Braised brisket couldn’t be simpler. Simply sauté and then cook in the oven with onions and garlic all afternoon until it breaks down and becomes tender. The leftovers also freeze wonderfully!
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Brisket is a fabulous cut of meat. The chest is between the shoulders and front legs of the bull. These muscles are exercised, resulting in more flavor in the meat, and they are also well marbled with fat, adding even more flavor.
When serving, the meat is cut across the grain, causing it to fall apart and become tender.
Video: How to make brisket pot roast
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Beef Brisket Pot Roast
Flatter cut compared to point cut brisket
A whole brisket consists of two parts, the “flat cut” and the “point cut”. The flat cut is flatter and slimmer than the pointed cut and is more readily available in grocery stores. It still has a cap of fat on one side, but the meat itself is leaner. This cut is most commonly used for roasts that you want to slice.
The top cut of the breast is a fatter cut with more fat marbling throughout the meat, making it tastier and more shredable.
How to cook brisket
This brisket recipe is pretty classic. It’s essentially a pot roast – a slow stew with lots and lots of onions.
Score the fatty side of the roast first to help it get better as it cooks. Then sear the brisket on all sides in a hot pan.
Once the breast is well browned, brown some sliced onions in the same pan, add back the roast, add some herbs and broth, cover the pot and cook in the oven for several hours, discarding the carrots towards the end add until the brisket falls apart tenderly. Simply!
How to make this brisket in the slow cooker
You can adapt this recipe to the slow cooker. Prepare recipe as directed in Step 3 (sauté the brisket and sauté the onions), then place in a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.
An easy beef brisket recipe to customize
There is so much you can do with brisket. One of my favorite brisket recipes is to simply coat it with a BBQ sauce mix and cook it in the oven forever. There are versions with ketchup, onion soup or even cocktail sauce with horseradish.
Feel free to mix it up a bit with this beef brisket recipe. You can also use other root vegetables like parsnips, turnips, or swedes.
You can also use wine or beer in place of the beef broth. Consider this recipe a starting point for experimentation or just a good, simple pot roast brisket.
What to serve with brisket
Serve the beef pot roast with a side of potatoes (mashed, roasted or boiled), buttered egg noodles, polenta or just some crusty bread like an Italian or French farmer’s bread. For a green dish, serve with some cooked green beans on the side or a lightly dressed green salad.
How to store and reheat brisket
This keeps well in the fridge for about 5 days. Heat it up in a low oven, wrapped in aluminum foil, for about 20-25 minutes or so. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
Do you have a favorite brisket recipe? Please let us know in the comments.
Looking for more breast and pot roast recipes?
- Simple brisket
- Moroccan pot roast
- Pressure cooker brisket
- Italian pot roast
Beef Brisket Pot Roast
ingredients
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4 to 5 lb beef brisketFlat cut or point cut
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Salt
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1 to 2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
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3 big onionscut
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5 to 6 garlic cloveschopped
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1 branch thyme
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1 branch rosemary
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3 to 4 bay leaves
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2 cups beef broth
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2 to 3 big carrotspeeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
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1 tablespoon MustardOptional
method
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Prepare the brisket:
There should be a layer of fat on one side of the breast, which is what you want. If there are large chunks of fat, trim and discard. Large chunks of fat cannot be fully rendered out.
Using a sharp knife, score the fat in parallel lines about 3/4 inch apart. Cut through the fat, not the beef. Repeat in the opposite direction to create a crosshatch pattern.
Salt the brisket well and leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
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Fry the brisket:
You’ll need a heavy-bottomed, lidded, ovenproof pot or Dutch oven that’s just wide enough to hold the breast roast and has some room for the onions.
Pat the brisket dry and place in the saucepan, fatty side down, and heat over medium-high heat. Fry gently for 5 to 8 minutes until the fat side is nicely browned. (If the roast seems to be cooking too quickly, turn the heat down to medium. You want a steady sizzling, not a furious searing.)
Flip the brisket and cook for a few more minutes to brown the other side.
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Sauté onions and garlic:
When the brisket is browned, remove it from the pot and set aside. There should be a few tablespoons of fat in the pan. If not, add some olive oil.
Add the chopped onions and increase the heat to high. Sprinkle some salt on the onions. Sauté, stirring frequently, until onions are lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 to 2 more minutes.
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Simmer and sear the brisket:
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Tie the bay leaves, rosemary and thyme together with kitchen twine.
Push the onions and garlic to the sides of the pot and nestle the brisket inside. Add the beef stock and bound herbs. Bring the broth to a boil on the stove. Cover the pot and then place in the oven at 150°C (300°F). Cook for 3 hours. Gently turn the brisket every hour so it cooks evenly.
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Add carrots, continue cooking:
After 3 hours add the carrots. Cover the pot and cook an additional 1 hour or until the carrots are tender and the brisket is falling apart tenderly.
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Remove brisket:
When the brisket is falling apart tenderly, remove the pot from the oven and place the brisket on a cutting board. Cover it with foil. Pull out the herbs and discard them.
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Prepare sauce (optional):
At this point you have two options. You can serve as is or you can make a sauce with the drippings and some onions. If serving as is, skip this step.
For a sauce, remove the carrots and half the onions, set aside and cover with foil. Place the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If you like, add 1 tablespoon of mustard to the mixture. Place in a small saucepan and keep warm.
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Cut and serve:
Notice the lines of the muscle fibers of the roast. This is the “grain” of the flesh. Slice the meat perpendicular to these lines or across the grain (cutting this way will make the meat even more tender) into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices. (A sturdy bread knife is great for slicing roasts.)
Serve with onions, carrots and sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes, roasted or boiled potatoes, egg noodles or polenta.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 530 | calories |
| 33g | Fat |
| 6g | carbohydrates |
| 50g | protein |
