Beef brisket

Brisket, cooked until tender, can be served around 6 months once baby is ready. Other pages cover different beef cuts and ways to prepare them.

Brisket comes from the front chest of the cow. It holds two muscles split by a layer of fat, and it is often sold separately. The flat cut is lean. The point cut is marbled. Both are tough by nature. Long cooking makes the meat tender enough to fall apart. People braise, boil, grill, smoke or stew it. You find it in American Southern barbecue, British corned beef, Eastern European pot roast and Vietnamese phở.

Nutrition

Protein and fat are not all brisket offers. Zinc, iron, selenium, choline and vitamin B6 are in it, too. These nutrients help growth, brain development, energy for play, healthy red blood cells, sense of taste and immune defense. A baby's iron stores run low from month 6. Brisket is a strong food source of iron at that stage.

Serving the meat in sauce instead of dry helps baby handle it. Long strips suit young babies. After 9 months, fine chopping or shredding works well. After 12 months you can offer larger pieces.

Smoked brisket is usually salty. Serve it occasionally, in a form that suits your child's age, within a varied diet.

Meats such as brisket can be firm and hard to chew, which raises the risk of choking. Cook the meat until tender and cut it in an age-suited way.

Beef rarely causes food allergy. Allergic reactions to beef do happen, though.

Some tick bites (Lone Star tick in the US, other species elsewhere) can cause alpha-gal allergy. Alpha-gal is a sugar found in the meat of non-primate mammals. The reaction starts late, 3 to 8 hours after red meat is eaten. People with alpha-gal allergy sometimes react to traces of that sugar in dairy, gelatin and mammal organ meats.

A child with milk allergy may have a slightly higher chance of reacting to beef. Many people with a confirmed beef allergy are also allergic to cow's milk.