Peppi my friend soaks it in a vinegar and sea salt solution and then dehydrates it and makes Kale Chips. I love them!

Cook kale like spinach, but I like spinach of chard better....brisket can also be looooooong cooked on a grill with some moist smoke added.
I like a brisket long cooked in the oven, with a lid and stock or wine in the bottom of the pan and after a while veggies all around.
Long and slow is the clue.
Linda C

Kale can be eaten raw, cooked lightly or long cooked. Raw, I julienne the leaves only to toss into salads. Long cooked, like any Southern style green, with bacon or side pork of some kind and onions.

I prefer it fairly lightly cooked myself, unless the leaves are really overgrown and tough. I tear the leaves away from the ribs and slice the ribs on the diagonal to cook for a little while first before adding the leaves. Saute some onions and garlic in olive oil with red pepper flakes, add the ribs, then after a few minutes. Keep turning the leaves so they won't singe and cook them until they are soft, but haven't lost the emerald green color. Salt to taste.

Kale is also terrific in soups, because it is a green that holds it's integrity well, doesn't cook down into slime easily. A white bean and Kale soup is yummy with ham or hocks or sausage. Potato kale soup is great too...I especially like a Chicken soup with leeks, potato and kale.

I make sauteed kale in a shiitake mushroom sauce over grilled polenta as a vegetarian dish that has been quite well received. I haven't written that one out, however, but I mention it to point out that one can be quite creative with kale.

I saw a Kale Chip recipe on Foodgawker a few weeks back and gave it a try.

Tore up a head of kale tossed with two teaspoons of olive oil, seasoned to taste with sea salt and cayenne and baked for about 20 minutes in a 300* oven (although the instructions called for a 225* oven for 12 minutes, I could see where that had to be a typo after 15 minutes).
Well, my family and I had the best belly laugh...the flavor was pretty nice, the texture sort of "shattered" in our mouths and lots of hmmms to go round. About 15 minutes after eating them I hear my son in the other room laughing. He returns with a mirror and says take a look at your teeth. Little greenies in every single tooth crevice!
So, eater beware :)

Funny Story!

My brisket recipe is the typical very old much loved recipe with ketchup, honey and onion soup. I think I have given the recipe out at least 50 times. Yours is very different but if you want it i will post.

I have used Clairedeluna's barbeque brisket several times. I usually leave it in the oven for 7-8 hours, the last 2-3 hours I turn the oven down to 250.

Barbeque Brisket

3-4 pound brisket
3-4 T liquid smoke
1 t powdered garlic
1 t powdered onion
2 t celery seed
1 1/2 t salt
2 t Worcestershire sauce
2 t freshly ground pepper
2 T soy sauce
1 cup barbeque sauce (your choice)

Cover both sides of brisket with a marinade made from all the ingredients except for the barbeque sauce. Place brisket in a 9x13 inch pan, fat side down. Cover and marinate meat in refrigerator overnight. The next day, cover pan with foil and bake in a slow oven (300°) for 5 hours. Pour off liquid and reserve. Cool brisket. Slice against grain, and fan the slices in the pan, adding a portion or all of the reserved liquid. Baste the brisket with barbeque sauce and heat for serving.
Clairdeluna

I bet the brisket with prunes on it was a Jewish tzimmes recipe.

Here are two brisket recipes I use. The first one, which is much simpler, I got from the lady who runs the kitchen at our synagogue. I often add prunes and/or apricots, and usually potatoes and carrots.

The second one is a little bit more work, but it is fantastic.

Brisket

5-10 lb. Brisket
2 8-oz. Jars apricot preserves
2 packets dried onion soup
2 T ginger
salt, pepper, and garlic ppowder
optional: prunes, potatoes (peeled and cut up), and/or carrots (scraped and cut up)
Mix jam, soup mix, and ginger in a bowl. Add ¼ cup water. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the brisket and pour garlic powder on it. Rub sauce mixture all over roasting pan and brisket. Add prunes, potatoes, and/or carrots.

Cover tightly and bake 350 for 2 ½ - 3 ½ hours. Remove from pan and slice. Spoon some of the gravy over it. Cover again and bake another 30 minutes before serving.

***

BEEF BRISKET WITH MERLOT AND PRUNES
1 4-to 4 1/2-pound flat-cut (also called first-cut) beef brisket, trimmed of most fat
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice (preferably fire-roasted)
1 cup Merlot or other dry red wine
2 pounds onions, sliced
4 medium carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
16 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 cups pitted large prunes (about 8 ounces)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon prune juice
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 325°F.

