Georgia Magazine - September 2011 - (Page 59a)

Web exclusive Bonus t n Conte Second helping: More apples! B BY DEBORAH GEERING elow is the recipe for Amy Traverso’s brisket with apples. Combining the ﬂavors of fall, this brisket makes for a delicious main dish. For more apple recipes, keep reading below, plus see “Savor the possibilities,” page 54. And learn more about Georgia’s apple orchards in “A bountiful harvest,” page 18. You don’t have to salt the meat four hours in advance of cooking, says cookbook author Amy Traverso, but the step deﬁnitely adds a richer depth of ﬂavor. Serve the brisket with buttered egg noodles. In a small dish, stir together 1 tablespoon coarse salt and all the pepper and cinnamon. Set the brisket in a large baking dish and sprinkle all over with the spice mixture. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. In a pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook bacon until browned and just crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon. Increase heat to medium-high, add brisket to pot, and weigh it down with another heavy pot or skillet to maximize browning. Cook until nicely browned on one side, 5 to 7 minutes, then ﬂip the meat, replace the weight, and brown other side for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove meat and set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and set a rack to the second-to-bottom position. Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from Dutch oven and add onions, apples, brown sugar, jalapeño, bay leaf and remaining 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until onions and apples are golden brown and tender, about 10 minutes. Add cider and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all browned bits from bottom of pot. Return meat and any juices to pot, bring liquid to a simmer, then cover pot and transfer to oven. Gently simmer brisket until tender when pierced with a fork, about 3 hours, being sure to turn meat once with a pair of tongs about halfway through. Check periodically to make sure sauce isn’t boiling; if it is, lower heat to 300 degrees. Remove pot from oven, transfer brisket to a platter, and strain sauce through a sieve to remove the cooked-down apples and onions. You can discard the solids or reserve them to spoon over Common Georgia apple varieties Apple variety Early McIntosh Gala Ginger Gold Detroit Red Ozark Gold McIntosh Jonathan Red Delicious Golden Delicious Empire Honey Crisp Mutsu Jonagold Rome Beauty Stayman-Winesap Granny Smith Arkansas Black Fuji Yates Braeburn Pink Lady Here’s a look at some of the most commonly grown apples in Georgia, courtesy of pickyourown.org and the Georgia Apple Festival. Earliest normal Flavor start to harvesting July 20 Aug. 1 Aug. 1 Aug. 1 Aug. 1 Aug. 10 Aug. 15 Aug. 15 Aug. 15 Aug. 20 Aug. 20 Sept. 1 Sept. 1 Sept. 15 Sept. 15 Oct. 5 Oct. 10 Oct. 15 Oct. 20 Oct. 20 Oct. 25 Tart Very sweet Sweet Tart Tart Sweet / Tart Tart Sweet Sweet Tart Sweet Sweet / Tart Sweet / Tart Slightly Tart Tart Tart Tart Very sweet Sweet Sweet Sweet Best uses Eating / Cooking Eating (applesauce, apple butter, pies) Eating Cooking Cooking Eating / Cooking Cooking Eating Cooking / Eating Cooking Eating Cooking / Eating Cooking / Eating Cooking / Eating Cooking / Eating Cooking / Eating Baking / Eating (very hard apple) Eating (applesauce, apple butter, pies) / Cooking Eating Eating Eating GEORGIA MAGAZINE Braised Brisket With Apples and Hard Cider 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3- to 4-pound ﬂat cut beef brisket, extra fat removed 4 ounces bacon, diced 3 medium yellow onions, sliced into 1/2-inchthick rings 2 large, ﬁrm tart apples such as Granny Smith (about 1 pound total), peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices 2 tablespoons ﬁrmly packed light brown sugar 1 large jalapeño chile, seeded, diced 1 bay leaf 3 cups semi-sweet hard cider, such as Woodchuck Hard Cider or J.K.’s Scrumpy Hard Cider, both available at many large liquor stores 59A More online at www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.pickyourown.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - September 2011

Georgia Magazine - September 2011
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
A Bountiful Harvest
The Coupon Mom
A Spirit of Cooperation
The 2011 Washington Youth Tour
Georgia’s Higher Learning
Higher education listings
Around Georgia
Ramble around Dahlonega continues
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Vince Dooley’s tips on growing hydrangeas, more on artist Steve Penley
Georgia Cooks
Second helping: More apple recipes and fall apple festivals
Snapshot
More Snapshot submissions
Money-saving websites
Gardens plant of the month; Liberty notes
Energy-efficiency tips

Georgia Magazine - September 2011