The Recipe: Coffee-Rubbed Brisket Dip
Coffee: Fishtown seasonal blend (find here)
How much coffee is too much coffee? That’s a question we don’t even understand. Because we not only drink coffee, we cook with it. In this case, the coffee gave us a spicy brine that tenderized the meat but also provided enough astringency to keep the brisket from becoming too rich. It is just the right sort of thing to get you through these last days of what has been a long winter, filled with our discontent.
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons fresh ground coffee (on the coarse side)
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried orange zest
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 three finger pinch crushed red chili flakes
3.5 pound brisket
1 onion, peeled, quartered and sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups chicken stock
Some kind of pickled something
A soft but substantial hoagie-style roll, split (not too crusty)
Method
Mix the spices together, and coat the brisket evenly all over, even on the sides.
Add the onion, garlic and chicken stock to a crock pot. (We have a six-quart oval so the brisket fits perfectly.) Place the brisket on top of the onions in stock, cover, and cook for about 9 hours.
Remove the brisket, and slice against the grain into ¼-inch thick slices.
Skim some of the fat off of the surface of the resulting coffee infused broth (how much will depend on the cut of brisket, leaving a little sheen on top is advised), and pour into a bowl to go into the center of the table.
Lay the meat onto the split roll, and top with your pickled item of choice. Close and eat.
Here’s where softer bread works well. Not only does it soak up a lot of the jus, but you can squeeze it together easily when dive-bombing in for the dip.
