Beer-Braised Brisket

A few months ago, during one of our regular shopping trips in the US where I score cuts of meat I don't generally find at home, I bought a large beef brisket. Brisket isn't really a Canadian thing - it's hard to find in the stores except for at St Patricks time when it comes brined, and ready to cook up into corned beef. The large lump of meat was taking up room in the freezer so I decided the time had come to cook it up.

Finding a recipe was easy - there were a gazillion out there. Deciding upon the PERFECT recipe was hard. I turned to Cooking Light and selected this recipe that originally appeared in the October 2011 magazine. If you're wondering why this recipe made the cut it was because of the rub - no, not the beer braising part - Cooking Light had about 6 of those. I tell you, it was the rub. I love the way ground cumin combines with smoked paprika - throw in some thyme and you have a party.The beer helped seal the deal, as they say.

The fact that there were but 253 calories per serving helped as well. :-{)

I pulled this together last weekend and 5 hours later we sat down to a feast.  paul looked at me as if I were crazed when I started dinner before he had finished eating lunch but he forgave me when he dug into his dinner. Normally I prefer my beef on the bloody side but of course with a cut like brisket this would never work. The beef was fork tender - the rub providing a nice layer of flavour.

This was comfort food at it's best!

Funny how important that becomes when the temperatures drop, the leaves turn, and both of us have hacking colds that won't seem to go away.

If you're in need of some comfort food you won't go wrong with this!

Beer-Braised Brisket

2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
2 1/2 pounds flat-cut beef brisket, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups pale ale
4 cups lower-sodium beef broth
5 garlic cloves, sliced
6 carrots, cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
6 celery stalks, cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium onions, each cut into 12 wedges
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 325°.

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; stir in 1 teaspoon salt. Rub spice mixture evenly over both sides of brisket. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add brisket; sauté 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove brisket from pan. Add beer; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add broth and garlic; return to a boil. Return brisket to pan. Cover and cook at 325° for 2 hours. Turn brisket over; cook an additional 2 hours. Turn brisket over. Add carrot, celery, and onion; cook an additional 1 hour or until brisket is very tender.

Remove brisket and vegetables from pan using a slotted spoon. Skim fat from cooking liquid; discard fat. Bring cooking liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Place flour in a small bowl; stir in 1/2 cup water. Add flour mixture to pan, stirring until smooth; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve the sauce with beef and vegetables.

Comments

[Katie]

I wonder what cut that would be here.... Doesn't matter, most of our beef is tough and would work well with this - you're right: perfect comfort food.

[bellini]

Such a comforting dish Jerry, perfect for a day like today.

[Barb Cabot]

Weather has been colder here the last two days with rain today. This looks like excellent comfort food for a winter day. Yum.

[Kayte]

The one great thing about winter is comfort food, isn't it? Was interesting to learn that you don't have brisket there...it's one of those things I just assumed was everywhere as it is so prevalent here in the states. Good to learn new things. Yours looks wonderful.

[sheri]

Made this a few weeks ago and we all loved it!

[JDeQ]

Katie - any really tough cut of beef should work. This wiki page describes just what it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisket

I think that there will be a lot of meals like this coming up. I'd never make somehting like this when it was warm though - imagine having the stove turned on? ARGH

It's a greta recipe isn't it sheri - good ol' Cooking Light!