Brisket fell apart. Now what? HELP!!!

MiracleMama

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 9:23 am

Apparently "overnight" must mean a shorter amount of time to others. Followed a recipe to slow cook whole brisket overnight. Let it cool and rest, sliced against the grain. Got maybe a dozen good slices. The rest is a disaster. Can't Believe It

I now have 14+ pounds of delicious but disastrous looking meat. What can I do with it to serve for Seder meal so it looks like something purposeful and not a big oops. I have a crowd coming - not just our family - so presentation matters.

nosher

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 9:25 am

Why don’t you shred it? If it fell apart it’s probably yummy!
I usually shred briskets. There are so many ways to serve shredded beef.

mudpies

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 9:32 am

Can you serve plated at the seder? We often do that to save time. But in this case, it might be a presentation benefit as well. You can serve shredded roast over mashed potatoes - yum. Or if you like fancier, you can make 'blintzes' out of them.
My husband actually only likes when the meat melts in his mouth - so he prefers that I cook them too long and they fall apart. I still wish for nicely sliced roasts... but there are such beautiful ways to plate the shredded meat too.

rdmom

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 9:33 am

That’s exactly what pulled beef is. You can serve with mashed potatoes. Or make pulled beef blintzes out of it. I have served French fries will pulled beef on top. Like dirty fries. Endless possibilities.

MiracleMama

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 9:38 am

I like the pulled brisket idea. But I've already cut through it all. So it's more like chopped brisket. None of those longer strands you see when brisket is actually "pulled". Think I can get away with calling it pulled brisket anyhow?

lamplighter

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 9:40 am

This happened to me last year and I called it pulled beef and it was actually so well received my kids asked for it again!

supty

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 9:54 am

I find that refrigerating overnight before slicing prevents this issue. Just cooling is never enough when cooked for a long time, but when it’s refrigerated overnight it’s much more solid and slices beautifully. Obviously this can’t help you now but for next time Smile

giftedmom

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 9:58 am

Yes refrigeration is a must for next time. And for now call it pulled brisket. It’s delicious and doesn’t need long strands. There are people that blend it as well. Kids like it a lot more than solid slices.

Tzutzie

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 10:05 am

MiracleMama wrote:

Def. It's all about your attitude. Present it nicely, call it a fancy name, and your guest will ask you next year how to make it because they can still taste the heaven on earth you served them last pesach close to midnight....

jfk92

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 10:11 am

Id shred and serve in a savory pesach crepe. Gravy and garnish on top. Beautiful and tasty!

dankbar

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 10:29 am

You can serve pulled beef on top of potato kugel slices, potato latkes or make a potato kugel pulled beef roll, roll it up jelly roll style. You need to make a thin layer potato kugel bake not completely, add the pulled beef on top and then roll it up and slice. I don't know exact instructions maybe someone else can help.

You can maybe try to stuff chicken rollups or capons with it.

Or make a stack or tower, like cubed/sliced beets bottom, then mashed potatoes with pulled beef on top.

You can use for bottom sliced eggplant or sliced sweet potato instead of beets

You can also top a thick soup with it like butternut soup

MiracleMama

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 11:12 am

supty wrote:

You know, I usually do fridge first for several hours at least, but in this case I was trying to preserve all this cooking liquid and figured it would turn into a gelatinous mess. Should have poured the liquid into another container apart from the meat and done it that way. Oh, well. Live and learn.

MiracleMama

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 11:13 am

Tzutzie wrote:

LOL, will do. LOL

fatso gal

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 11:48 am

MiracleMama wrote:

When you reheat the cooking liquid, it will liquify again.

momoftwo2

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 11:53 am

Now that you have the solution, can you please share the recipe? My kids love pulled beef. I serve it over potato latkes on pesach.

seeker

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 12:55 pm

Presentation shmesentation. This happened to me, I served it in a bowl with a ladle, it looked a little like slop but smelled and tasted so good that everyone couldn't stop talking about it. The softness was a feature, not a bug. I am now required to make it exactly the same every year.

penguin

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 1:29 pm

I would do a doughless knish recipe or just mashed potatoes, onions optional, even a mashed cooked carrot or sweet potato for color, a little egg, a little potato starch to thicken.

Make round shapes, flatten & press a glass into the middle to make an indentation. Bake for a half hour or so & serve w ur pulled brisket inside.

Make sure to sprinkle a little fresh parsley on top (not for the kids!) To make it even fancier!

If u have a lot of serving help you can be very fancy & drizzle gravy across the plate before placing the knish. But not if it's all going to get cold! (Eww. Cold gravy.) So maybe better pass gravy around in a couple bowls.