Brisket of Beef
Ingredients:
5-6 pound beef brisket
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 onions, large, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 5 cups total)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups beef broth
1 cup red wine
1 pound baby carrots
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a dutch oven or heavy baking pan large enough to hold the brisket, heat one tbsp of oil in oven for 10 minutes. Pat brisket dry and season with salt and pepper. Do NOT remove any fat! Roast brisket in pan, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
While brisket is roasting, in a large heavy skillet cook onions in remaining 2 tbsp. oil over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened and beginning to turn golden brown. Reduce heat and cook onions, stirring occasionally and reducing heat if necessary, until deep golden brown. This can take 20 minutes or more. Stir in garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper, and cook 1 minute. Stir in beef broth and red wine and bring to a boil.
Spoon onion mixture over brisket and bake, covered, with cover 1/2 inch ajar, for 2 hours. After 2 hours add carrots to brisket mixture, recover, and cook for an additional 1.5 hours, or until brisket is tender and cooked all the way through. Check pan about every hour and add more water if necessary. Remove brisket from oven and let cool in onion mixture for 1 hour (covered).
Remove brisket from pan, scraping onion mixture back into pan, wrap in foil, and chill over night. Spoon onion mixture into a container and chill overnight as well. You’ll find that a lot of fat rises to the top of the onion mixture container.
On the day you will serve the brisket, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Discard layer of fat from onion mixture and add enough water to the mixture to measure 3 cups total. Remove baby carrots and set aside for the moment. Blend mixture in a food processor or blender until it is smooth. Slice brisket against the grain and trim off excess fat. In a large pan, heat gravy in oven until hot, add brisket and baby carrots, and heat in oven for 30 minutes or so.
Notes:
This is Melissa’s mom’s recipe, and serves 8-10 people. You’ll have to set aside about 5 hours to make this on the day that you actually cook the brisket, and maybe 45 minutes to an hour the day you serve it. Note that the brisket should be made at least one day ahead so the flavors can mix!
