Brisket, the book, is as juicy and tantalizing as brisket, the meat. In this sensational book, there are anecdotes, history, information, a slew of recipes, even a poem by Mark Strand, but Brisket, A Love Story with Recipes also possesses something that the beloved cut of meat does not possess: a sense of humor so refined that the book can almost be called funny. Author Stephanie Pierson has pursued her passion for brisket by picking up her talented pen to write with humor and sheer delight about her love for brisket. Driven by her passion, she covers every aspect of brisket that may exist. She writes of its history, of the cut itself, identifying its location and its qualities. She writes of how it's packaged and sold, as well as how to cook brisket, what to drink with brisket, how to serve leftovers. She speaks with butchers, chefs, home cooks, and eaters. If that's not enough, she includes an entire chapter entitled 'The Amorous Brisket' to analyze the romantic aspects of brisket. And all of this is done with wit so delicious you could eat Pierson's words themselves.
Pierson makes us laugh, but there are statistics, solid cooking advice, tips, recipes, and some delicious data within these pages. (As one example, did any of us know that brisket has supplanted the hot dog in popularity at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA?) Pierson has entered into serious discussions with brisket admirers. She goes 'brisketing' with Joan Nathan, doyenne of Jewish cooking and a great brisket fan; she falls into brisket analysis with Christopher Kimball of Cook's Illustrated fame, an analysis in which Kimball 'interrogates' a brisket. She visits Nach Waxman, cook and owner of the ultimate food bookstore, Kitchen Arts & Letters, who may not have needed the vast number of books in his store as he grew up watching his mother cook on the Lower East Side of New York City, home to brisket mavens.
After trying every conceivable method for cooking brisket, Pierson offers recipes. Saying "These Brisket Recipes Made the Cut," she offers such recipes as Basic Barbecue Brisket, Tender Slow-Cooked Beef Brisket, Braised Fresh Brisket in Stout with Onions, Texas Oven-roasted Beef Brisket, Cuban Creole Stew, Corned Beef with Parsley Sauce, Brisket Burger. And more.
Never before has an unglamorous meat received such dignity. Read the book while eating brisket. Enjoy the color photographs, the charts and sidebars that lace the book.
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