Gochujang Brisket

Gochujang Brisket

With Hanukkah right around the corner I have a hankering for brisket. But, just for fun this year, I am taking our beloved Jewish brisket recipe and giving it a Korean twist by replacing the tomato-based sauce with a gochujang sauce.

Gochujang is a Korean red chili paste with sweet heat and a fermented umami richness. It is definitely spicy – but also has a balanced fruitiness, slight smokiness and depth of flavor from the sun-dried Korean red peppers.

Beef plus gochujang is a classic Korean pairing, slow-roasted beef brisket plus gochujang equals a match made in heaven. Fresh ginger and plenty of garlic round out the flavors. A touch of sugar brings out gochujang’s natural sweetness. Serve this brisket as the main dish of the holiday gathering and be sure to serve leftovers as gochujang brisket sandwiches – two ways to ensure happy guests this holiday season!

Gochujang Brisket Recipe

• 5 to 6 lb. brisket, flat end
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 c. beef stock
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 3 T. sugar
• 1/4 c. gochujang
• several slices of fresh ginger
• 8 smashed garlic cloves
• 2 onions, sliced

In a medium bowl whisk beef stock with soy sauce, sugar, and gochujang. Set aside.

Rinse and dry the brisket with paper towels. Season with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Place brisket under the broiler to get a nice caramelization on both sides.

Place the brisket in  a roasting pan with the fat side up. Scatter garlic and ginger around the brisket. Then cover the brisket with the sliced onions, ladle gochujang sauce over the onions and around the brisket.

Cover tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil. (Tent the foil if necessary to keep the onion mixture from touching the foil). Cook in a 275° – 300° oven for 6 to 8 hours until the brisket is super-tender.

Remove the brisket from the pan and let cool to room temperature, return to the pan, cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day remove the cold brisket from the sauce. Peel off the fat cap.  Slice against the grain. Remove any fat that has congealed on top of the sauce.

Arrange meat slices in a baking dish and ladle the sauce and onions back over the meat and between the slices. Getting the sauce between the slices is important! Cover with foil. Now the brisket is ready to reheat in a 325°F oven.

Gochujang Brisket Sandwich

• sandwich rolls, toasted
• doenjang mayonnaise
• butter lettuce
• gochujang brisket
• cabbage kimchi, chopped
• tomato, sliced
• red onion, sliced

Korean doenjang is a salty-earthy-complex-umami rich paste made from soybeans with a pungent aroma. It adds a wow factor to our already flavor-bursting sandwich. Make doenjang mayonnaise by mixing a teaspoon of doenjang with 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise.

Spread doenjang mayonnaise on both sides of the sandwich roll. Build the sandwich with butter lettuce, sliced gochujang brisket, chopped kimchi, tomato, red onion, and one more leaf of lettuce. Use a pick to hold the sandwich in place, then slice in half. Enjoy with a cold Korean beer. Happy Holidays!