Brisket Sandwich

First full week of 2023. The glow of New Year's has settled and Hartford has returned to its normal January personality, which is to say: angry. Seventeen degrees on Tuesday. A blizzard warning on Thursday that turned out to be three inches, not the forecasted nine, but the commute was still a crime against humanity. The hospital kitchen on Thursday was short two staff members who could not make it in and we ran lunch with a reduced line and I stayed until 7 PM to help reset for Friday.

Miguel Jr. called Thursday night. He had news. Jenny is pregnant again. Due late January next year — actually, wait, I am confused on dates; Jenny is due in mid-to-late January 2023 herself, which is two or three weeks away. Yes. This is correct. Miguel Jr. and Jenny's third baby, the one who will be named Mateo, is imminent. Jenny's due date is the 19th.

I knew this. I have known this for months. But the announcement at the proximity moment hit me harder than the first announcement in June. A third grandchild from Miguel Jr. will bring the grandchild count to six (adding Mateo to Lucas, Isabella, and Camila plus... wait, five right now, Camila is the fifth, and Mateo will be the sixth). The numbers are starting to matter. The table is going to need another chair. I told Eduardo. He said, "I will order a chair." He is going to need to order a lot of chairs in the coming decade. Marriage is infrastructure.

Friday I made pot roast. A January pot roast, slow-cooked, three hours in the oven, red wine and onions and mushrooms and potatoes and carrots. Sofía came for dinner, because her nursing school finals are next week and she needed — her words — "real food, not dining hall food, real food with vegetables that are not from a can." She ate two platefuls. She took a container home.

Mami came Sunday. She ate well. She was sharp. She asked about the baby. I said, "Mami, Jenny is due in ten days. The name will be Mateo." She said, "Mateo. That is a strong name." She said it twice. Strong name. Strong name. I took it as a blessing. I wrote it down — literally wrote it down on a napkin, "Mami says Mateo is a strong name, Jan 2023" — and I put the napkin in my kitchen drawer. Someday I will give this napkin to Mateo. He will be forty and I will be dead and the napkin will be brown with age. He will not understand it at first. Miguel Jr. will explain. Or maybe Lucas will. The chain holds. Wepa.

That Friday pot roast fed Sofía two platefuls and sent her back to campus with a container, and it reminded me that sometimes the best thing you can do with a tough cut of beef is give it time and heat and let it become what it’s supposed to become. This brisket sandwich is in that same family—low, slow, no rush—the kind of cooking that makes sense when it’s seventeen degrees outside and there’s a new chair to order for the table.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes | Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 to 4 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
8 sturdy sandwich rolls, split and toasted
Dill pickle slices, for serving

Instructions

Season the brisket. Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika. Rub the mixture over all sides of the brisket. Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Sear the meat. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or oven-safe pot over medium-high heat. Sear the brisket for 3 to 4 minutes per side until deeply browned. Remove and set aside.
Build the braising liquid. Reduce heat to medium. Add the sliced onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the beef broth, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, and Dijon mustard. Bring to a simmer.
Braise low and slow. Return the brisket to the pot, fat side up. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to a 300°F oven. Cook for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork-tender and pulls apart easily.
Shred and sauce. Transfer the brisket to a cutting board. Shred or slice the meat against the grain. Skim any excess fat from the braising liquid, then return the shredded meat to the pot and stir to coat.
Serve. Pile the sauced brisket onto toasted sandwich rolls. Top with dill pickle slices. Serve hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Brisket Sandwich — The Kind of Meal January Demands