Robert Wemischner

Yields: 4 to 6 generous servings

With a fall nip in the air, I start to think of cooler weather foods such as braised meats which need a long, slow stint in the oven. A bit sweet with a rich dark sauce, this brisket gets its depth of flavor from using some brewed high quality tea in the cooking liquid. Tea is so much more than a beverage and here it infuses the beef with a slightly smoky edge. Tea also is a tenderizer, breaking down the structure of the meat, yielding a melt-in-your-mouth result.

Other than a few minutes of active preparation, the dish practically cooks itself. Sear the meat, surround it with some onions and root vegetables, combine a few easily available ingredients with the tea and then pour the resulting liquid over the meat, cover the pot and into the oven it goes to cook until tender. Depending on the actual weight of the meat and amount of fat marbled throughout it, approximately two to two-and-a-half hours later, the meat should be done. Note that all of this is best made the day before you wish to serve the dish. At the end of cooking, you will remove the meat from the pot and then separate the cooking liquid from the vegetables. You will then store the three different components of the dish each in its own container. On the next day, it’s easy to skim off the congealed fat from the top of the cooking liquid. Place the defatted liquid into a heavy saucepan, add some additional tea to boost the presence of the tea flavor, heat to infuse, sieve out the tea leaves and then reduce the liquid to a slightly thickened texture. In the process, the flavor of the sauce will be intensified and mellowed at the same time. 

To serve, reheat the meat in the oven, covered, add the vegetables to rewarm and then serve the meat and vegetables with the reduced sauce, pouring some of it over the meat and vegetables, and reserving the rest in a sauceboat to pass around at the table. You can make the wasabi cream sauce as the finishing touch, earlier in the day when you wish to serve the brisket.

Here are the particulars:

For the Tea-Braised Brisket with Root Vegetables:

To serve 4 to 6 generously

2-1/4 pounds lean brisket of beef

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fruity extra virgin olive oil, enough to coat the pan for searing the meat

½ bunch celery, washed well and cut into ½ inch thick slices, cut on the diagonal

1-1/2 cups thinly sliced onions (approximately 1 large onion, peeled)

4 medium sized carrots, washed and cut into ½ inch rounds

1 medium to large parsnip, peeled, woody core removed, and cut into ½ inch chunks

1 rutabaga, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks

4 cloves garlic, smashed, then finely chopped

4 T. (approximately 14 grams) highly flavored black tea leaves (a Keemun Mao Feng is best here though Hawaiian tea from www.teahawaii.com is lovely too), for the braising liquid, plus 1 generous tablespoon tea leaves (approximately 4 grams of the kind of tea I used) to finish the sauce.  (Note: The weight of the tea may vary according to the size of the leaves.)

2 quarts water

½ c. well packed brown sugar

½ c. ketchup

For the wasabi tea cream sauce:

1 T. black or green tea leaves of your choice

2 c. heavy cream

1 T. wasabi powder

Salt to taste

Bring cream and tea leaves to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to stand for about 15 minutes or until the taste of the tea is apparent. Pour the liquid through a fine meshed sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on the tea leaves to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the tea leaves. Now cook the cream over medium heat, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching, until the cream has reduced by half and is of coating consistency.  Spoon out about 2 T. of the cream into a small bowl. Whisk the wasabi powder into this portion of the cream, whisking until until smooth. Add this back to the remainder of the cream. Salt lightly to taste and set aside.

For the brisket:

Preheat the oven to 350 º F. Salt and pepper the brisket all over. Heat a heavy skillet until hot. Carefully add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add the meat to sear, browning the surface of the meat on all sides. Then place the brisket into a heavy roasting pan with just enough room to fit it and the vegetables. Prepare vegetables as noted in the ingredient list above.

Brew the tea with the 2 quarts of water heated to 205 º F. After 3 minutes, taste the liquid. If bold but not tannic, sieve out the leaves, pressing hard on the leaves to extract as much liquid as possible from them. (If the tea seems at all weak, brew 20 or 30 seconds longer). Combine the tea liquor with the brown sugar and ketchup. Pour this liquid over the brisket in the pan. Surround the meat with the prepared vegetables  and garlic. Cover the pan with a lid, or tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for approximately 2-1/2 hours or until the meat is tender. Cool, then refrigerate, covered, preferably overnight.

The next day, before you wish to serve the meat, carefully and thoroughly skim the congealed fat from the surface of the meat and the sauce in the pan. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Now heat the defatted cooking liquid until melted. Sieve the vegetables from the cooking liquid and place the meat and vegetables back into a clean roasting pan, reserving the cooking liquid.  Now place the liquid along with the additional tablespoon of Keemun leaves into a small heavy saucepan. Heat to 205 º F. Allow to steep for 3 minutes. Sieve out the leaves and reserve the liquid in a cleaned saucepan. Now cook the liquid over medium heat to reduce slightly. Pour the liquid over the meat and vegetables in the pan and reheat in a preheated 350 º F. oven until hot, about 30 minutes. When hot, remove from the oven and slice the meat across the grain into thin slices. Place on a platter or individual plates surrounded by the vegetables. Drizzle the tea sauce over each portion. Serve also with wasabi cream sauce, as desired. Serve immediately, with a side of creamy buttery mashed potatoes, spiked with some of the wasabi cream sauce, if you wish.