Will a 6 quart oval Staub braiser be too small for this recipe?
version ai :
Brisket is not something I grew up eating. It’s not a thing, really, in my family or our Brooklyn neighborhood, but it is, I can tell you from the internet, an enormous thing for Passover, among other things, and for a long time I’ve felt like I needed to rectify this in my cooking, both for you and for me.
I feel like it’s very easy to be intimidated by a piece of meat called “brisket,” but like with my beloved pot roast, it’s really the most hands-off, forgiving thing in the world. You sear it, you put it in a pot with a lot of onions and some broth and you walk away and do other things for a very, very long time. And then you have tender, succulent, fall-apart-when-you-look-at-it meat with the most luscious, buttery, sweet, dark, jammy onions you could ever dream of, plus a braising liquid that acts as the best gravy known to man. It’s so good.
There are many ways to make a brisket — some people like to slice it after a certain number of hours and return it to the pot. Some people add carrots and celery (I find them to mostly turn to mush, but suit yourself) and some people add all sorts of spices and condiments. I like this version the most, and it’s the most simple. A single first cut brisket, a lot of onions, some garlic, a little tomato paste, a lot of thyme and bay leaves, chicken or beef stock (I use chicken for this), and a cup of red wine. That’s it. You cook it slowly, for about 4 to 5 hours, or until it’s fork-tender, and then you try not to eat it all yourself. I also like to make it a day ahead, refrigerate it and then slice and reheat it the next day — the flavor actually improves and it’s much easier to slice neatly when cold.
Simplest Brisket with Braised Onions
Adapted from my pot roast recipe and my brisket with prunes recipe
Serves 6 to 8
- One 3- to 4-pound first cut beef brisket
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 pounds yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 3 cups chicken or beef stock (or broth)
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Season brisket generously with salt and pepper.
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy oven-safe pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Sear brisket until well-browned on both sides, about 5 to 8 minutes a side. Remove brisket to a plate.
Add onions to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes more. Add wine, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and cook for 2 minutes, or until almost evaporated.
Return brisket to pot, along with any juices that may have accumulated on the plate. Add chicken stock, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover pot tightly, and transfer to oven.
Braise for 4 to 5 hours, or until meat is fork-tender. Because I think it tastes even better, I let it cool, refrigerate it overnight, and then slice and reheat it the next day.
