Is your family tired of classic pot roast? Try this delectable, crowd-pleasing easy balsamic brisket recipe!
This recipe is ideal for busy moms for two reasons:
For one, it is extremely simple and quick!
And two…You can turn the leftovers (and there likely will be!) into many other meals! Use your leftover brisket on nachos, omelettes, grilled cheeses and quesadillas, in soups, sandwiches, salads…the possibilities are endless!
Another great thing about brisket, besides the fact that it is DELICIOUS, is that it is quite affordable. It is typically sold in 10-15 pound pieces, and thus a larger investment up front, but yields SO much more meat than a chuck roast!
Brisket typically comes with a healthy layer of fat around it. Trim it off and render it for some delicious, high quality beef tallow! Here is how to render beef fat.
This recipe calls for a 10 lb brisket. If you buy a 20 lb piece, you can cut it up and freeze it for later use or cook it all up at once ahead of time and then freeze it — it’s totally up to you!
One last note — this recipe uses a dutch oven, but is also delicious in a crock pot. You’ll want to give the brisket more time, though, about 8-10 hours on low!
Okay, now to the recipe! It’s so so easy!
INGREDIENTS:
1 8-10 lb. brisket
1 large onion, roughly chopped
6-8 garlic cloves, peeled w/ ends sliced off
3 cups veg/chicken/beef broth
1.5 cups balsamic vinegar
Salt, pepper, and/or a beef rub such as Meat Church’s Holy Cow!
Olive oil
FOR GRAVY:
8 oz. chopped mushrooms (optional)
1/4 C heavy cream
1 T cornstarch
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Begin by trimming the fat off of your brisket and cutting it into two pieces, patting it dry with paper towels and rubbing it down liberally with salt, pepper, and/or a beef rub of your choice.
Sear each piece on all sides in an olive-oil coated pan over medium/high heat until a brown crust forms. Remove meat and set aside. Turn heat to low/medium.
Throw in your onions and allow to caramelize a bit. Toss in garlic cloves until fragrant (but be careful not to burn).
Deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar, stirring and scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom, and turn off heat.
Stir in stock, then add your brisket back into the pot, pouring the balsamic/onion mixture on top of the meat. Put lid on if using dutch oven or transfer to a oven-safe dish and cover with foil.
Transfer to oven and cook for several hours — around 1 hour per pound of meat (for example, if I’m cooking a 6 lb brisket, I’ll cook it on 300 for about 6 hours).
Feel free to check on the meat every few hours. Don’t worry too much about a temperature — instead you’ll know when it’s done if the meat practically falls apart to the touch of your fork!
GRAVY:
You should have some delicious leftover cooking liquid in your pot after braising your brisket all afternoon! I like to pour it in a blender (onions, juices and all!) and blend until smooth.
In a separate pan, sautee mushrooms in olive oil if using until soft and brown. Then pour in your blended mixture. Bring to a low simmer and whisk in about 1 Tbsp cornstarch to thicken. Pour in ¼ cup heavy cream. Add salt, pepper and more stock to taste if needed!
I hope this balsamic brisket recipe blesses your family! Happy homemaking!
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