Avoid Trump Talk At Holiday Table With 25 Things To Debate About Brisket
Weighing the brisket down to get a good sear. Image by Roger Sherman
This High Holiday season more than most, the unspoken agreement among many families to avoid potentially explosive topics such as politics seems more sound than ever. So what’s a family to talk about?
The food, of course. And since so many families will be sitting down to a dinner with brisket as its centerpiece, we offer up these 25 things about brisket that people commonly disagree about. Where do you and your guests stand on the important questions below?
25 Things About Braised Brisket You Can Disagree On
1) How thick to slice it
2) How thin to slice it
3) When to slice it
4) What to cut it with
5) Electric knife?
6) Serrated knife?
7) 4 pounds will serve 6–8
8) 4 pounds will serve 8–10
9) Always freeze
10) Never freeze
11) Go for the Le Creuset
12) Use any Dutch oven with a tight seal
13) Serve at once
14) Serve the next day
15) Make it sweet
16) Make it savory
17) Brown it
18) Only brown it if you want to
19) Trim the fat before you cook
20) Leave on all the fat, it’ll go into the meat
21) Trim fat to 1/4 inch
22) Which cut? The point? The flat? Both? Neither?
23) Cryovac package
24) Never in Cryovac
25) Fresh onions or onion soup mix?
Stephanie Pierson is the author of “The Brisket Book: A Love Story With Recipes,” Find her on twitter @TheBrisketBook
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