Ingredients
- 1 beef brisket, 4 to 5 pounds, flat cut preferred
- vegetable oil
- 3 large onions (about 2 1/2 pounds), halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1
tablespoon tomato paste
- 1
tablespoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar (to season sauce before serving)
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 300 degrees. Line 13 by 9-inch baking dish with two 24-inch-long sheets of 18-inch-wide heavy-duty foil, positioning sheets perpendicular to each other and allowing excess foil to extend beyond edges of pan. Pat brisket dry with paper towels. Place brisket fat side up on cutting board; using dinner fork, poke holes in meat through fat layer about 1 inch apart. Season both sides of brisket liberally with salt and pepper.
- 2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch skillet over
medium-high heat until oil just begins to smoke. Place brisket fat side
up in skillet (brisket may climb up sides of skillet); weight brisket
with heavy Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet and cook until well browned,
about 7 minutes. Remove Dutch oven; using tongs, flip brisket and cook
on second side without weight until well browned, about 7 minutes
longer. Transfer brisket to platter.
- 3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan
(or, if brisket was lean, add enough oil to fat in skillet to equal 1
tablespoon); stir in onions, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook over
medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and
golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently,
until fragrant, about 1 minute; add tomato paste and cook, stirring to
combine, until paste darkens, about 2 minutes. Add paprika and cayenne
and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Sprinkle
flour over onions and cook, stirring constantly, until well combined,
about 2 minutes. Add broth, wine, bay, and thyme, stirring to scrape up
browned bits from pan; bring to simmer and simmer about 5 minutes to
fully thicken.
- 4. Pour sauce and onions into foil-lined baking
dish. Nestle brisket, fat side up, in sauce and onions. Fold foil
extensions over and seal (do not tightly crimp foil because foil must
later be opened to test for doneness). Place in oven and cook until fork
can be inserted into and removed from center of brisket with no
resistance, 3 1/2 to 4 hours (when testing for doneness, open foil with
caution as contents will be steaming). Carefully open foil and let
brisket cool at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
- 5. Transfer brisket to large bowl; set mesh
strainer over bowl and strain sauce over brisket. Discard bay and thyme
from onions and transfer onions to small bowl. Cover both bowls with
plastic wrap, cut vents in plastic with paring knife, and refrigerate
overnight.
- 6. About 45 minutes before serving, adjust oven
rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. While oven
heats, transfer cold brisket to cutting board. Scrape off and discard
any congealed fat from sauce, then transfer sauce to medium saucepan and
heat over medium heat until warm, skimming any fat on surface with wide
shallow spoon (you should have about 2 cups sauce without onions; if
necessary, simmer sauce over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 cups).
While sauce heats, use chef's or carving knife to slice brisket against
grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices, trimming and discarding any excess
fat, if desired; place slices in 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Stir reserved
onions and vinegar into warmed sauce and adjust seasoning with salt and
pepper. Pour sauce over brisket slices, cover baking dish with foil,
and bake until heated through, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
- To Make and Serve the Brisket on the Same Day
If
you would like to make and serve the brisket on the same day, after
removing the brisket from the oven in step 4, reseal the foil and let
the brisket stand at room temperature for an hour. Then transfer the
brisket to a cutting board and continue with the recipe to strain,
defat, and reheat the sauce and slice the meat; because the brisket will
still be hot, there will be no need to put it back into the oven once
the reheated sauce is poured over it.
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