Slow-Cooked Maple Cider Brisket, Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian

This week we're up to #32 on Gourmet's list of the 50 Women Game Changers in the world of food: Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, co-creators of the popular Edible magazine network. Thanks to Mary from One Perfect Bite for organizing a group of us cooking and blogging our way through this list, one dish at a time.  Check back every Friday for another story and recipe from the list, and e-mail Mary if you'd like to join the group.
 

It's common wisdom that print publications are dinosaurs in the virtual world of media today, but Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian are proving to be the exception with their successful quarterly magazines devoted to the principles of local eating.  What started with the 2002 publication of the 16 page Edible Ojai has blossomed into a chain of 70 magazines dotting the country and inspiring communities to eat fresh and eat local.  Their first cookbook, Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods was published in 2010.

All the talk about the local food movement being elitist is damaging because it's not true. While we still need to do a much better job at getting fresh foods into inner cities, food that is at its peak of ripeness is most abundant, and therefore at its lowest price.
Foods like tomatoes, strawberries and corn — when they are at the height of their season, they cost a lot less than they would if they had been shipped across the country in the middle of winter.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/edible-communities-interview

I chose this recipe because I was intrigued by the unusual flavors in the sauce.  And since I don't often cook large cuts of meat, this gave me the excuse to try a brisket.  It turned out to be very easy to assemble and the oven did most of the work.  I halved the recipe and used a 3 lb brisket.  I omitted the bacon and used fresh oregano.

Thin slivers of garlic get pressed into small slits in the meat, infusing it with flavor.  The long slow cooking mellows and blends the flavors of the sauce, which at first glace can seem a little strange~~maple syrup, cider vinegar, strong coffee, cayenne, mustard and tomato paste don't seem like obvious partners, but somehow it all seems to work in the end. The sauce is rich and complex, and is a nice change from the tomato-heavy sauces you often get with brisket.


Maple Cider Brisket        ~~~from Edible Green Mountains
Makes 6 servings
1 4 to 5 pound beef brisket
2 cloves garlic, cut into thin slivers
1/2 pound maple-smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled, optional
3 tbsp bacon drippings or grapeseed oil
2 onions, halved and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup strong brewed coffee
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. Using a paring knife, cut small slits all over the brisket, inserting a sliver of garlic into each slit as you cut it. Place the brisket into a large Dutch oven or roasting pan fitted with a lid.
• In a large sauté pan or saucepan, heat the bacon drippings over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until golden, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, oregano, pepper, and cayenne and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Stir in the coffee, vinegar, maple syrup, broth and mustard. Bring the ingredients to a boil.
• Pour the contents of the sauté pan over the brisket in the Dutch oven. Cover the pan with the lid and place it into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Decrease the heat to 300° F and bake, basting the meat with the pan sauce once or twice, until the brisket is fork tender, about 3 hours. Allow the meat to rest for about 15 minutes. Slice the meat across the grain using an electric knife or sharp carving knife. Place the sliced meat into a large ovenproof serving container with lid. Remove the fat from the surface of the sauce. Pour the sauce over and around the meat. Cover the container with the lid.
• Place the container with the brisket back into the oven for 30 minutes. Garnish with the crumbled bacon (if using). Serve immediately.

Note: You can refrigerate the brisket overnight after slicing it, if desired. Reheat the brisket in a preheated 350° F oven until the sauce is bubbling, about 30 to 45 minutes.

We had this as the authors advised, with mashed rutabaga and Brussels sprouts.  It was really delicious and the quintessential mid-winter meal.  I think I'll serve the leftovers over noodles tomorrow night.  To find out if there is an Edible magazine for your area, go to the Edible Communities website and check the list at the bottom of the home page.

Check out these other bloggers who are exploring Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers along with me---
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits,
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Lovely Things
Nancy - Picadillo
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook
Kathy- Bake Away With Me 
Alyce - More Time at the Table
Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades