As hot summer days roll in, you look for easy to cook, flavorful meals. Brisket is one such meal. Brisket is tender, juicy, and can be wonderful and tasty! It is a side of beef that is best slow-cooked over low temperatures. Unfortunately, we often focus so much on the side dishes that we forget the drinks accompanying a well-cooked brisket.
Drinks should enhance the flavors of the meat, refresh, compliment the spices, and splice the meat’s fattiness. Any drink with high tannins like red wines pairs well with brisket. Stout beers complement the smokiness of the meat. Cocktails with lemon or cranberry juice serve as palate cleansers.
You’ve prepared an excellent, delicious brisket, but you are unsure what drinks to serve with the meal.
Don’t Stress! This article discusses some of the best drinks to compliment your perfectly cooked brisket.
What Beer Goes With Brisket?
When pairing a beer with brisket, experts recommend a good stout. The chocolate and coffee notes combined with the smoky flavors found in most stout beer complement enhance the flavors of the rich, roasted, flavorful meat.
If you choose to go with a craft beer, choose a rich, bourbon barrel-aged stout or a German Doppelbock—both these pair very well with a smoked slow-cooked brisket.
Listed below are five beers you may enjoy with your delicious brisket.
Shiner Brock
Shiner Bock, brewed in the heart of Texas, this dark beer with fermented German hops and rich, roasted barley malt is a good accompaniment with brisket.
Coffee Oatmeal Stout
Coffee Oatmeal Stout, a beer brewed by the Good People Brewing Company, bursts with flavors of coffee and molasses. When paired with a slice of brisket, the sweetness of this strong brown ale is just splendid.
Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout
Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout, the chocolate, savory notes of this beer compliment the brisket perfectly, no matter the manner you choose to marinate your meat
Left Hand Milk Stout
Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro’s mocha and brown sugar notes are ideal with slow-cooked, smoked brisket. The Milk stout contained in this beer does not ferment. Instead, it remains, which brings out the sweetness.
Bourbon Oak Aged Scotch Ale
Mile Brewing Company Bourbon Oak Aged Scotch Ale, the old bourbon barrels used to age this Scotch ale, lends its aromas of vanilla and spice to this full-bodied beer. The malt and oak notes make this beer a perfect pairing with a smoky piece of brisket.
Which Wine Is Best To Drink With Brisket?
The type of wine you choose should not deter from the rich flavor of the brisket. A good wine contains high acid, which is perfect for cleansing through the fats in a brisket. Before deciding on a wine, consider the spice rub used on the meat and the sauces that go with it.
Try the following guidelines when pairing wine with brisket:
- Many wine experts suggest pairing a Zinfandel with a brisket. However, that is not always the best choice. A brisket is rich, heavy with fats with a dense meatiness. It requires a lighter wine such as a northern Rhone-style Syrah, either Hermitage or a Côte-Rôtie. An excellent Northern California wine like Wine Gap is also great to drink with brisket.
- Because brisket is such a significant, heavy type of meat, many think they need something equally significant to drink, but that is not the case. A good Pinot Noir is excellent to drink with brisket. The acidity of a Pinot makes it a great palate cleanser. Added to that, the flavors of plum, cherry, and raspberries elevate the tomato-based sauce’s tastes.
- Some suggest drinking an oaky wine with brisket. Foodies assume the smokiness of the barbeque meat goes well with the toastiness of the oak barrel. However, that is not the case. The best choice of wine for brisket is rich and fruity. The fruitiness of the wine will burst through the fattiness of the meat. You cannot go wrong with a good Cabernet Sauvignon. The tartness of the ripe cherries will neatly slice through the richness of the fatty brisket.
A California Cabernet is great because it will complement the sauce if it is not too spicy.
- Braised beef brisket with a classic Merlot from Napa Valley is a firm favorite among brisket lovers. Slow-cooking your smoked brisket with a smooth, flavorful tomato-based sauce, choosing a medium to full-bodied Merlot is the best choice. A Merlot rich in tannins will balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
Can You Drink Whiskey With Brisket?
