Chuck-Brisket

Easter dinner was a bit different this year, as usually we are somewhere else, eating someone else's turkey or ham. This year, we stayed home, and rather than buy a huge turkey, we decided to cook something we had already in our deep freeze.....chuck roast. hmmmm. Not really sure about that, but okay, I'll give it a try. I looked up the cut on Wikipedia. I had no idea what part the "chuck" came from, or if it was the same thing as brisket. I knew that a chuck roast has to be slow cooked on low heat in order for it to be tender. I just didn't know how to prepare it at all. That's the great thing about the internet...I looked up "best brisket recipes" and "best chuck roast recipes" and then just decided to make it up on my own. I did find out that the chuck is in the front of the cow, and the brisket, also in the front, is just lower down. The 2-D picture of the cow and the cuts of meat was actually very useful. Its probably not proper to call this a brisket at all, but I did combine the chuck and the brisket recipes I found AND I think the word "brisket" makes it sound better than just "chuck". Either way, the meal ended up being incredibly delicious, with mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, and Yorkshire pudding. Don't forget the horseradish!

My version of a "chuck-brisket" roast:

• 4-5 lb chuck roast
• 1 TBSP sea salt (I used a bit less)
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 3-4 cloves of fresh minced garlic
• 1 TBSP dry mustard powder
• 1TBSP of thyme
• 2 tsp Montreal Steak Spice
• 2 tsp black pepper

Mix the dry ingredients together and rub onto the roast. Then with a knife, make some small slits in the beef, and stuff in some garlic cloves. Cover the bottom of the roaster with water, enough so it won't dry out. Bake uncovered at 350 for the first hour, then reduce the heat to 300 for another 4 hours covered. Check once to make sure the roaster has enough water.

Once it was cooked, I let it sit for about 45 minutes, and then sliced it up. It sliced beautifully, and for a cheap piece of meat (did I really just type that???) it was delicious!