Braised Beef Brisket
Serves: 10
Hands On Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours and 0 minutes
Ingredients
1 beef brisket (4 to 5 pounds), well marbled
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Paprika
Ground cumin
1 large onion, roughly chopped
4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
4 carrots, roughly chopped
5 or more cloves of garlic, smashed
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
5 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 cups red wine (Podhorez recommends cabernet)
1 (14 1/2-ounce can) low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Instructions
Heat oven to 300 degrees.
Lightly coat brisket with vegetable oil and then season all over with salt, pepper, paprika and cumin.
In a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add vegetable oil to barely cover the bottom. When oil is hot, add brisket and brown on all sides. Remove meat to a plate.
In the same pot, add the onion. Saute until just soft, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. Add the celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary and thyme and cook until vegetables soften. Drain off any excess fat.
Add wine, broth, vinegar and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid for a few minutes (the longer you reduce the liquid, the more flavorful your final dish will be). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
Return brisket to the pot, along with any juices on the plate. The liquid should come about halfway up the sides of the meat (add extra broth or wine if necessary). Cover tightly and place in the oven.
Cook for 1 1/2 hours, turn meat over and cook for 1 to 2 hours, until meat is fork-tender. Serve warm.
Nutrition
Per serving, based on 8: 455 calories (percent of calories from fat, 44), 30 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 20 grams fat, 141 milligrams cholesterol, 263 milligrams sodium.
About the recipe
Easy to make and full of flavor, this cornerstone recipe works perfectly as a hearty dinner or divided for a week’s worth of meals.
Make sure to use a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Because most supermarkets sell smaller pieces of brisket, it might be necessary to ask the butcher to cut a larger piece if you want to feed a crowd. The recipe can use a smaller piece of meat if that is more convenient.
After cooking, Podhorez recommends transferring the meat and liquid to an airtight container and refrigerating for three days. Slice the cold meat and reheat with liquid and vegetables in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. If serving that day, 8 to 10 red creamer potatoes can be added during the last hour of cooking.
Recipe courtesy of Jason Podhorez.