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I'm looking at this recipe from Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Home Cooking, pg. 198:

Barbecue-Style Slow-Roasted Beef Brisket

1kg beef brisket, excess fat trimmed off to leave just 1 cm

2 onions, peeled and sliced

6 bay leaves

2 tbsp light brown sugar or muscovado sugar

1 tbsp tomato pureé (presumably this is tomato paste for us Americans)

1 x 300 ml bottle lager

350 ml beef stock

1 tbsp cider vinegar (optional)

For the rub: 2 tsp cayenne pepper, 2 tsp mustard powder, 2 tsp freshly ground cumin seeds, 2 tsp celery seeds, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

He mixes the rub, puts it on the brisket and seals the brisket in a roasting tray with a bit of oil. Caramelizes the onions and sugar and bay leaves and salt and pepper in the tray, puts in tomato puree and broth to deglaze. Then sticks the brisket in this mix, brings it to a boil and then puts it in the oven (140 C). Then takes it out 3 - 3.5 hours later and makes a sauce from the drippings in the pan.

The question I have is: Is the brisket (without any qualifications) from the point or the flat? If it isn't the flat, what would I change to have the recipe work for the flat?

Cascabel
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Batman
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    The brisket is a different cut in the UK. It is longer, extends below the top of the leg and not as far up the breast. – user23614 Feb 09 '16 at 09:18
  • @user23614 - So, what would be the equivalent american cut? – Batman Feb 09 '16 at 13:53
  • There is no exact equivalent, the cuts are different, there are 14 cuts on a beef animal in the UK and 13 in the US. If you search Wikipedia for brisket it has an excellent comparison between the two. – user23614 Feb 09 '16 at 14:04
  • Thanks! Didn't know that they were different cuts – Batman Feb 09 '16 at 14:29
  • There's an Android app called BB Meat Master which has references for both UK and US cuts for different meats as well as the different names for cuts in both locations – GdD Feb 09 '16 at 14:49

1 Answers1

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Most brisket I've seen in the UK is flat, although I've seen point as well occasionally. The recipe should work fine for both unless you have a really thick point. With a thick point you could cut it the long way to increase its surface area, or cook it a bit longer. You won't go wrong cooking it lower and slower in any case.

GdD
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