Brisket In A Crock Pot

Yeah. I know. What's original about a brisket in a crock pot? My answer: nothing. Except that it was our first time putting a cut of beef in a crock pot that was not clearly labeled "ROAST." I'll give N credit for this one, it was actually quite yummy!

A few weeks ago my little bro was in town and staying with us. We woke up on a Sunday morning, and the first thing we did was turn on The Travel Channel (normal, right?) and Man V. Food: Kansas City was on. Since we're from KC, we settle in to watch and drool over some of our favorite places in our favorite city. Now, if you don't already know, KC is famous (and I do mean FAMOUS) for our BBQ. Only place in the world the does it right. (No joke.) The first place Adam Richman stops is a BBQ place in Bonner Springs that is actually in the back of a convenience store. That's just how we do it in the mid west. My brother and I stare, drooling unabashedly, at the perfect brisket on the television and make the decision that indeed "Beef: It's What's for Dinner." I head to the store.

Now, I have never made a full on BBQ brisket all by myself. My dad does one a few times per year on his smoker, and I have never felt the need to try to improve on perfection. However, since my parents live in KC and I do not, this time the meat was up to me. Since I've never made a brisket before, guess what I've never bought? Brisket. Wow, you're fast. As I'm standing at the meat counter and perusing all the different cuts of meat, I land myself knee high in brisket heaven. That is really no exaggeration, either. The briskets they had available to purchase, when stood up on the ground, came up to at least knee high. WTH was I supposed to do with all that meat? The recipe (Paula Deen, y'all) I found called for 4 lbs, and the smallest cut I found that day was 12 pounds! So I take my monstrous half a cow home, stand in the kitchen and laugh with my bro about how big this thing is while he dissects it for me. It's cut into 3 pieces, and two are frozen for a later date. I slay the dragon known as Paula Deen's Texas Oven-Roasted Beef Brisket. But, that is a story for another time. This is the story of one of the left over 4lb cuts of meat!

This thing took 2 days to thaw in the refrigerator. Even after the 2 day mark, it still had an icy center. Did it stop us from attempting to tame this beast into a roast? Nope. N throws it in the crock pot, along with god knows what, puts it in the sleeve, turns it on low (we were to be at work for 8+ hours) and we leave for work.

N ended up coming home because he didn't feel well. Thank goodness for that. Our electrical outlet is a little fussy, and had tripped itself into non-working oblivion. I guess whatever N had, the outlet had too. After moving the crock pot to another outlet, he turned it up on high and let the sucker cook.

I do not know what he put in there with that enormous cut of beef, but whatever he did, I want him to do again! It was delish! He made corn and mashed potatoes to go with it. Let me just tell you his mashed potatoes had me wondering why in the world I do the majority of the inside cooking when he can make things that taste like that!

So: Brisket + N + crockpot = success. Who knew? Now I am left with the decision to have N try to replicate his yummy roast (which we will be eating leftovers of for days!) or try to one up Paula Deen and attempt my own spin on an oven roasted brisket. Hmmmm .....

Until next time,
Sarah

The Lone Culinary Crusader

Okay, so maybe I'm not alone. I'm sure there are lots of people out there who are absolutely, positively, disgustingly BORED with what they make for their families to eat. Right?

This is me, trying to be a home-cooking hero. I want to incorporate things we haven't eaten before. I want to try new cooking styles. I want my hubby and kiddo to say "I don't know what you did to this, but it's awesome!"

I will warn you up front. I am a big time user of adjectives. Sometimes when I say them they don't even make gramattical sense. Ever heard someone say "Deliciously awesome?" I can promise you will see many comparable phrases appear on your screen. (Who are you, by the way? Is anyone even going to read this?)

I wish I had thought to create this eons ago, as I have tried countless "new" recipes and have made success stories out of very few. For now, you'll just have to be content with my work from here on. I can't promise the stories will always be pretty or even edible, but I do promise to try! Here are things I've learned so far in my crusades:

• Paula Deen rocks ... if you want to weigh 400 lbs. My goal is to learn to make some of her dishes on a lighter scale.
• If you're going to make a new pasta dish ... try whole wheat. With sauce, you'll hardly notice a difference, and if you're going to do pasta, you might as well try to make it as healthy as possible.
• Vegatables are amazing! You can do SO much with them ... like substitute them for other starchy foods! Who knew??
• I'm a novice on the grill. I don't even know how to start it. No joke.

So, off I go. Stay tuned!

Sweet (and savory!) wishes,
Sarah