284326 Wed Apr 05 14:06:23 -0700 2006 11 31 Home Cooking 0 1519825 In the first of what might be many questions about preparing for next week's Seder: I'm making my first brisket. Should I go for the Niman Ranch brisket (sold in SF by Bi-Rite at $9/lb)? Or will the Whole Foods brisket (maybe half the price) be alright or even better? When I talked to the folks at Bi-Rite, they said Niman Ranch brisket might be a bit less fatty. Is that a good thing when cooking brisket? The Niman Ranch brisket of course isn't kosher, but that's not a concern for this particular seder. Also -- I'm planning on using the coffee brisket recipe that I found on this board last week and now can't find but have printed out somewhere. Thanks in advance. Wed Apr 05 14:06:23 -0700 2006 0 david kaplan 1 1519836 What is the coffee brisket recipe? I normally pan sear mine on all sides and then cook it in my crock pot with all the fixins. Can you post the recipe when you get it or just email it to me? Thanks. Wed Apr 05 14:40:51 -0700 2006 1519825 0 laxmom 2 1519839 Ah, here it is, upon a closer look. Link is below. I've also seen this posted elsewhere and referred to as a NYTimes recipe. Already one family member wanted to make sure I'd use decaf coffee! Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/283946#1516957 Wed Apr 05 14:48:27 -0700 2006 1519836 0 david kaplan 1 1519841 I'm not altogether sure you are on the right board for that question - except the recipe part is OK here - Oh, I just don't know. BUT if there's a problem you could email me. I called Niman Ranch a few days ago - phone # on the website. they gave me a much cheaper estimate on the brisket for retail. I'm pretty sure they said $6 a pound if I bought a whole 10# brisket, which is what they said I would have to do - and that was fine with me as I could just cut it into like thirds and freeze two. You should call the NR customer service dept. and find out where else in SF and how much. Some places in town have lower & higher prices for NR. I get my hamburger at Bi Rite - because that's the only place that sells it near me - for $5.50# - very fair (but didn't taste that fresh to me - and I told BR and NR about that). TJ's has the very excellent london broil - it makes yummy rare steak. But the NR strip steaks at Cal mart at Laurel Village are $20#. The retailers can charge anything they want. Here's something that will surprise you - you can buy already cooked excellent brisket from the California Street restaurant to take out - sliced, by the pound for $9 a pound. Their cooked corn beef which they slice to order is NR and is fabulous at $9# - what a bargain, as is their wonderful chopped chicken liver at $7#. Now about whether to buy NR or something else. I am buying NR whenever I have the option now. First, let's be clinical - with health issues in the news, their quality control is the best - in a way you will never get from a giant supermarket operation. Also free range, grass fed. The flavor and texture is wonderful. But most important to me is the animal cruelty issue. I am always going to eat meat. I love meat. But ethics is a big issue with me. NR makes kindness to the animals a top priority. They are very unusual this way. A recent article in the NY Times reported on a kosher meat processor that was in violation of some animal treatment laws. My rabbi told me that Judaism specifically requires kindness to animals and prohibits Jews from hunting for pleasure which is considered cruel, as opposed to hunting for food, for this reason. Therefore, buying NR could be seen to be a Mitzvah - I mean, with the symbolism of Pesach, it makes sense to serve it for a seder. Besides Niman Ranch, there is a meat shop in the SF Ferry Building that also practices kindness to animals and the other issues - it's a farm operation in N. CA. I forget the name but it's on the west side of the building to the right of the main door as you enter - kind of near the olive oil shop. They also have brisket. Wed Apr 05 14:50:40 -0700 2006 1519825 0 Niki Rothman 1 1519849 I don't know about their uncooked brisket. However, the deli corned beef from Neiman Ranch that is sold at our local butcher shop is so fatty that it is almost inedible. After getting sliced corned beef that was 2/3 fat I told them that I would no longer buy Neiman Ranch. Maybe when you treat animal kindly they get fatter!!! Wed Apr 05 15:32:23 -0700 2006 1519825 0 emilief 2 1519866 The NR cooked corned beef sold at the JCC in SF at their California Street Deli/Cafe' is super lean and perfectly cooked. Almost no fat at all. $9/#. They'll give you all the excellent coarse ground mustard you need for it on the side - just ask. After I bought a seeded corn rye bread at House of Bagels on Geary, we were in sandwich heaven for several days from the pound I bought. Wed Apr 05 16:10:57 -0700 2006 1519849 0 Niki Rothman 3 1519899 I guess they send the fatty corned beef to the East Coast!!! Wed Apr 05 19:03:58 -0700 2006 1519866 0 emilief 1 1519880 No! brisket is supposed to be CHEAP! At our Winco in here in Southern Oregon, we see regular Brisket from $.99 to $1.99. And we see Painted Hills (organic) at about $1.99 to $2.99. Shop around. Wed Apr 05 17:09:18 -0700 2006 1519825 0 pepper anne 2 1519908 Painted Hills label says natural, not organic. Wed Apr 05 19:35:37 -0700 2006 1519880 0 pepper anne 1 1519911 No, no, no--only the kosher or kosher style butchers cut the brisket correctly. The kashruth keeps the animal drug free and clean. The brisket braises 3 to 4 hours and is then re-heated, so it is necessary to have a nice layer of fat on the top. You can order the single or double brisket, discuss with your butcher. I prefer the single brisket. Now to the corned beef discussion. It is awful if overly fat, but it does not taste right if it is extra lean, since then it is extra dry and extra tasteless. No corned beef afficiando worth her salt eats corned beef devoid of fat. As the Sainted Julia said--eat it correctly--only once a year if your worried. Anyway, that is what I believe. Wed Apr 05 19:47:35 -0700 2006 1519825 0 fai jay (fai jackson) 1 1519912 Whatever you do, don't use Marin Sun Farms. I bought some at the farmers market at Ferry Plaza to make an Italian braise, and even though I picked the allegedly fattier point cut, it was way too lean and had little flavor. It also cost about 7x more than I usually pay for tastier brisket at the Chinatown meat markets. Wed Apr 05 19:51:38 -0700 2006 1519825 0 Melanie Wong 1 1519954 Though I have been reasonably impressed with the marketing of the Nieman Ranch Products and would definitely consider actively seeking out Nieman Ranch meats for roasts, I wouldn't break the bank for this application. Face it- the whole point of a brisket is to braise it to yummyness, chill it out, then reheat it. If it were Kosher, you could do the same thing to a llama and it would still pretty much taste exactly the same. Most of the flavor is coming from the process and the fixings and only partially from the meat. Save your $9/# meat buying for steak and have fun with more typical meats. Thu Apr 06 09:10:29 -0700 2006 1519825 0 jdherbert