This ought to be my 1000th post at Dessert By Candy except I fail at counting (go BMath degree!). I’ve been tossing and turning all weekend trying to come up with something really special to bake for this milestone post yet came up short. So instead, I put my slow cooker to work and prepared dinner for Little Brother and myself while I was out hiking on a beautiful fall day. Way to go procrastinator! I’m glad I didn’t do something extra extra special because apparently I overlooked seven draft posts that I keep in the folder. Phew, I still have some time before I hit number 1000!
However, this barbecued beef brisket meal I prepared is still quite special in my books and Little Brother’s appetite agrees. Fall-apart tender slices of beef brisket was well-seasoned with brown sugar chipotle rub and slow cooked for hours. I served it with barbecued beans, squares of northern-style buttermilk cornbread, and cucumber cranberry slaw. Aside from the salad, all recipes come from the vault of America’s Test Kitchen, my reliable source for North American cooking.
 |  |
My weekend went something like this. Friday evening I came home from work and sent a whole pound of Rancho Gordo yellow eye beans into the slow cooker along with homemade barbecue sauce. The plan was to cook up lots of beans for the protein part of my meals in the next few days. When Little Brother came home and talked of his demanding work schedule, I decided to cook some make-ahead meals for him to pack home so pairing the beans with beef brisket was the logical choice. I bought a large piece of brisket from Costco the next day and proceeded to marinade it overnight in the fridge with chipotle dry rub.
The extra hour of sleep I got on Sunday was perfect since it bought me an extra hour for the slow cooker. Before I even ate breakfast, I set the brisket to the slow cooker and went about with my day. It was heavenly when I came home in the evening to a house filled with the aroma of “barbecued” beef brisket! During that last hour of cooking, I managed to make cornbread from scratch and put together a quick oil & vinegar coleslaw. I couldn’t have time it better myself. The cornbread is northern-style enriched with duck eggs and plenty of full-fat buttermilk. I have absolutely no issue with making and loving northern-style cornbread. After all, Canada is indisputably way up in the north! Last but not least, I degreased the sauce and mixed in a few more spoonfuls of homemade barbecue sauce. Dinner was served!
Aside from the nourishing dishes, what I love most about this meal is the ridiculously minimal active cooking time. Having two slow cooker recipes in the same meal is usually not feasible. But with a good make-ahead recipe like the beans, it was easy to spread the cooking over two days. A five-pound piece of brisket can generously serve six people especially with all the side dishes. If I throw in a dessert like peach cobbler, this would make a wonderful casual weekend menu if I invite a few friends over. Just add beer!
You can find the recipe for both the barbecued beef brisket and barbecued beans in Slow Cooker Revolution. The recipe for northern-style cornbread came from The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook: 2,000 Recipes from 20 Years of America's Most Trusted Cooking Magazine. Let’s get that slow cooker working! In the mean time, I’ll brainstorm for post 1000 ideas…
Slow Cooker Barbecued Beef Brisket Supper
Barbecued Beef Brisket
Barbecued Beans
Northern-Style Cornbread
Cucumber Dried Cherries Coleslaw
