Recipes for Success
Charlie shares his passion of cooking with his family and closest friends. He gathers "inspo" from Lidia Bastianich and of course, Julia Child.
Braised Brisket
A traditional Eastern European dish. We live in Kansas City where smoked brisket is as common as PB&J. We leaned into our family roots to explore a different style which is great for Easter, Passover, or any other special holiday.
*See recipe below
Beat That Steak
When the meat temp is just under rare, pick up the steak and slam it on the grates with the tongs repeatedly. You want to separate the protein from the fat. It will coagulate the fatty strips.
Cover steaks with butter while resting.
Simmer a few cups of water and add Better than Boullion (Beef) stock. You can thicken your au jus with flour.
Slice steak across the grain and add the dripping to the au jus. Dip rare pieces in the simmering au jus to remove the pink for certain guests.
Float Your Meatballs
Step 1: Turn on Italian music or some Frank Sinatra.
Trick, a 2:1 ground beef to pork ratio and one egg per pound of meat. Use breadcrumbs or flour to help them stick together. In your breadcrumb mix, add garlic and onion powder, all spice, salt, and pepper. Add Italian grated cheese.
Roll larger than golf balls.
Broil on high heat for 5 mins on the middle rack. Take them out, turn them, return to broil for 5 mins.
Add the balls to your Sunday Sauce and simmer.
Now, a glass of wine.
Add a footnote if this applies to your business
Braised Brisket Recipe
· Get the meat room temp if possible. Pat dry with paper towels (Not end of the world if that doesn't happen)
· Baste with olive oil and dust with your favorite flour, salt, and pepper
· In a cast iron or a Dutch oven brown the meat on all sides at a medium heat. Do your best to get a slight golden-brown char on the brisket.
· If the bits on the bottom of the pan are too smoky, you can remove…but some people say that’s the best part to add to the stock (taste it with a spoon).
· Deglaze the pan with a red or white wine (or water). Reduce a bit, pour the remaining liquid into a bowl and set aside for later.
· Sautee chopped onion, carrots, celery, and any other root vegetables you have in your fridge. Add the garlic last, it burns quickly, so you only need about 30 seconds to soften and slightly crisp.
· In your Dutch oven, add your sauteed vegetables and a few (3 or 4) tomatoes. Place your brisket on top of the vegetables.
· Add the liquid you set aside plus 2 cups of water. Sprinkle garlic powder (two tablespoons) and Italian herbs (one table spoon)
· Add a heaping scoop of chicken and beef bouillon. (I use Better than Bouillon, it’s premium)
· Cover with a lid and cook on the stove on low or preferably in the oven at 250 for 5 – 7 hours depending on the size of the brisket. Think about 1 pound per hour at least.
· Check every hour and flip it so it is cooking evenly. It should be slightly submerged in liquid. Taste the liquid...does it need anything? More salt, more garlic, more Boullion?)
· You will know its done when you can push into the brisket with a fork and it breaks away into chunks. Pull it before it’s shredded beef.
· Removed the brisket from the liquid and set aside. Tent the meat with foil.
· Strain the liquid into a pot and make a gravy. (This is my secret and favorite trick.)
· Grab a cup of the hot strained liquid into a coffee mug. Add your flour (I use Arrowroot which is the
best non-wheat flour for making a gravy.) Whisk or stir the flour so there are no chunks.
· Pour the coffee mug of flour mix into your pot of bouillon and stir over medium heat. Reduce the liquid. You will see and hear the liquid bubble. That is MAGIC. Now, turn that to low or off and prepare your meat.
· Slice your meat into large chunks.
· Serve over a vegetable, mashed potatoes, rice, or on its own.
· When you serve your guests, drizzle the gravy on top and let them tell you “When”.
· Enjoy!
