she’s asked us to blog about today.
Choose a character – or two or three – from your favorite Tarot deck (it can be a Major or Minor Arcana character), and try to find out what they would cook at Harvest Home so as to give their best to others so that Light should become a blessing in all of us.Share with us a special – sacred – method of cooking or preparing a dish – it can also be a cooking ritual –, or think of a recipe that contains sacred and consecrated elements so that they can give their best to us.
This theme made me very happy since I love to cook. Recently we had a sale at a local grocery for brisket at 1.87 a lb. which is super cheap. My husband and I both adore brisket. There was only one tiny little problem.
I didn’t know how to make brisket. I knew how to eat it–hells to the yeah, did I know how to eat it. I actually once asked someone to marry me because of their brisket. They shook their head no but did give me more meat. But cook it? Yikes! I knew there was something about slow temps and long cooking times, but that was the extent of it.
So I did what any self-respecting cook would do. I asked my friends. Man, did they put out. I used one my sister sent me but I misread it so I ended up marinating it for two days instead of one. It came out really nicely.
Then, as I usually do, I decided to go off-book for the next one. I bought this based on the name alone. Covered the brisket in it along with some extra garlic. Then I marinated it in one bottle of Worcestershire sauce, one bottle of liquid smoke, and a bottle of Angry Apple Cider. This was a ten-pound brisket by the way. Then I covered it in foil.
That went in the fridge for 24 hours. Yes, 24 hours. 😀 Pulled it out and drained that first marinade. Added more rub, then put in the same marinade. This time I put it in the oven at 275 degrees for 40 minutes. 40 minutes per pound that is. Which is about 6.66 hours.
And that brings me to the Tarot part of this post. Now I’ll bet you are thinking that I’m going to call this the Devil’s brisket, but you would be wrong. The Devil already has a recipe speaking of marriage proposals. I actually have a lot of cards and recipes already done. You can see the full index here. No, for this meal I kicked around a few cards with the two front runners being the Emperor (I mean c’mon…10 lbs of meat?) and the Queen of Pentacles.
As I read about the different ways to cook brisket, one thing came up over and over. Many of my friends with Jewish heritage (or Jewish friends) mentioned brisket as a Jewish tradition. And, for me, the Queen of Pentacles is a perfect Jewish mom. She’s caring. She’s traditional. She wants the best for her family and is not afraid to do what it takes to raise them to the standards she thinks necessary. Please note–I’m not Jewish. But the Jewish moms I’ve met have all had this amazingly deep sense of family. So I may be stereotyping but I hope I’m doing it a good way.
The Queen of Pentacle’s Brisket
- 10-12lb brisket (if you have to have it cut down, do it lengthwise so you get the full brisket from thick to thin)
- 2 bottles of Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 bottles of Liquid Smoke (I recommend Stubb’s if you can find it)
- 2 bottles of hard apple cider
- Fiesta Dry Brisket Rub (Or a good mix of cayenne, garlic, salt, pepper and I don’t know what else)
- Garlic powder
- Place in large pan (I use aluminum foil roasters) fat-side up. Cover in dry rub (and extra garlic) and rub it in. Pour 1 bottle of Worcestershire, Liquid Smoke and cider over your brisket making sure it gets on all sides. Cover with foil. Put in fridge for 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 Celsius)
- Pull out of fridge. DO NOT DISCARD FOIL. Pour off marinade (down the sink, don’t reuse.) Marinade with same three ingredients. Add more rub and garlic.
- Cover with foil making sure to tent it.
- Place in oven. Set timer for 40 minutes per pound (you do the math.) DO NOT OVERCOOK.
When it is ready, let it sit for a good 15 minutes at least. This allows the juice to spread through the meat. Nothing worse than dried-out brisket.
Serve with love and compassion, just like the lovely Queen of Pentacles.
P.to the S. I am saving this at 12:59pm MST 9/22/17. LOL I’ll come back and add pictures!
We’ve got a southern-style restaurant in town that does BBQ of all sorts and they’ve got brisket on the menu. To be honest, I was disappointed – it wasn’t that great – but I don’t know why I’d have ever thought that a restaurant so far north could cook such a dish. It may be a traditionally Jewish dish, but I’ve only ever seen it cooked by southern BBQ chefs. *shrugs* I guess I’ll have to invite myself over the next time you’re cooking brisket?
Absolutely love visiting your entries, they are always filled with such a vibrant fun energy. The style in which you write is just so wonderful as it just takes me right in as if I am sitting in the kitchen or across from you in a cafe catching up. I seem to end up leaving your entries on a high, so thank you for that.
How appropriate that this lovely Jewish-styled recipe is published during Rosh Hashanah! Happy New Year, blessed Harvest Home, and bright lights of Mabon to you–and I will definitely be trying this recipe! (((hug)))
Can’t wait for the pictures. I can definitely see the Queen of Pents wanting to feed everyone some delicious stick-to-your ribs fare! Maybe some mac and cheese to go with the brisket…
What the actual hibbitydoodah is brisket, Google? Ah, cow. Me no eat cow.
Thank you Arwen for the new word I have learned! :))
🙂 Uhh, now… I am hungry like Hell. 🙂 Even if it is not the Devil’s brisket. But the Queen of Pentacles does it very tasty, I am sure. It is a must-try for me. 😛
I also had to google brisket like Katalin 🙂 but I really dig the Queen of Pents persona. I always see that card as the one most likely to feed (maybe assertively overfeed out of love!) but when you mom’ed her she got really clear for me. I’ve been around quite a few moms (and my last employer!) who have that energy.
I have a marvellous recipe for Scottish spiced beef (involving a lengthy marinade in all sorts of spices, including juniper berries, and sugar). It’s absolutely delicious – email/PM me if you want the recipe and I’ll dig it out for you.
Great-sounding brisket (but loved Katalin’s vegetarian query!). A recipe to keep, and nicely simple, as well. Thanks, Arwen!