High Holiday Dinner: Brisket or Fish

Food memories are always strongest when they are connected to a holiday.

The Raging Skillet’s Chef Rossi said she grew up in an odd combination of “orthodox jewish and white trash.”

“I’m talking about Passover seders in the parking lot of a 7-11,” Rossi, author of “The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews,” told the Journal.

While she may be the only person you will meet who has had kishka and grits, Rossi believes that odd combination set up her love of comfort food and white trash cooking mixed with Jewish tradition.

A perfect example is her Pepsi brisket.

“It is a favorite treat for every holiday from Rosh Hashanah to Chanukah,” Rossi said. It’s an easy recipe that you can make a day ahead.

Chef Rossi’s Pepsi Brisket

Clean extra fat off of one whole brisket.

Rub Chef Rossi’s brisket rub all over the meat.

Chef Rossi’s Brisket Rub

A handful each of:

• Ground coriander
• Ground black pepper
• Sea salt
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Paprika
• Ground mustard powder
• Dry thyme

Add one can of Pepsi to either Chef Rossi’s barbecue sauce (recipe below) or your favorite barbecue sauce.

Chef Rossi’s barbecue sauce

Combine:

• A coffee cup of ketchup
• A coffee cup of tomato sauce
• Two good drizzles of molasses
• Two drizzles of soy sauce (gluten free tamari)
• A small drizzle of cider vinegar
• Two drizzles of Tabasco
• A teeny-weeny drizzle of liquid smoke
• A plop of Dijon mustard
• Two drizzles of Worcestershire
• A plop of fresh minced garlic
• A handful of brown sugar
• And salt and pepper to taste

Mix in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

Drizzle a quarter inch of water into the brisket pan. To keep the meat from touching the bottom of the pan, put brisket on a rack or, what I often do, is lay it on top of onions, cut in half, and carrots.

Roast the brisket uncovered for a half hour at 375 degrees.

Then pour in a bottle or can of Pepsi. Lower the oven to 325 degrees, and roast for another half hour.

Next, cover with BBQ sauce, seal in foil and roast for two hours.

Turn over the meat and roast for another 3 hours.

This is sublime. You can thank me later.

* * *

Chef Alon Shaya’s favorite dish for special occasions is pan-fried whole speckled trout. It’s a recipe deeply rooted in cherished memories of fishing trips with his father.

“We would catch and cook whatever was available, but speckled trout, with its rich, succulent meat, was always a treat,” Shaya, co-founder of Pomegranate Hospitality and author of “Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel,” told the Journal.

“This method of cooking the fish whole allows the collagen around the bones to melt into the meat,” he said. “This enhances its flavor and texture, which you wouldn’t experience with just a filet.”

Pan-Fried Whole Fish With Brown Butter

4 whole small fish, gutted and fully scaled (preferably about 1 pound each)

2 teaspoons Morton kosher salt

4 teaspoons grated dried Persian lime, divided

½ cup ­ all-­ purpose flour

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, roughly chopped

8 small sprigs fresh thyme

4 cloves garlic, not peeled, lightly crushed

4 fresh bay leaves (or 2 dried)

1 large lime

¼ cup lightly packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Pat the fish dry inside and out, then season each one with about ½ teaspoon each of salt and grated dried lime. Let them sit while you get the pan ready.

Set the flour in a plate or shallow bowl. Pull out a large skillet, one  that’s big enough for the fish to fit comfortably with space to move; you’ll probably need to cook one or two at a time.

Add the butter, thyme, garlic and bay leaves to the pan over medium heat. Once the butter is completely melted and foamy— a warm, deep  gold— dredge the fish all over with flour and shake off any excess. Lay them side by side in the pan, and cook for 5 minutes or so, until the bottoms have browned; every minute or two, tilt the pan and spoon the butter all over the top. As you do this, monitor the color of the butter, which will be a reflection of the heat; if you notice it starting to darken, take the heat down a bit.

Use a thin spatula to flip the fish delicately (move it away from you rather than toward you, so the fat  doesn’t spatter). Cook for another 4 or 5 minutes, then transfer the fish to a serving dish and cook the rest.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter from the pan over the fish. Zest the lime, grate the zest, and sprinkle it all over the tops of the fish, along with the remaining 2 teaspoons grated dried lime and the parsley. Squeeze the fresh lime juice over the fish to finish, and serve immediately.

Shana Tova!