After how much I enjoyed the last brisket we made together, I thought it’s only fair if we do it all over again but this time use a 1950’s recipe. Every decade has foods that become trendy, I know we have all been bombarded by avocado toast and Nutella and the 50’s were no different. During the 50’s, Coca Cola was a bit of a superfood and it was used as medication, in recipes for vegetables and even cakes. Today’s vintage cooking adventure features Coca Cola as the shining star to flavour our brisket and I cannot wait to see how it turns out!

Whilst looking for a recipe, I came across this one from The Starving Chef and it was the only one that was from the 50’s. Now The Starving Chef claims that the recipe is from The Marvellous Mrs Maisel which isn’t completely true. Although Midge does make Brisket throughout the series, she never mentions or is seen with Coca Cola during the process. It’s only until the third season that Mrs Moskowitz mentions that her sister makes a brisket using Coca Cola which Joel politely declines the offer to come over and try. The Starving Chef mentions that their recipe came from a vintage cookbook but no where on their page or site is the books title mentioned (I even messaged them to ask but got no response) so unfortunately I cannot share with you the original recipe.

Ingredients
-2.5kg brisket
-vegetable oil
-salt and pepper
-1/4 cup red wine
-1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
-1 carrot, chopped
-3 celery sticks, chopped
-4 garlic cloves, minced
-2 tbsp crystallised ginger
-1 cup cherry tomatoes
-1/4 cup tomato sauce
-2 cups Coca Cola
-parsley to garnish

Steps:
-Preheat oven to 150C
-In a Dutch oven, heat up your vegetable oil until it gets hot. Season your brisket and place it in the oil to sear it for about 4-5 minutes per side. Season as your turn your brisket and make sure to sear the sides. Remove the brisket and set it aside.
-Deglaze your Dutch oven with the wine and scrape as much off the bottom off the pan as you can. This is flavour. Let the wine reduce for about 3 minutes.
-Add your onion and sauté until they are tender (3 minutes approx), and then add your carrots and celery. I also added my mushrooms at this point. Stir and let cook for a few minutes.
-Stir in your garlic, ginger, cherry tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce.
-Pour in your Coca Cola; bring it to a simmer. Return your brisket and nestle it between your vegetables. Spoon some sauce and vegetables on top and pour more Coca Cola over the top of the meat.
-Cover your brisket (using foil or a lid) and put it in the over for appoximately 45 minutes per half a kilo.
I put mine in for 2 hours, checked it, and then in for another hour.
-Once your brisket is done, you can serve it after carving, or leave it in the fridge overnight and serving the next day. It helps to slice the brisket after it’s cooked and then leaving it in the sauce over night as the brisket will absorb even more flavour and will be super delicious the next day.
-We served our brisket with mashed potatoes.

Results:
So, how did she taste? She was absolutely delicious! Compared to the official Mrs Maisel brisket she is a lot less sweeter as the only sweet ingredient was the Cola but there was a great richness of flavour. The Cola added a nice caramelisation flavour but it wasn’t overpowering to the point it still tasted like Cola. I really liked this recipe and if it weren’t for my inability to eat red meat, I would add this to my recipe rotation. This recipe was really simple to follow as most of the time you just threw in what you needed to, mixed and then added more ingredients. The brisket can be served along side many sides and opting for some mash really helped soak up the sauce and make for a delicious dinner. Whilst feeding my husband, he said he preferred this recipe to the Maisel brisket as he preferred the brisket not being as sweet. I think I preferred the Maisel brisket as I really enjoyed the cranberries and the pops of sweetness but you know, each to their own.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.