Brisket is one of the seven prime cuts of beef and the toughest. Cut from the breast or chest of the cow, the brisket is full of connective tissue. In order to soften it and make it tasty, it must be seared and then slow cooked, about an hour per pound of meat at a moderate 250° setting. When cooked correctly, the tissue gelantinizes into a rich, tender meat.
Corned beef and pastrami are made from brisket. However, it takes patience to cook.
In the Mayflower Community (Grinnell IA), we have special ovens in both the Buckley (independent living) and Health Center kitchens. The Rational oven is a combination cooking system composed of shelves that cook at various temperatures. The oven can act as a smoker or a convection oven due to high-performance air circulation and a dehumidifier.
According to Justin Faircloth, Mayflower Food Service Cook, “With the new Vario Smoker® attachment for our Rational ovens, we are able to smoke and fully cook brisket, pork shoulder, and ribs in a fraction of the time a traditional smoker would require. A typical large brisket would require 11 hours in a traditional smoker, but with the Vario in the Rational oven we can reduce it to almost half the time.”
The finished meat is tender and delicious.
Ironically, in the middle of the power outage across Grinnell that followed the derecho storm, we were able to use our generator-powered Rational oven and smoke brisket for dinner in the Health Center, in Beebe Assisted Living, and on the Buckley patio for independent living residents. It was delicious!
— Bob Mann, Sales & Marketing Director