Try smoked brisket at Kochi’s new smokehouse, Erracci

Discover the newest smokehouse in Maradu, Erracci, serving succulent smoked brisket and steak in a warm, inviting setting.

Driving to Maradu in peak hour traffic is not exactly ideal, especially when a thunderstorm is brewing and your GPS is goading you to take incredibly narrow bylanes. But Erracci, the newest smokehouse in town, is worth it. Set behind Crowne Plaza, beside the Vembanad lake, this space is warmly lit and inviting.

The no-frills menu spotlights smoked, slow-cooked brisket and succulent steak. Erracci is for those who take their meat seriously — for those who are as committed to the process as they are to the meat. 

A smoked brisket is made by seasoning a boneless piece of meat with salt and pepper and slow-cooked over indirect heat — from 18 to 24 hours. The prolonged cooking helps break down the connective tissue in the meat. A cut from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal, the brisket is one of the nine primal cuts of beef, also known to be one of the toughest. 

The cooking process involves dedication and patience, as the meat has to be monitored every few hours so as to ensure it is cooked perfectly.

Erracci, which launched in March, is the passion project of a bunch of friends — Jayesh Joy and Chinthu Antony (who own Tender4Sure, a Kochi-based company selling meat and meat products), Titu (who owns Mexican grill Titu’s Taqueria) and Sharik KS and Ebin Bastian of Cafe Moon by Sol Kitchen. 

“We get people who are familiar with this kind of cuisine and also those who are new to it; there is curiosity. The response has been great and we are fully booked on the weekends,” says Ekta Nair, the CEO of Erracci. A friend of the founders, Ekta, who was managing a restaurant in Goa and is equally passionate about the art of smoked meat, joined in. “This is a space that celebrates the traditional way of cooking brisket,” she says.

Brisket for beginners can be a revelation. It is juicy, bursting with flavour and light. Served with a salad of pickled onions and gherkins, bbq sauce and bread (to complement the smoke), Erracci’s signature smoked brisket is sure to impress.