Brisket Revised

Recently I told you about the wonderful brisket recipe I learned from my mother-in-law. Several months ago we went to dinner at Matt's parents house and as soon as we walked in the door I picked up on the unmistakable smell of brisket roasting all day in the oven. Much to my surprise, there was a slow cooker on the counter. When we sat down to eat she explained that it was the same recipe she always used, but she used a roast instead. The meat was all shredded up, basking in its juices, just waiting for some tasty bread to sop it all up.

I figured since I had my slow cooker on since yesterday morning, I might as well keep using it. I poured beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, half an onion, garlic cloves, and some garlic powder into the pot of a slow cooker. I seasoned my brisket with some fresh ground black pepper, kosher salt, onion powder, and paprika and seared it off on both sides on the stove. After about 3 minutes on each side I placed the brisket in the slow cooker and poured about 1/3 cup liquid smoke over top. Then I squirted a generous spread of yellow mustard over top. You may wonder how the mustard fits in, but it adds an amazing tang to the meat and is definitely missed when it is left out. 

While the brisket was cooking I went ahead and whipped up some crusty french rolls and left them on the stove to rise.

Then I assembled some broccoli slaw - which was really simple with the bagged slaw, some mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. (But I forgot to take a picture..oops!) When the brisket was almost done, I popped the rolls in the oven to bake.

Although the rolls varied greatly in size, they were SO tasty and warm and crusty (in a good way, of course).

My original plan for the brisket was to shred the meat, but it was still pretty much in tact so I just took it out as is and sliced it up. The juices in the pan were GREAT for pouring over the meat and sopping up with the rolls.

This was definitely a winner of a dinner and so easy to make. Quick and easy and delicious!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Stock

I found a recipe online today for cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker. The slow cooker pretty much bakes the chicken and then when it's done cooking you use the drippings, skin, and bones (with the addition of some water) to make your own stock. It's so easy, and inexpensive, and is a double duty ingredient. One thing I would advise if you like to buy chickens and then freeze them is to remove the gizzards before freezing. You can cook a frozen chicken in your slow cooker, but if the gizzards are frozen inside you have to thaw the chicken to get them out before cooking. NOT the best use of your time. So here's what I did: