Beef Brisket Pot Roast

The recipe

Instructions

1. 1
   1 Prepare the brisket for cooking: On one side of the brisket there should be a layer of fat, which you want
2. 2
   If there are any large chunks of fat, cut them off and discard them
3. 3
   Large pieces of fat will not be able to render out completely
4. 4
   Using a sharp knife, score the fat in parallel lines, about 3/4-inch apart
5. 5
   Slice through the fat, not the beef
6. 6
   Repeat in the opposite direction to make a cross-hatch pattern
7. 7
   Salt the brisket well and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes
8. 8
   2 Sear the brisket: You'll need an oven-proof, thick-bottomed pot with a cover, or Dutch oven, that is just wide enough to hold the brisket roast with a little room for the onions
9. 9
   Pat the brisket dry and place it, fatty side down, into the pot and place it on medium high heat
10. 10
    Cook for 5-8 minutes, lightly sizzling, until the fat side is nicely browned
11. 11
    (If the roast seems to be cooking too fast, turn the heat down to medium
12. 12
    You want a steady sizzle, not a raging sear
13. 13
    Turn the brisket over and cook for a few minutes more to brown the other side
14. 14
    3 Sauté the onions and garlic: When the brisket has browned, remove it from the pot and set aside
15. 15
    There should be a couple tablespoons of fat rendered in the pot, if not, add some olive oil
16. 16
    Add the chopped onions and increase the heat to high
17. 17
    Sprinkle a little salt on the onions
18. 18
    Sauté, stirring often, until the onions are lightly browned, 5-8 minutes
19. 19
    Stir in the garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes
20. 20
    4 Return brisket to pot, add herbs, stock, bring to simmer, cover, cook in oven: Preheat the oven to 300°F
21. 21
    Use kitchen twine to tie together the bay leaves, rosemary and thyme
22. 22
    Move the onions and garlic to the sides of the pot and nestle the brisket inside
23. 23
    Add the beef stock and the tied-up herbs
24. 24
    Bring the stock to a boil on the stovetop
25. 25
    Cover the pot, place the pot in the 300°F oven and cook for 3 hours
26. 26
    Carefully flip the brisket every hour so it cooks evenly
27. 27
    5 Add carrots, continue to cook: After 3 hours, add the carrots
28. 28
    Cover the pot and cook for 1 hour more, or until the carrots are cooked through and the brisket is falling-apart tender
29. 29
    6 Remove brisket to cutting board, tent with foil: When the brisket is falling-apart tender, take the pot out of the oven and remove the brisket to a cutting board
30. 30
    Cover it with foil
31. 31
    Pull out and discard the herbs
32. 32
    7 Make sauce (optional): At this point you have two options
33. 33
    You can serve as is, or you can make a sauce with the drippings and some of the onions
34. 34
    If you serve as is, skip this step
35. 35
    To make a sauce, remove the carrots and half of the onions, set aside and cover them with foil
36. 36
    Pour the ingredients that are remaining into the pot into a blender, and purée until smooth
37. 37
    If you want, add 1 tablespoon of mustard to the mix
38. 38
    Put into a small pot and keep warm
39. 39
    8 Slice the meat across the grain: Notice the lines of the muscle fibers of the roast
40. 40
    This is the "grain" of the meat
41. 41
    Slice the meat perpendicular to these lines, or across the grain (cutting this way further tenderizes the meat), in 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices
42. 42
    Serve with the onions, carrots and gravy
43. 43
    Serve with mashed, roasted or boiled potatoes, egg noodles or polenta

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