The New Shul, a hip unaffiliated Greenwich Village
Synagogue, recently hosted their second annual
Battle of the Briskets fundraiser at the Cowgirl
Hall of Fame. Over one hundred and fifteen people
attended the brisket feast to see who would win
the Golden Schmaltz award.
The event was completely
sold out; people passed by the window of Cowgirls
just to get a glimpse of the sixteen briskets.
The attendees drooled over the briskets trays
while the judges did their tasting. The celebrity
judges included Josh Neuman, Editor and Publisher
of Heeb magazine, Ed Levine from Food and Wine
Magazine and Gail Simmons from the Food Network
show Top Chef.
The briskets ranged
from fried briskets to a southwestern brisket,
complete with salsa and guacamole.
Some of us in the
audience wanted to hear some trash talking between
the contestants, but the hopeful cooks opted to
cheer each other on and let their briskets do
the talking.
After about thirty
minutes the judges emerged from their huddle and
the attendees were allowed to partake in the eating
so they could select the winner of the People’s
Choice Award. There were also delicious side dishes
from baked latkes to a delicious kugel. Everything
was so yummy that I lost track of whose briskets
were whose.
Winner Cathy Gins
The first place
prize went to a brisket made by New Shul Member,
Cathy Gins. Her brisket recipe called for adding
cranberries to the meat. The cranberries kicked
up the flavor of the meat. Gins was completely
surprised by her win. but managed to pull herself
together to accept her award.
At the end of the
event, each attendee received a goody bag filled
with the brisket recipes. Now I have so many options
for preparing a brisket, I have my own battle.
Cathy Gin's Winning
Recipe - Cranberry Brisket
Ingredients
3- to 5-pound beef brisket
Olive oil
4 to 5 garlic cloves
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 regular-sized package onion soup mix
1 can whole cranberries
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven
to 350°F. Coat brisket with a little oil and
crushed garlic. Place in Dutch oven, cover and
bake for one hour. Remove brisket, drain fat (optional:
slice brisket) and return to pot.
2. Mix together remaining ingredients, and pour
over brisket. Return brisket to oven, and bake
(covered) for about 2 hours or until tender.
