The following brisket recipe was developed over a period of three years specifically for cooking competitions. It began after learning the requirements of the Kansas City Barbecue Association’s competition cooking circuit. I made a trip to my favorite Alabama butcher and asked to see the beef brisket. He proudly told me he had the largest selection of that particular cut in the area. The four varieties of corned beef looked good, but they were not exactly what I was looking for. It seemed we both had a little to learn about barbecue beef brisket. Many years and tears later I fell in love with the rich beef flavor of this recipe. In the restaurant we serve our brisket as thin slices with the juices drizzled over the fresh cuts of beef, but in competitions we separate the flat from the point and reserve the cooked point to make burnt ends (see page 86). Brisket has become one of our most consistent categories in cooking competitions, including wins at the American Royal Invitational Contest in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Best of the Best Invitational BBQ Cook-off in Douglas, Georgia.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Serve a thick slice for breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up.
This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.
Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.
Reliable cabbage is cooked in the punchy sauce and then combined with store-bought baked tofu and roasted cashews for a salad that can also be eaten with rice.
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
This is the type of soup that, at first glance, might seem a little…unexciting. But you’re underestimating the power of mushrooms, which do the heavy lifting.
A dash of cocoa powder adds depth and richness to the broth of this easy turkey chili.