Not your Grandma's: Brisket with butternut squash lentils and slow-cooked mustard sauce

We've been saving this triple-decker recipe for a while. Now seemed like a good time to share - we're happily on vacation in Boston, and heading to California at the end of the week.

I promise I will take a picture of my favorite burrito and share it with all of you. Plus there will be plenty of Filipino recipes from my family, who seem to have a constant stream of pancit and lumpia coming our way. I'm looking forward to documenting some of my favorite recipes from childhood, and sharing them here. Once I've had my way with them, of course.

In the meantime, enjoy this three-in-one recipe collection that works together or separately. Brisket in a slow cooker is incredibly easy. Set it and forget it. Is that a slogan for something?

For our vegetarian friends as a solo dish or for a meat-supporting side dish, the butternut squash lentils are creamy and comforting. To top it all off, I made a slow-cooked mustard sauce using the vegetables reserved from the brisket - a nice way to recycle what you make.

Enjoy! We're coming at you next from California!

Slow Cooker Brisket

• ~ 3.5 - 4 lbs brisket
• 2 yellow onions
• 2 carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 4 cups water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 tbsp savory (substitute thyme if necessary)
• 1/2 tbsp pepper
• 1/2 tbsp salt

Rough chop all vegetables.

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.


Butternut Squash Lentils

• 1lb (1 package) lentils
• 1 tbsp bacon fat or butter 
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 cup roasted butternut squash, cubed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Salt + pepper

Cover lentils and bacon fat with water and boil 15-20 minutes until tender. Strain and set aside.

Add vegetable oil to a hot pan and let sit until it starts to smoke.

Add carrots and roasted squash, stirring occasionally. Let a few sides brown or even caramelize (about 5 minutes of no stirring).

Add lentils and heavy cream. Reduce heat to simmer and cook about 5 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste.


Honey-Mustard Vegetable Sauce

• 2 cups reserved and strained vegetables (from the slow cooker)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and GO!  

After about 10-15 seconds, stop the blender and stir. Repeat until smooth.

This sauce is customizable - play around with the flavors until you arrive at something awesome. Try adding more dijon, honey or hot sauce.

Milk braised pork with lemon-gruyère sauce

Damn! This is the most tender pork you've ever had. Seriously. It's also crispy, cheesy, and goes great on top of a heap of sautéed swiss chard or collard greens. If you're looking for something a little more filling, pair your pork with rice.

The sauce is made with gruyère, an excellent cheese for cooking with because of its distinctive yet subtle taste. The flavor of gruyère changes as it ages, beginning with a nutty flavor and gradually becoming more earthy over time. 

For this recipe, you'll need a crockpot. If you don't have one, get one. You will never regret it, ever.

Milk Braised Pork

Cooking time: About 6.5 hours

• 7lb skin on, bone in pork shoulder (about 4 lbs without bones or skin)
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 cups whole milk
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 15 fresh sage leaves
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt + fresh ground black pepper (at least 1 tbsp of each)

Put half of the thyme and half of the sage at the bottom of the crock pot.

Chop up all the veggies and put them with the herbs in the pot.

Use a knife to score the skin of the pork shoulder.

In a hot pan with 3 tbsp olive oil, sear the sides of the pork.

Place the seared shoulder in the crock pot, cover with remaining herbs.

Add milk, salt, and pepper. You can always add more salt and pepper later, so go easy at first.

Cook for 6 hours on high.

Before serving, sear pieces of cooked pork on high heat to crisp up the outsides. This adds a nice variation in texture, but also brings out the incredible flavor of the pork in a different way.


Lemon-Gruyère Sauce
Cooking time: About 15 minutes

• About 3 cups of liquid pork drippings 
• About 3 tbsp roux (more roux = thicker sauce!)
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese (more cheese = never a bad idea)
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Sea salt + fresh ground black pepper to taste

Skim the fat off the top of the pork drippings. This should leave you with a clear-ish liquid, which you should bring to a boil in a saucepan.

Add roux, milk, and shredded cheese. Whisk until blended.

Add lemon, and nutmeg.

Add salt and pepper to taste.