Having enjoyed the simple pleasures of another corned beef brisket this week, we’ve got brisket on the brain around our camp it seems. What’s not to love about the lowly brisket?
The very traits that bring forth the magic that only brisket can proffer occasionally inspire mockery and derision from the less informed.
Sure, brisket in its native form is chock-full of beefy rich flavor locked in a tough as boot-leather structure with bands of fat inside and out. Untrimmed brisket, in its naked glory at the meat counter, is a lot like your free-loading, overweight brother-in-law: cheap, not much to look at if not downright ugly, ungainly, unworthy of respect, and by all appearances just too damned fat.
However, in a process akin to the mystical alchemy of old, take that brisket and judiciously apply a smidgen of spices, low heat (best from a genuine hardwood fire) and a whiff of smoke over a long, long cook time and that ungainly hunk of meat transforms into one of the most tasty and delectably tender treasures known to protein-loving mankind.
Having been raised in Texas, even in the day before there was a barbecue joint on every other corner, the word barbecue simply meant smoked brisket.
Of course there are a passel of good ways to rustle up a brisket for dinner, and we realize that not everyone can carve out the time to slow smoke one of these bad boys for 20 hours before their next poker night or weekend shindig.
We’re also joyous fans of braised briskets of all sorts, and were offered a bit of this Stout Braised Brisket yesterday – it’s a fabulous prep that needs a day to rest between the first cook and service. It’s one of the best we’ve ever tasted and the sauce (gravy if you must) is one that people have fought over and will do so again.
By the way, our recipe source said porter plays as well as stout here.
It looks complicated but it’s really not – mine’s in the oven this morning; bring your bib if you’re coming for dinner tomorrow…
7 to 8 pound flat-cut brisket, trimmed (some fat still attached)
Rub
1 and 1/2 tbsp coarse kosher salt
1 generous tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 generous tbsp dry mustard
1 generous tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1 generous tbsp fresh thyme, chopped2 tbsp rendered bacon fat
6 to 7 cups chicken broth
1 and 1/2 12-ounce bottles stout or porter
10 whole pitted prunes
5 bay leaves
1 and 1/2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
6 cups sliced onions (about 2 and 1/2 pounds)
10 whole garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed as needed
1 lb baby bella mushrooms, quartered
1 lb fresh medium carrots, trimmed, cut into 2 inch lengths
1/2 lb parsnips, trimmed and sliced3 tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard
2-3 tbsp malt vinegar (or more)
Rub a dub. Combine the rub ingredients and coat all surfaces of the brisket. Prep everything else but the mushrooms, carrots and parsnips.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Sear and braise. Heat the bacon fat in your biggest dutch oven over medium high heat; sear the brisket on both sides until a rich, dark brown. Remove the brisket to a baking sheet and add 2 cups of broth to the dutch oven and bring to boil; be sure to scrape up the brown bits of goodness from the bottom.
Now add the stout, prunes, bay leaves, and brown sugar; return to a boil. Place the brisket (fat side down for now) in the liquid, cover with the sliced onions and then the garlic. Cover and braise in the oven for an hour.
Turn #1. Now uncover the brisket, turn it so the onions fall into the broth, and slide back into the oven for 30 minutes. Then add 1 cup (or more if needed) broth, cover again, and braise for another 90 minutes.
Load the veges. Pull the brisket from the pot, add another cup of broth, then add the mushrooms, carrots and parsnips. Add more broth to cover the vegetables as needed. Return the brisket to the dutch oven, cover, and braise for another hour.
Cool it. Pull from the oven, uncover and let cool. Place in the fridge uncovered until cold, then cover and hold for up to 2 more days (BUT at least for one day).
Finish it off. Preheat the oven back to 350. Remove the brisket to a cutting board and remove any fat from the pan juices.
Slice the brisket thinly across the grain (easy as pie when chilled) and lay out in a large roasting pan. Bring the broth and vegetables to a boil, then whisk in the mustard and at least 2 tbsp of vinegar (we added more this week). The liquid should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, it not, simmer it down a bit. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Now spoon the vegetables and sauce over the meat, cover tightly with foil and bake until heated through – about 75 minutes. The first time we were served this, our host uncovered it for the final 15 minutes to caramelize things up a bit.
Enjoy.
