Salpicon

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

2. Sprinkle kosher salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper over the fatty side of brisket. Spread tomato paste over entire brisket. Place brisket, fat-side up, in a heavy pot; pour in enough water to cover brisket. Add halved onion, carrot, celery, 1/2 of the cilantro, and garlic to the pot. Bring liquid to a boil. Cover pot with a lid or aluminum foil and transfer to oven.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until brisket is very tender, about 6 hours.

4. Blend chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in a a food processor until finely chopped. Add vinegar to peppers and continue processing; drizzle olive oil into mixture until smooth.

5. Remove brisket from liquid and cool slightly. Slice meat across the grain into 2-inch slices; shred thoroughly with a fork.

6. Combine shredded meat, chopped onion, tomato, remaining cilantro, and pepper mixture in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Serve meat mixture with corn tortillas and top meat with Monterey Jack cheese.

Cook's Notes:

This can also be served chilled. Cut Monterey Jack cheese into 1/4-inch cubes to serve. To serve chilled as a salad: let marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, taste and add additional salt and pepper as desired, toss with cheese cubes. Serve in a decorative bowl and garnish with remaining cilantro. Serve with warm corn tortillas.

For a milder version of this recipe, remove about half of the chopped peppers from the food processor bowl – after adding oil and vinegar, then add back chopped peppers, a teaspoon at a time, to desired level of spiciness.

I reserve the liquid left in the pot after cooking the brisket. Chill and remove fat and use in place of the water in the Spanish Rice II recipe on Allrecipes.com.

Editor's Note:

The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of remaining liquid in pot. The actual amount consumed will vary.