Pat brisket dry; sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy extra-large skillet over high heat. Add brisket and cook until deep brown, about 7 minutes per side. Transfer brisket, fat side up, to large roasting pan. Add tomatoes with juice and wine to skillet. Remove from heat, scrape up any browned bits, and pour mixture over brisket. Distribute onions, carrots, and garlic around brisket. Add prunes and thyme; drizzle with 1/2 cup prune juice and 3 tablespoons vinegar. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place pan over 2 burners and bring to boil. Cover pan with heavy-duty foil; place in oven.

Braise brisket until tender, about 3 hours 15 minutes.

Uncover and cool 1 hour at room temperature.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with foil and chill. Bring just to simmer over 2 burners before continuing.
Remove brisket from roasting pan, scraping off juices. Place on work surface; cut across grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Spoon off fat from top of pan juices. Place 1 cup vegetables (no prunes) and 1 cup braising liquid from pan into processor and puree. Return puree to pan. Add remaining 1 tablespoon prune juice and 1 teaspoon vinegar to pan. Heat sauce; season with salt and pepper.
Overlap brisket slices in 13x9x2- inch glass baking dish. Pour sauce over brisket, separating slices to allow some sauce to flow between. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.
Rewarm brisket, covered, in 350°F oven for 30 minutes. Sprinkle brisket with parsley; serve.
More info: Use a slender metal pin, like a turkey lacer, to check whether the brisket is tender. Insert the pin into the thickest part; if it meets no resistance, the brisket is done.

I love to make soup with kale as well. I saute sausage, garlic and onion, add chicken stock and chunks of potatoes and the kale. It's kind of like a caldo verde soup that originally comes from Portugal, I believe.

There is also a fantastic recipe in Molly Katzen's "Moosewood Cooks at Home" that sounds really, really weird, but tastes great. It's a vaguely African stew with peanut butter, crushed pineapple, tabasco and kale and you serve it over rice. I can post it if anybody is interested. It is really a lot better than it sounds.

Housecrzy, I am interested if it isn't too much trouble to type it up for us?

peppi, I brined my brisket and Elery smoked it for me, we made ours into pastrami with lots of black pepper, it was good. I used the recipe in Charcuterie and from now on all my brisket is going to be dedicated to pastrami. I liked it even better than the homemade corned beef I made last year, although that was good too.

I've also used Dishesdone's brisket recipe, but I'm at work and it's at home, but it was good.

Kale? I like it, but I like nearly all greens. It's not as mild as spinach and chard and I usually use it in soup with white beans and italian sausage, although the roasted crackly stuff sounds really interesting.

Annie

I have a good crop of kale growing in pots on my balcony (where it continues growing year round). I'm considering using it in spanakopita instead of spinach, after discovering that spinach costs as much around here per kilo as a nice cut of beef. Should be an interesting experiment.

I see you live in Chicago, so I don't know if you have a smoker or not, but if so, here is a recipe for Texas Brisket. My Indiana family loves it when I fix it for them!

Annie, did you use the whole brisket or just the flat? I made a pastrami awhile back and it was just awful, dry, tough and way too salty. I only used the flat and froze the point.

Which brings up another question , what do I do with the point???

You are the best!

I sauteed the kale with garlic and it does have a stronger taste than spinach, but I reallly like it. I am going to try one of the soups also.

And all teh brisket recipes, wow!

Annie, can you send me Dishesdone? We are not too fond of pastrami...

Rachelellen--here you go. I told you it's a little weird, but really...it's delicious. Let me know how you like it.

African Pineapple Peanut Stew (Moosewood Cooks at Home)

1 c chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP veg oil
1 bunch kale or Swiss chard (4 c. sliced)
2 c. undrained canned crushed pineapple (20 oz can)
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 TBSP Tabasco
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
salt to taste
crushed peanuts and chopped scallions for the top

Saute onions and garlic in the oil until lightly browned. Stack the kale leaves and chop into 1 inch slices. Add the pineapple and its juice to the onions and bring to a simmer. Stir in the ale, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until just tender. Mix in the peanut butter, Tabasco and cilantro and simmer 5 minutes. Add the salt, top with peanuts and scallions. Serve over rice or couscous.