Jewish -style Brown Sugar Brisket (a.k.a. Brain Tumor Brisket)

To start, lay the fatty side down and sprinkle the top liberally with garlic powder
Brisket in the slow cooker with garlic powder, brown sugar, and onion soup mix
All done! Yummy meaty caramelized goodness!
Makes great left-overs and sandwiches for days!!


A little background on this one... When I was 14 I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I had the tumor surgically removed in May of 1999. The surgery went well and I fully recovered. However, during my recovery it was necessary for me to take steroids to keep the swelling done. As a side effect steroids are known for increasing ones appetite. Just to give you an idea of how much my appetite was increased post surgery I will tell you that I went from 107 lbs to 127 lbs in less than a month. I ate everything in sight! (Once I was able to eat solid foods again - that is.) One of my fondest memories of this otherwise traumatic period of my life was this DELICIOUS brisket dish that my neighbor, Mrs. Zion, brought over to our house. I finished the entire brisket in two days flat ON MY OWN. It just melts in your mouth when cooked properly. Mmmmmmm.......

Ingredients

About a 4lb cut of brisket. (A notoriously tough and fatty cut of meat, it needs to be cooked nearly to death to be tender. It is very worth it though and usually much less expensive than other cuts of meat because of the toughness.)

1 Lipton's onion soup package

light brown sugar (enough to pack on to the brisket at about 1/4 inch thick or less) I used about 2/3 cup to 1 cup depending how large the surface of the meat is

garlic powder (this is also an eyeball measurement but you want enough to cover the surface of the meat. You are going to pound in in.

Instructions

1. lay your brisket cut fatty side down. On the non- fatty side take a sharp knife and ... stab it all over the surface a few times. (I was trying to think of a more professional term but you really do stab!) This is to allow the seasoning to seep into the meat while it is cooking. After a few good stabs :) sprinkle a liberal amount of garlic powder onto the surface and pound it into the meat with your hands. This can get a little messy

2. Next take your brown sugar and pack it onto the meat until you have a nice layer about 1/4 inch or so all over the surface.

3. Sprinkle onion soup mix over the meat mixture. Go ahead a use the whole package. Live a little.

4.Now place the brisket in to a large slow cooker or..... if you don't have a slow cooker don't panic! Seal the meat up really well in aluminum foil and place in a large glass baking dish. Put a little bit of water into the bottom of the baking dish to keep the meat from cooking to quickly. About a 1/4 of water or so. You can put a little bit of water in the slow cooker if you want but you don't need very much. The meat had it's own juices and the fat is going to cook off too. I wouldn't add more than a 1/4 inch to the slow cooker either. If you are cooking it in the oven you want your oven at 200 or 250 degrees (depending on how strong your oven is) and you will cook it for at least 8 hrs. In the slow cooker it cooks for about 6-8 hrs on high. Ours was done in 6 hrs.

5. To serve, just cut off the undesirable fat (there may be quite a bit) and serve with mashed potatoes, greens, rice, or whatever you like!