BEER BRISKET

Do you ever find that those quiet days of summer are something of a legend? People talk about them, but who actually experiences them?  Around here, summer is usually a blur!

 When family and friends start to gather, we first head to the garden and see what we have available to help feed the masses. We find that by this time of the summer, fruit is great for extending a meal. A watermelon and a couple of baskets of peaches from a friends orchard really helped fill out the buffet the weekend of the family ball tournament. And the wild blueberries from the bush are delicious in everything from salad to dessert!
This weekend, we decided to prepare our usual crowd-pleaser: beef brisket on the smoker, but somehow, someone was uncharacteristically unorganized (oops!) . Upon checking the smoker when we returned home after the first game, we realized that we had not put the brisket in the smoker, so here is what we did:

BEER BRISKET

We had rubbed the 8 lb. beef brisket in our favorite rub the night before, and had set up the smoker in the morning.
 Realizing that I hadn't put the meat on, I filled the water pan with water and turned up the heat to 300°F. I put the brisket on the grids, closed the lid and let it cook slowly for 3 hours. Then, I simply opened up a bottle of beer and poured 1/4 cup of beer over top of the brisket every 30 minutes for the next 2 hours. At that point, we wrapped the brisket in foil, pouring another 1/4 cup beer into the foil wrapper, placed it back on the grids, turned the heat down to 250°F and let it sit for another hour. The end result when the team came back to the cottage was a delicious, moist brisket.

Was it ever refreshing served with a couple of salads and slices of fresh peaches!

Firm resolve is needed to win this game!

Happy to have finished the day without any trips to emerg!

Luckily, we had left someone else in charge of making this gooey, fruity grilled cake in the afternoon. 

GRILLED UPSIDE DOWN BLUEBERRY-PEACH CAKE

                 

     1/4           cup  butter

     1/2           cup  brown sugar

     1/2      teaspoon  cinnamon

     1/2      teaspoon  fresh ginger,grated

     1           teaspoon  lemon juice

      3 peaches, peeled and sliced

      1 cup wild blueberries

                                   

                       

 For the batter:

     1/3           cup  butter

     1/2           cup  sugar

      2             eggs, beaten lightly

      1/2          cup milk

     1/2           tsp  vanilla

     1/4            tsp  salt

     1 1/4        cups  flour, all-purpose

     2              tsp  baking powder

• Preheat barbecue on HIGH for 10 minutes. Reduce heat setting to MEDIUM, so that oven thermometer consistently reads 350°F(177 °C).

• Mix together the butter, sugar, cinnamon and ginger, and spread on the bottom of a heavy grill-proof 10" baking pan (preferably cast iron or coated cast iron). Arrange the sliced peaches and blueberries on top.

• In a separate mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar, and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla and salt and stir until smooth.  Add flour and baking powder and beat for one minute. Pour the batter over the fruit layer.

•  Place pan on the left side of the grill and turn off left burner. Close the lid and cook until the top of the cake springs back, about 45 minutes. As always, monitor the oven temperature while cooking and adjust as required, to maintain a temperature of 350°F(177 °C). Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. 

Beef Brisket on the Smoker

The holiday season was so great. Our kids were home off and on for almost a month - there was always somebody coming or going, and to be honest, that is how we like it. The best dinners are when we have to add a few more settings to the table because somebody has invited a friend or 2  to join us!
But, things have started to quiet down a bit as everyone has headed back to school or work. So Friday night, we were able to head into Toronto to take in a Raptors game. We took this shot to bring home for the girls to look at - we heard that Kim Kardashian's ex-husband Kris Humphries was available.(There were no takers)

Mark didn't get the memo about slowing down though! He was so excited to have received a chain-saw for Christmas from his loving wife that he felt compelled to get to it! He and our neighbour Luke took down a few trees on Sunday. What a sight- at least it was very entertaining for the photographer.

 Meanwhile, since he is such a great multi-tasker, he was able to coax Leslie into giving him a hand at the smoker, before she headed back to Toronto.

Deli Style Brisket

½ cup kosher salt

6 tablespoons packed brown sugar

¼ cup pickling spices

8 cups water

4 pound beef brisket

Rub:

¼ cup black pepper

¼ cup toasted coriander seeds

¼ cup mustard seeds

6 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoon garlic powder

Mop:

Few tablespoons rub

1 cup white wine vinegar

1 cup water

24 hours ahead, combine the brine ingredients in a large bowl.  Place the brisket in an extra large ziplock and pour the brine over it.  Seal well and place in a shallow pan in the refrigerator.

The next day, light the smoker, settingthe temperature at around 225 ° F and sprinkle the coals with soaked  wood chips.  Drain the brisket and pat it with the rub.  Place the brisket on the smoker (without the diffuser) and mop every 45 minutes for 3 ½ hours.  Wrap the brisket in foil and continue to cook at a low temperature for another 2 hours. 

Let the brisket stand at room temperature for 20 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain.  Serve with your favourite mustard, pickles, and Charlie’s Red Onion Chutney. He found the recipe in The Guardian.

RED ONION CHUTNEY

8 red onions
1 red chilli
2 bay leaves
25ml olive oil
200g brown sugar
150ml balsamic vinegar
150ml red wine vinegar
Step 1: Cut your onions and chilli into short, thin slices and put them into a pan with the bay leaves and oil. Cook gently over a low heat for about 20 minutes.

Step 2: Once the onions are dark and sticky, add the sugar and the vinegars and simmer for 30 minutes or so, until the chutney is thick and dark.

Step 3: Pour the chutney into hot, sterilised jars and let it cool. Ideally, you should leave it for a month or more before you eat it, to mature in flavour.

Makes about 4-6 jars.

Be patient - Today may your the lucky day!