Help! Can I rescue a tough brisket?

Question

I just made my first ever brisket for a Hanukkah party tomorrow night,and while the flavor is great, the texture is, umm, chewy.

I followed a recipe which instructed cooking it fat side down, and now I'm wondering if that was a mistake. 

So can this be rescued? Can I slice and reheat in sauce? Cook longer? Help me save this otherwise tasty meat!

Thanks!!!

sljones

Answer

It's most likely tough because it has not been cooked long enough. As suggested above, slice and put in sauce it was cooked in, and heat for another hour or so.

Actually, the way I cook it is to slice when it's still tough and put back to cook another hour (I add portabellas, sliced!). That way it's sliced -- it's hard to make neat slices once it's tender. So if you refrigerate it and re-heat tomorrow for an hour or so it should be great! No worries.

Answer

The brisket has been sliced and recooked, and things seem improved. The real test will come tomorrow, but many thanks for the input! I'll be sure to give you the final verdict!

Answer

We usually cook ours in a pressure cooker and it comes out tender. If you are lucky enough to have a good meat slicer you can slice it thin against the grain and make good hot roast beef sandwiches. Just make sure the meat is cold before you slice it.

Answer

Today, the meat definitely tastes less tough. I sliced it and cooked longer, but perhaps the cooling process helped as well.

Thanks for the good advice and moral support! I think dinner will be great after all!

One quick question....why wait until cool to slice? Is that just so it retains its juices?

Many, many thanks!

sljones

Answer

i had this mistake when i made my first lamb tagine. i used a recipe from a very well known moroccan cookbook "momo" and the meat was toughhhhhhh. at the time, i didn't understand why also. so i just let it cook at least 1-2 hours longer than the recipe called for and it turned out fine!
when in doubt, keep cooking these tough cuts of meat. it won't ruin it. :)

Answer

I made a corned beef brisket in the oven and started it early Friday morning. Cooked it for about 3 hour at 335 with a rub of garlic powder,onion, celery, pepper, brown sugar and a combo of brown mustard (golden;s and yellow ballpark) and a little bag of pickling spices oh and about a half cup of water, then covered with foil.

After my first experience a few years ago eating it boiled, I prefer the roasting method. For St. Patty's day, I add the carrots,potatoes and cabbage about an hour prior to pulling.
i do slice it against the grain on a slight diagonal.

It is always juicy and fall apart tender. The one I made the other day was the same, we just used it for sandwiches on small rolls. It was delicious and gone within minutes.

Answer

Ok soak the beef in milk for an hour then ret y rn it to the oven should be fine.

Answer

I gave up when after cooking and cooking brisket and it still was like shoe leather. I cubed it, put it in a Dutch oven on low heat in oven with all the liquid and after one and a half hours a perfect stew. Added the carrots and onions, and sauteed mushrooms to the pot. My guests thought it was delicious.

Topics

Locations

Your post has been published!

Help! Can I rescue a tough brisket?

Chowhound Recommends

What's the Difference

Points, Flats, and Packers: What's the Difference Between Brisket and Texas Brisket?

More from Chowhound

Guides

The Ultimate Spring Produce Guide: What's in Season & How to Use It

Recipe Round-Ups

Quick and Easy Instant Pot Breakfast Recipes for Less Morning Stress

Guides

How to Care for Enameled Cast Iron So It Lasts a Lifetime

Home

The Best Tool to Clean a Wood Cutting Board Is Probably in Your Compost Bin

Trending Discussions

Favorite Chowhound Memories

A Final Goodbye for Chowhound

Chowhound Recipes That You are Saving

Food52: Goodbye to Chowhound, the Internet’s First Food Hub

NY Times: Chowhound Closes After 25 Years of Food Obsession, Wisdom and Debate

Quick Links

Latest Discussions

Cookbook of the Month

Dish of the Month

Weekly Menu Planning

Get fresh food news delivered to your inbox

12 Irish Foods to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day That Aren’t Corned Beef and Cabbage

Chowhound

Policies

Community

Editorial

Content