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A friend taught me his family's brisket recipe about 20 years ago and I can't think of any other recipe that I've been happier to have acquired over the years.


=R=

And that recipe is???

BRAISED BRISKET OF BEEF

Original Recipe by my friend Josh, revised by Ronnie Suburban

Brisket – Whole, trimmed or flat (if you must)
2-3 Large Yellow Onions (enough to cover bottom of pan when sliced)
2 lb Carrots - peeled and trimmed (or more if you like carrots)
HUNGARIAN Sweet Paprika (Szeged or other premium brand)
Garlic powder (use only premium stuff or leave it out)
Kosher salt
8 - 12 oz. Beer, water or beef stock (water is preferable to canned stock)
4-6 tbs Ketchup
2-3 tsp Brown Sugar

Pre-heat oven to 300 F
Slice onions into thick disks
Line the bottom of a (coverable) roaster with the sliced onions.
And the carrots (I prefer whole, peeled)

In the following order, rub meat thoroughly on all sides with the following:
Kosher salt – a liberal sprinkling
Garlic powder – a lighter sprinkling
Paprika – a full heavy coating – entire brisket should be covered with the paprika.

Place meat (fat side up) on the bed of onions and carrots.
Pour liquid (I prefer Bass Ale) into bottom of roaster, ¼” deep.
(avoid pouring onto the meat if possible)
Cover roaster and place into a 300º F oven for 2 hours.

In almost all cases this must cook for at least 4 hours. Allow 20-30 minutes per pound as a minimum guideline for cooking, but if it doesn’t cook for at least 4 hours, the collagen will probably not break down and the meat will likely be tough.

After the first 2 hours, remove brisket from oven and baste it gently with pan juices, trying not to wash the seasonings off the meat. You can re-season it if too much comes off.

After basting, cover the entire surface of brisket lightly with evenly-spaced drops of ketchup.
Sprinkle brisket lightly with an even layer of brown sugar.
Place covered brisket back in oven for 2 more hours.

Remove brisket from oven again and baste with juices to move ketchup into the juices. You may want to put some onions back on top of the brisket to keep it moist. Place back in oven for 30 minutes (you may want to do this uncovered if you want to thicken the pan juices.)

At this point, I usually remove the brisket from the roaster, separate out the veggies and then de-fat the juices. After that, I slice the brisket (against the grain) add it back to the pan, add back the de-fatted juices and cook the brisket, uncovered, for another 30 minutes or so. I usually don’t add the veggies back at this point—instead, I serve them separately.

Remove from oven and serve. Can be made a day or two ahead, which often improves it.

I've started to plan my Passover brisket. One thing that I've been wondering is how the brisket might turn out if it is cooked at a lower temperature (say 225 degrees) for a longer period of time (say 10 hours rather than 4). Has anyone tried this?

I smoke briskets low and slow, and that got me thinking about doing something similar for a braise. I found a recipe that Top Chef runner-up Richard Blais did on the Today Show where he cooks it for 12-14 hours at 250 degrees. So this convinces me that it's worth trying, but I'm curious if others have experience with this.

I've been meaning to follow-up on this. I braised two briskets at 225 degrees; one just before Passover and one for the Passover meal itself. For both, I browned the meat on the stove and then braised it at 225 for about 8 hours. Both turned out excellent and slightly more tender than I typically get when I cook them for 3-4 hours at 350 degrees.

Bumping this thread in hopes of getting some new ideas for brisket.

I have a point. I know, I know I should have gotten a flat or a whole brisket but I have a point, so tips on making the most of it are most welcome.

Not sure why you're down on getting a point. If I had to pick one or the other, I'd go for the point myself. It's easier to deal with and much more forgiving. Just cook it as you would chuck, shank, or other braising cut. It's got plenty of fat and connective tissue, so you don't have to worry about it as much as the leaner and more finicky flat. It'll be great in any stew or pot-roast type recipe.

The whole brisket, fat and all, no browning necessary....

I made the whole brisket exactly that way. I cut in half the piece of first cut and cooked half of it that way, too. The other half of the lean "first cut" I first browned in a little vegetable oil on top of the stove in a very large skillet....

The best of the three was unquestionably the whole brisket. The browned first cut was juicier than the unbrowned first cut.

The big surprise of the experiment, however, was that the whole brisket was absolute heaven the day it was made. I had expected it to be even better, or at least just as good, when reheated the next day. It wasn't. It's optimum moment was when it came out of the oven after 4 hours at 350 degrees. Still, it was excellent (and better than the others) on the second day, and easy to slice neatly. Follow my slicing and reheating directions below.

Browning vs. not browning: If you insist on very lean first cut only, or if you are cooking for such a small number of people that a larger piece of meat becomes ridiculous or unaffordable, by all means brown the meat first -- over medium heat. A whole brisket is, for one thing, too large to brown in home-sized pots on a home range.

To Brown or Not to Brown

Most recipes instruct you to brown the beef first. I’ve tried it both ways and have not noticed a flavor difference. I prefer less steps – and less dishes.

To sear or not to sear?

For an ovened nihari, I just scaled up the "Indian Slow Cooker" recipe and tossed it in a 250 oven, covered.