Recipe of the Week: Circadia’s Beer Braised Brisket and Cabbage with Malted Mashed Potatoes

Recipes for Seattlemag.com’s Recipe of the Week are contributed by participating chefs, cookbook authors and food bloggers. 

Name of Recipe: Circadia Beer Braised Brisket and Cabbage with Malted Mashed Potatoes 

Source of Recipe: Chef Garrett Melkonian’s own creation

Why We Love This Recipe: We love this recipe because it embodies Circadia’s spirit and overall culinary approach, which is to “redefine fine dining.” Many of our dishes are modern twists on culinary classics infused with world flavors. With this recipe, Garrett has reinvented a very classic, beloved Irish dish and turned it into a culinary delight that anyone can make at home. At Circadia, we celebrate every day and all occasions. During the week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, we’ll celebrate the Irish in all of us by featuring this as a special dish, which pairs nicely with a pint of Guinness.

Circadia’s Beer Braised Brisket and Cabbage with Malted Mashed Potatoes

Beer Braised Brisket Ingredients

5 lb Beef Brisket, trimmed
3 qt Water
1 qt Guinness Beer 
1 Tbs Coriander
1 Tbs Whole Peppercorn
1 Tbs Cloves
6 Whole Bay Leaves
1 Tbs Mustard Seed
9 Cardamom Pods
¼ c Brown Sugar
1 Tbs Allspice 
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 8 oz. Jar of Whole Grain Mustard
3 Tbs unsalted butter salt to taste

Pre-heat Oven to 350 degrees. Trim any excess fat and silver skin from the brisket. In a large stock pot or braising pan, add all ingredients including water, beer and brisket. Cover and cook for 3-3.5 hours, until tender but not falling apart. Remove brisket from the braising liquid and set aside to cool. Strain braising liquid from pain and place in smaller sauce pan, reduce liquid over medium heat until it measures to one quart. Add one jar of whole grain mustard and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat, finish 3 Tbs of butter, season to taste with salt. Once brisket is fully cool, cut brisket into 6 even portions. Brown each portion on all sides in a hot pan and give each brisket steak a little sauce on the browned portions to glaze each side.

Malted Mashed Potatoes Ingredients

2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 ½ c (3 Sticks) of unsalted butter
3 c of Milk
½ c Malt Powder Salt to Taste 

Peel potatoes and cut into ½ inch pieces. Place in cold, salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until fork tender. Drain and reserve. In a separate pot, bring milk, butter and malt powder to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over cooked potatoes. Smash potatoes with a fork until desired consistency. Season to taste with salt, serve warm.

Savoy Beer Braised Cabbage Ingredients

2 Heads Savoy Cabbage
½ c Pilsner Beer
1 ½ c (3 Sticks) of unsalted butter
1 tsp. Sugar Salt to taste

Quarter both heads of cabbage and peel off the layers so you have triangular pieces of cabbage. Trim off any thick pieces of stem. Peel until you get to the dense portion of the cabbage and reserve for another use. Add Pilsner beer to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce by half and add butter. Once butter is melted, add sugar and cabbage leaves. Cook over medium-low heat until tender, about 25 minutes.

To Plate: Place one glazed brisket steak on each plate, dress with approx. 1/3 cup of brisket sauce. Add a serving of the Malted Mashed potatoes, alongside a serving of the Savoy Cabbage with a touch of the buttery beer cabbage sauce. Enjoy with a Guinness or other favorite dark Irish-style beer of your choice.