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?
Best Answer
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.