It has been quite a ride the last few months. This week I’m incorporating a new tech startup, with a co-founder I couldn’t be more pleased to be working with. More on that to come (and thank you to those who took my first survey). I’m loving being back at the ground floor with an idea I’m passionate about. Obviously my time is crunched, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t need to put good food on the table! The only trouble is that I have to speed some things up, and I can’t be quite as creative, ambitious, or exploratory. I also need to carve out a little more “fun” time to catch up on the food blogs of so many people I have come to both like and admire out there.
This recipe is not radically different from other beef braises I have done, but in this case I chucked out any step that didn’t feel completely necessary (like searing the meat beforehand). You know what? It took minutes to throw together and the results were still awesome.
Brisket Braised in Beer
4 or 5 lb brisket
1 and a half large spanish onions (or yellow, vidalia, white)
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 beer (in this case I used sapporo)
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp dry oregano
salt and pepper
Set the oven to 300F. Salt both sides of the brisket liberally (I like using kosher salt).
Chop your onions and place half in the bottom of a dutch oven large enough to fit the meat (it is ok to squeeze the meat in — the brisket will shrink as it cooks). Place the meat on top, and then scatter around the rest of the onions and the garlic cloves. Pour the crushed tomatoes on top, scatter the bay leaves, oregano and a little freshly ground pepper on top, and pour in the beer. Cover and place in the oven.
Stick in the oven for about 6 hours, flipping half way through.
When you serve the meat, don’t forget to cut across the grain, and it’s great with a little coarse salt on top.
The braising liquid and vegetables become a fabulous gravy. Just spoon out any liquid fat on top, spoon some into a food processor, and blend. Taste for salt and pepper.
“The braising liquid becomes a fabulous gravy” – ah Giff, I have absolutely no doubt. 7 hours… I can imagine the texture of the brisket! I need a family so I can start cooking large pieces of beef.
Have you read that Fleishers’ now delivers?
Matt is part of a start-up & I know the time it takes so its great you get here when you can! That brisket sounds so amazing, we’ll have to try it.
Great recipe Giff … there is nothing more comforting to me than braising meats for hours, the aroma permeating the house and then enjoying the meal with the family.
Giff, what do you like to serve with your briskets?
That ranges quite a bit. This one I served with a fennel gratin (this one, with white sauce doubled) and crashed baby red potatoes (see pioneer woman cooks for that).
I’ll usually have two sides. One is either potatoes in one of the many ways I like to cook em (long list), or simply some rice. The other side is something green, which in most cases is cooked fairly simply to add a clean counterbalance to the the richness of the sauce going over the brisket. Green or wax beans are marvelous partners with this dish if fresh. If you want a vegetable with a sharp contrast to the brisket, I think broccoli rabe can be good with this.
One 911 call later, I can say this brisket is amazing. I went a bit crazy with the salt, but that was merely because I was waiting for an EMT to arrive to stitch my left thumb back together after the spanish onions slipped on the cutting board. Man, those chef knives can be sharp…
The crashed potatoes were a perfect match, but I have to say that it was a bit of a stretch for the fennel gratin to compliment the flavor profile of the other two. Don’t get me wrong, the fennel gratin is awesome, but I think I’ll go with a broccoli rabe or a wilted greens dish instead to give it something bitter.
“9-1-1 Brisket” is a keeper. 🙂
hope that hand is ok! And yes I agree with you… the fennel gratin was an unusual addition simply because I had some gorgeous fennel in the fridge, but normally I go with something clean and green 🙂
7 hours of cooking…. no wonder the meat looks like it’s falling apart in the photo. congrats on the new startup!
You are one patient cook! That looks delcious. I can see that cookiing time really paid off.
Good luck with your new venture!
Happy Holidays!