Brisket

Brisket is a primal cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal, and one of the nine beef primal cuts, although the exact definition of the cut differs between countries. It is built from the superficial and deep pectoral muscles, which carry about sixty percent of the body weight of standing cattle, so the meat holds a great deal of connective tissue and begins tough. Long, slow cooking turns the collagen to gelatin and tenderizes it, and the fat cap that is often left on keeps the meat moist. Brisket is baked, boiled, roasted, braised or smoked. Smoked over wood it is a staple of Texas barbecue, and burnt ends from it are a Kansas City specialty. It is braised for Jewish holiday meals, boiled for the New England dinner, simmered in Cantonese noodle soups and Vietnamese pho, and is the usual cut for corned beef and pastrami. The name comes from Middle English brusket, from Old Norse for cartilage.