Melt in your mouth brisket. There was also about a gallon of delicious gravy on the serving plate which I forgot to spoon over, so just imagine this with sexy gravy poured all over the top of it. The flavor was deep and rich with just a hint of tang and tomato flavor. Served with a side of rice to soak up the gravy, this is a great dinner platter to serve and impress guests with.
ingredients:
for 3-4 people
1. 2-3 lb brisket
2. 3 medium sized onions (2 large) - halved and sliced into 1/2" thick slices
3. 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
4. 2 cloves of garlic - minced
5. 1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
6. 1 1/2 tsp paprika
7. 1/16 tsp cayenne pepper
8. 1 TBL ap flour
9. 1/2 cup chicken broth
10. 1/2 cup dry white or red wine
11. 2 bay leaves
12. 2 sprigs of thyme
13. 1-2 tsp cider vinegar
14. salt and pepper
15. 13 x 9 baking dish
16. foil
recipe:
1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 baking dish with a long sheet of foil so that it extends past the edges by an inch or two.
2. Cut two more sheets of foil to extend the width of the baking sheet past the edges by an inch or two. Place one sheet on the top half of the baking dish and the other on the bottom half.
3. Salt and pepper both sides of the brisket. Heat up 1 tsp of oil in a 12" skillet over medium high heat until oil begins to smoke. Add the brisket, fat side up into the pan. Weigh the brisket down with a heavy pot so that it is as flat as possible and makes good contact with the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the bottom gets super brown and crusty. Flip over and repeat. Transfer to a platter to rest.
4. Pour off all but 1 1/2 tsp of oil from the pan. Add in chopped up onion, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and golden, about 10 minutes.
5. Make a space in the middle, then add the minced garlic to the center and toast until very fragrant. Add tomato paste and stir, cooking for 2-3 minutes until paste has darkened. Add paprika and cayenne and cook for 1 minute.
6. Sprinkle flour over onions and cook, stirring constantly until all the flour has dissolved. Add in both, wine, bay leaves, and thyme. Stir with a wooden spoon and scrape up the bottom and sides to scrape off all the browned bits. Simmer for 5 minutes until thickened.
7. Pour sauce and onions into center of the foiled baking dish. Place the brisket, fat side up, on top of the onions and sauce. Fold up the foil extensions and seal.
8. Place baking dish into oven and cook for 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 hours. To check for doneness, take the baking dish out of the oven. Carefully open the foil package (STEAM WILL BE HOT). Insert fork into thickest part of the brisket (this may or may not be the center of it). The fork should meet very little resistance. It should go in like butter. If you have to apply some force to get the fork in, re-seal the foil and place into the oven for another 30 minutes before checking doneness again.
9. After brisket is done, transfer brisket only to a platter. Set up a mesh strainer over a sauce pan. Carefully pick up the foil pack and pour as much liquid from it into the mesh strainer over the sauce pan. Pick out the bay leaves and thyme. Let most of the liquid drain from the onions into the sauce pan, but don't squeeze or crush the onions. Set onions aside.
10. Skim off the oil with a spoon. You want there to be a solid 1 cup of sauce so don't skim off too much. If there is under 1 cup of sauce, skim very little then add more stock up to 1 cup. If there's more than 1 cup, skim as much oil as you can, then heat and reduce to 1 cup.
11. Add the onions back into the sauce and heat over medium low heat for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, gently slice the brisket AGAINST THE GRAIN, into 1/4" slices then place neatly onto serving platter.
12. Add 1 tsp of cider vinegar into the sauce, mix, then taste. You want there to be just a subtle hint of acidity to it to brighten it up. Adjust salt, pepper, and more vinegar if you feel it needs it.
13. Pour sauce and onions all over the top of the brisket. Serve immediately, making sure to get plenty of onions and gravy when you are individually plating. Serve with a side of rice and mix it with the sauce.
note: - The original CI recipe recommends to cook this the night before and to allow it to rest in the refrigerator over night. This allows the fat to congeal so that it can be removed easier. It also allows for the flavors to combine better overnight. Lastly, it allows for easier serving as the meal can just be heated up in 30 minutes.
I served my brisket fresh and it tasted lovely. Outside of it being much easier to time the next day, I see no reason to plan to let it rest overnight.
If you do decide to let it rest overnight:
1. After the brisket finishes cooking, transfer it to a large bowl. Set mesh strainer over bowl and pour sauce over the brisket. Discard the bay and thyme from the onions then transfer onions to a small bowl, let cool, cover with plastic wrap then place into fridge.
2. After the brisket and sauce has cooled, cover with plastic wrap and place into fridge.
3. The next day, 45 minutes before you will serve the brisket, adjust oven to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Transfer cold brisket to a cutting board. Scrape off any congealed fat from the sauce then transfer it to sauce pan and heat over medium until warm.
4. Skim off the oil with a spoon. You want there to be a solid 1 cup of sauce so don't skim off too much. If there is under 1 cup of sauce, skim very little then add more stock up to 1 cup. If there's more than 1 cup, skim as much oil as you can, then heat and reduce to 1 cup.
5. While sauce heats, slice cold brisket AGAINST THE GRAIN into 1/4" slices. Place slices into 13 x 9 baking dish.
6. Add onions and 1 tsp of cider vinegar into the sauce, mix, then taste. You want there to be just a subtle hint of acidity to it to brighten it up. Adjust salt, pepper, and more vinegar if you feel it needs it.
7. Pour sauce over brisket, cover with foil, and bake for 25-30 minutes until heated through. Serve immediately with rice.
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