Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Beef Brisket braised in White Wine

brisket braised in white wine

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I'll just come out and say up front that this is the best straight-up brisket braise I have ever done, and I've been tinkering with brisket recipes all year. It is easy to prep, and just requires a little patience with the slow cooking. So with no further ado:

Spice Rub
2 tsp salt
1 tsp spanish/smoked paprika (pimenton)
1 1/2 tsp oregano
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/4 new mexico red chile powder

Main Ingredients
2 to 3 lb beef brisket (grass-fed if you can get it)
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 1/2 large onions, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 28 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes
1/2 bottle dry white wine
3 or 4 tbsp of olive oil


In a spice grinder, grind up the components for the spice rub. Remove the brisket from the fridge, wash it and pat it dry. If your cut has a large amount of excess fat, you can trim it but leave some for flavor and moisture. Apply the spice rub and let the brisket come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 275F.

In a large dutch oven, heat up the olive oil on medium-high heat until very hot (a drop of water will sizzle and pop). Brown the brisket on one side for 2 minutes, then brown the other side for the same. Remove the brisket to the side, and lower the heat to medium-low.

Add the onions and garlic into the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to turn translucent. Add in the carrots and cook for another couple of minutes, then pour in the white wine. Scrape the bottom of the pot with your wooden or plastic spatula to deglaze any remnants from the browning of the beef. Add in the tin of whole, peeled tomatoes and the accompanying juice. Do not break up the tomatoes.

Nestle the brisket into the liquid and vegetables, cover the dutch oven and place in the oven. Braise for 5 or 6 hours at 275F, gently turning the brisket every 1.5 to 2 hours.

Before serving, remove the dutch oven from the oven and carefully spoon out as much of the excess fat/oil from the top of the liquid around the brisket. Remove the brisket to a warm plate or a cutting board, and blend up the liquid and vegetables into a gravy using a blender, food processor, or an immersion blender (which is what I used, thanks to a lovely Christmas gift from my sister). Return the brisket to the dutch oven and cover to keep warm if you need a few more minutes to prep your dinner.

Serve by slicing against the grain (expect it to fall apart as you slice) and either present on a serving tray with the gravy on the side, or plate with several spoonfuls of the gravy on top and maybe a little fresh pepper.

brisket braised in white wine, plated
I served this with a favorite treatment for potatoes, which is to peel, halve or quarter, and steam about halfway done. Then you bake them with a sprinkling of olive oil and coarse sea salt on top until fluffy and tender inside and browned on the outside. So good.


Previous Recipes: If you like beef brisket, you might try Brisket braised in Slab Bacon, Sweet Peppers and Squash

12 comments:

Stacey Snacks said...

is that fresh steamed broccoli on the plate? What is that? I have never seen that before.

good lookin' brisket. Looks like a nice sandwich for lunch the next day.

Giff said...

I can neither confirm nor deny the rumor that fresh steamed broccoli might have, or might not have, appeared on the said plate.

Perhaps it was individual broccoli florets basted in the yolk of organic quail, dusted with dried, shredded and hand-ground fish roe, pressed into razor thin layers of truffle-infused sea foam, sear-frozen with liquid nitrogen, and then reconstituted into these marvelous creations that, amazingly, look rather like a fresh steamed piece of broccoli.

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Great looking brisket!!!

Anonymous said...

My mouth is waaaaaaaa-tering. The spice with corned beef (oops -- brisket!) is not something I've tried but I need to. Sounds fabulous.

Andrea said...

Okay, you've convinced me. As soon as I get back into my own kitchen I'm going to start braising. Looks wonderful!

Joie de vivre said...

Oooh, the ultimate comfort food!

Anonymous said...

I like how you say.."Nestle the brisket into the liquid and vegetables"
This looks great. I'll have to bookmark it. Have a very happy new year, ok?

Unknown said...

There just aren't enough brisket recipes around, and it's such a great cut- just needs patience. I think that I'd have this with a spicy glass of Zinfandel

Anonymous said...

"Special treatment for potatoes" it sounds like a luxury spa I'd happily sign up for :-)

Peter M said...

Giff, brisket is not an easy kill in the kitchen but you've rendered it too fork-tender goodness.

Happy New Year!

Giff said...

Thanks for the comments all :)

Claire, you crack me up... spud spa indeed!

Morton said...

Made it last night. Wow is that good. And a great excuse to use my new (from Spain direct) pimenton! Love how easy the slow cooking recipes are and how good. First time mixing white wine with beef - awesome.