My husband was a huge fan of buying a large piece of meat and eating it in different forms every night of the week. It provided a way for us to buy less meat and still give us a different meal every night if we wanted. We made sure the grocery list included whatever we needed to make it different ways. This week, Mom suggested I do it again and Cox Cashsaver had a meat sale last weeknd so we picked up a big brisket.

Brisket was one of his favorite pieces of meat to use in this fashion. Brisket is a breast piece of beef. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, the original cuts made by a butcher after slaughter. The brisket muscles include superficial and deep pectorals. Cattle do not have collar bones so these muscles support about 60% of the weight of cattle. This means there is a significant amount of connective tissue in these muscles. The resulting meat must be cooked correctly to tenderize the connective tissue otherwise the meat will be tough.

The key to a tender brisket is low and slow. The connective tissue will gelatinize with low temps and a little water, although cooking with soda will help break that down too. Larry would put on a brisket the night before on 250°F and just leave it alone until morning. The only problem with that was waking up hungry in the morning! It was always tender by the time we were ready to eat it though. He often just seasoned with salt and pepper or Head Country Seasoning. This way there was no war of flavors when we wanted to make something else out of it. Nowadays, I use the slow cooker to make it even easier.

Brisket comes with what is called a fat cap. If the fat cap is thick, cut it down to about ¼” thick. Don’t cut it all out though, some of your flavor comes from that cap. We always cooked ours in the large turkey roasting pan if using the oven, but use what you have that it will fit in best. In the slow cooker, it will most definitely have to be cut to fit, but mine is large enough I can just stack the pieces to fit with no problem.

This weekend, after you cook your brisket, look for new ways to use it. I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s meals, but you can also try quesadillas, nachos, a casserole or pasta. There are so many options! Pick up a few ingredients or check the pantry to use up some older foodstuffs. Then, meet me in the kitchen for a few different ways to use this large piece of meat.

--- Slow Cooker Brisket

1 brisket 1 20oz bottle Dr. Pepper 1 packet dry onion soup mix 1 Tbsp. paprika, more or less to taste Line slow cooker with Crock Pot liner. Trim fat as needed off meat, leaving about 1/4” in fat for added flavor. Cut meat so it will fit in slow cooker if needed. Add one full bottle of Dr. Pepper. Sprinkle meat with onion soup mix and paprika. Set slow cooker on low and cook 8-10 hours. This meat is so good and so very tender! Serve with veggies and bread for a full meal.

--- Brisket Street Tacos

3-4 cups shredded cooked brisket 1 medium onion, sliced as desired Corn tortillas Chopped cilantro Lime, sliced for squeezing if desired Crumbled cojita cheese Lettuce, tomato, onion, sour cream, salsa or other taco toppings as desired I used leftover meat so I just reheated the meat in a skillet with the onion until heated through and onions are translucent. Heat corn tortillas in microwave 20-30 seconds. Layer meat and onion mixture on each tortilla. Top with cilantro and cheese and squeeze lime juice over taco. If desired, add other toppings.

--- Brisket Sandwiches

Steak Rolls 2-3 cups sliced, cooked brisket, reheated if desired Sliced tomato Sliced onion Barbecue sauce Mayo Lightly toast bread. Layer brisket on bottom half of bread roll and spread mayo on top half. Top meat with barbecue sauce and top with onion and tomato and other toppings as desired. Other possible toppings include lettuce, banana peppers, avocado, etc.

--- Brisket Hash

2 Tbsps. unsalted sweet cream butter 2 large Idaho potatoes, 1/4-inch dice 2 large sweet potatoes, 1/4-inch dice Salt and pepper, to taste 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1 medium onion, diced ½ tsp. paprika Pinch of cayenne pepper, optional 1lb leftover, cooked beef brisket, roughly diced, plus ¼ - ½ cup braising liquid Heat butter in large saucepan over high heat. Cook Idaho and sweet potatoes until browned, approximately 10 minutes. Season with kosher salt while cooking. Turn heat down to medium and add garlic, onion, paprika and cayenne and cook another 10 minutes. Add brisket and some of the braising liquid, scraping bottom of the pan with a spatula or wooden spoon to clean off anything stuck. Add more braising liquid if pan seems dry and bring to simmer to bring all ingredients together. Season to taste if you feel it needs more. Serve with fried egg on top and a side of Texas toast for a complete meal. YUM!

Recipe adapted from foodnetwork. com.