Houstonist Cooks: Rainy Holiday Brisket

Brisket, what else you gonna fix for that backyard great room partay? Yeah, it's possibly gonna be a soggy one tomorrow for your Fourth celebration. But, never fear, Houstonist is here and we have a no-fail, not-exactly-barbecued-or-grilled brisket recipe that is de-lish and very easy. All you have to do is remember to commence to slow-cooking or roasting it about four to six hours before you want to consume it. This brisket goes very well with all of the old standby, can be made in bulk batches, sides: potato salad, beans, coleslaw, macaroni salad, rice salad or green vegetable-based and mayo-free stuff (and cold beer).

Rainy Holiday Brisket

1 10-14 lb. beef brisket (market or packer trimmed is fine, just take some of the fat off)
1 - 2 onions (medium or large) sliced into 1/4" thick rings
1 bottle Goya Mojo Criollo
4 jalapeno peppers, sliced into 1/4" thick rings, if desired - we desire, you should too
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 250, or make sure your brisket fits in the crockpot, whole and fat-side up.

In a roasting pan large enough to comfortably accomodate the hunk of beef, lay the brisket in, fat-side down, salt and pepper to taste, flip over and repeat. On top of the fat (we like to leave about 1/4" or so, we are watching our Houstonist figure) lay the onion and jalapeno (separating the slice onion into rings). Shake the bottle of Mojo well and pour all over the brisket. Cover and slow-cook or bake for 4-6 hours (four hours gives you a tender, slice-able brisket and six gives you a shreddable brisket).

Leftovers make fabulous taquitos, simply soften as many corn tortillas as you think will accomodate any available appetites, based on how much meat is leftover. Reheat slightly and shred brisket and place a tablespoon and a half-ish of the meat on one end of the softened tortilla, roll up, secure w/ a toothpick and fry in hot vegetable or peanut oil, until crisp (around 2 minutes, rolling to cook evenly). Serve with queso, sour cream and guacamole or any combination of the three. When we feel all skinny, we slip some grated cheddar in the tortilla, too.

Cook's Note: If you don't have Mojo, cover 3/4 of the way up with water and add garlic and some cajun seasonings to compensate. We suggest adding a touch of comino, or cumin and some cayenne to the mixture, should this be the case. Fresh herbs, such as oregano and rosemary work nicely too. The Mojo is the real deal, though.