Braising tenderizes beef brisket and makes a gravy full of vegetable beef flavor and enriched by beer. If you cannot eat pork, substitute chicken or turkey bacon.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours, 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 2-1/2 pounds beef brisket
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 medium onions, sliced thin
- 4 (12 ounces each) bottles lager beer (not dark)
- 6 red or gold unpeeled potatoes, quartered or 12 whole baby red or gold potatoes
- 1 large rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
- 6 carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 1-1/2-inch pieces
- 10 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf, broken in half
- 2 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook bacon in an oven-proof Dutch oven over medium heat. Drain crispy bacon bits on paper towels. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pan.
Pat beef brisket dry. Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat Dutch over over medium-high and sear brisket on both sides, turning only once. Remove brisket to a platter.
Add onions to the pot. Saute, stirring often, until golden. Add one bottle of the beer to the onions. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Return brisket to the pot. Sprinkle with the bacon bits and add the beer. Bring to a boil, cover, and place in the preheated oven. Braise for 2 hours.
Remove Dutch oven from the oven. Stir in potatoes, rutabaga, carrots, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf, making sure the vegetables have a coating of the liquid. Cover, return to the oven, braise an additional 45 minutes, until vegetables and brisket are tender.
Remove brisket and vegetables to a platter with a slotted spoon. Tent with foil and keep warm. Discard thyme stem and bay leaves.
Combine butter and flour until smooth. Bring the pan juices to a boil on the stove-top. Whisk in the butter and flour mixture, stirring for 3 minutes until thickened. Taste and add more salt and pepper. (The carrots and rutabaga give the gravy a sweet flavor, so you will probably need more salt.)
Slice brisket across the grain and place on a platter. Drizzle with the pan gravy and surround with the vegetables. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve family-style.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Beer Braised Brisket Recipe Photo © 2008 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Cook bacon in an oven-proof Dutch oven over medium heat. Drain crispy bacon bits on paper towels. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pan.
Pat beef brisket dry. Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat Dutch over over medium-high and sear brisket on both sides, turning only once. Remove brisket to a platter.
Add onions to the pot. Saute, stirring often, until golden. Add one bottle of the beer to the onions. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Return brisket to the pot. Sprinkle with the bacon bits and add the beer. Bring to a boil, cover, and place in the preheated oven. Braise for 2 hours.
Remove Dutch oven from the oven. Stir in potatoes, rutabaga, carrots, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf, making sure the vegetables have a coating of the liquid. Cover, return to the oven, braise an additional 45 minutes, until vegetables and brisket are tender.
Remove brisket and vegetables to a platter with a slotted spoon. Tent with foil and keep warm. Discard thyme stem and bay leaves.
Combine butter and flour until smooth. Bring the pan juices to a boil on the stove-top. Whisk in the butter and flour mixture, stirring for 3 minutes until thickened. Taste and add more salt and pepper. (The carrots and rutabaga give the gravy a sweet flavor, so you will probably need more salt.)
Slice brisket across the grain and place on a platter. Drizzle with the pan gravy and surround with the vegetables. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve family-style.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Beer Braised Brisket Recipe Photo © 2008 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.
