Brisket is a great kind of meat to serve for holiday meals. It takes a lot of love and care to make a good brisket although I have trouble demonstrating the same kind of restraint while eating it. Brisket is one of my favorite cuts of beef and there are many ways to make it, but the one I'll show you here is easy, economical, consistent, and a real crowd-pleaser, I promise.
Ingredients:
1 brisket
1 yellow onion
3 celery stalks
3 carrots
4-5 cloves or garlic (or however much you want)
3-4 rosemary sprigs (or however much you want)
3-4 thyme sprigs (or however much you want)
4-5 bay leaves (or however much you want)
equal parts red wine and beef stock-enough to fill your baking pan above the level of the vegetables and partially submerge the meat
salt & pepper
~4 tbsp flour
Directions:
Chop the veggies into large chunks and peel the garlic (peeling is optional). Score the fat cap of the brisket (optional) and season all sides with salt and pepper. Sear the meat in a pan fat side first. Remove the meat and add the veggies (and herbs if you want) and cook them down for ~2 minutes. Add red wine to the pan and make sure to scrape up any fond (brown bits) on the bottom of the pan. Transfer contents of the pan to your baking pan and make sure vegetables are evenly distributed. If you didn't already add the herbs, place the herbs in your baking pan. Place the brisket fat side up on top of the vegetables so that it is not touching the bottom of the pan. Add beef stock to the pan until the level of liquid reaches a little bit up the side of the brisket. Do not fully submerge the meat. Place in a 300F oven for ~4 hours basting the meat around every 30 minutes. After the brisket is done, remove it from the pan to rest before slicing. Remember to slice against the grain.
Gravy:
Strain the liquid in the pan. Skim as much fat as you can from the pan drippings and heat it in a large saucepan. Add an equal amount of flour and mix to form a roux. Cook the roux until the flour is no longer raw and add some of the cooking liquid while whisking. once the roux is dissolved and a thick gravy has formed, add more liquid until you reach your desired consistency and let it boil for a minute. Remove from the heat and it is ready to serve!
Music: bensound.com