When you prepare a brisket, you want to remember the taste of the spices used in the rubs, the smokiness, and the accompaniments that go with it. So you most certainly don’t need a drink that hides those flavors (unless you’ve spoiled the brisket and need the alcohol to disguise the bad taste!)
A whiskey such as an aged, rye bourbon-like David Nicholson Reserve will add flavor to your brisket. The honey sweetness, the toastiness, along with the chocolate and just a touch of spice, wouldn’t detract from the briskets’ rich flavorful taste.
An expert suggests going for the brown, slightly sweeter, heavy-bodied spirits, like bourbon, instead of the lighter spirits, which compete with the taste of the brisket.
What Cocktails Can I Drink With Brisket?
When choosing cocktails to pair with your brisket, remember your brisket is a slice of heavy meat with some fat.
Therefore, the type of cocktails you decide on should be light, fruity, slightly sweet, with some acid as a palate cleanser. Allow the meat to shine your drink should bring out more flavors, not take away.
Try some of the cocktails listed below.
- A Margarita pairs well with brisket, the blend of tequila, fresh lime juice, orange liqueur, and a touch of agave syrup is a good accompaniment for brisket. The acids in the tequila and lime juice make them a good palate cleanser, and the orange liqueur and agave add just a hint of sweetness.
- Mojito, made with rum, lemon juice, fresh mint, sugar with just a splash of club soda, is another great drink that goes with brisket. Again, the acid from the lemon juice and rum is perfect for cleansing the greasiness of the fat. Fresh mint and barbeque meat? A match made in heaven.
- Jackpot, a drink similar to a Highball, is made with concentrated ginger juice, bourbon, and lemon soda. This drink would make an excellent accompaniment to your slow-cooked smoked brisket with an uncomplicated spice rub. The ginger in this drink compliments the spiciness of the rub splendidly.
- Fernet Branca goes down fabulously at the end of a heavy meal as a tummy soother. Thanks to the nitrogen gas from the creamer faucet, this bitter Italian liqueur is highly recommended for those who have thoroughly enjoyed their meal of smoked brisket, sauces, and sides.
What Non-alcoholic Drinks Go With Brisket?
For reasons of their own, many would choose a non-alcoholic drink over an alcoholic one with their meal. So it’s best to be prepared rather than be caught in the cold.
Here are some delicious but enjoyable mocktails that your non-alcoholic friend or family member may enjoy with their brisket without feeling like an outsider.
- Cranberry or Pomegranate juice contains tannins like wine that work as palate cleansers against the heaviness of the brisket. They aren’t too sweet that they overpower the taste and flavor of the brisket instead compliment the meat. However, if you dislike the tart taste, consider diluting by adding water or club soda.
- Club Soda With Lemon Or Lime, the carbonation of the soda helps cut through the brisket’s fattiness, which also makes it a great palate cleanser. Club soda too plain and boring? Spruce it up with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice. The citrus and acid help cut through the fats and balance out the taste of the brisket.
- Non-Alcoholic Sangria, for a refreshing, fruity drink to compliment your brisket, you don’t need wine. Instead, add cranberry or grape juice, cherry-flavored sparkling water, ginger ale, or black tea as the base for this delicious non-alcoholic version. Add some color and flavor by dropping in some fresh berries and fruit with a sprig of mint or basil to finish.
Chill in the fridge and Presto! a delicious non-alcoholic drink that enhances the taste of your perfectly cooked brisket and is excellent for any hot summer’s day.
Final Word
Brisket is a unique cut of meat reserved for those special occasions, slow-cooked with a light spice rub. Therefore, choose simple drinks that go down as smooth as the meal.
Remember to choose high in tannins drinks, like red wines or cranberry juice. Cocktails high in acid and some sugar also pair well with brisket because they cut through the heavy, fattiness of the meat.
Blend the flavors of the brisket with your drink and enjoy.
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Sources
https://vinepair.com/articles/the-10-best-beers-to-pair-with-brisket/
https://therebelchick.com/best-non-alcoholic-drinks-for-a-barbecue/
https://www.thekitchn.com/5-things-to-drink-with-your-steak-if-you-dont-like-red-wine-240340