Tangy Spiced Brisket

Brisket is one of those things that I love to eat, but hardly ever make because it just seems like too much work.  But trimmed brisket was on sale Memorial Day Weekend, so I grabbed one and stuck in in the freezer.  I prefer buying trimmed brisket (on sale) instead of untrimmed brisket because the trimming is just so much work, and you wind up trimming off about half of your brisket!  In my quest for a great new brisket recipe, I decided to try a crockpot method.  It’s already in the upper 90s here, and the last thing I wanted to do was keep my oven on for hours on end as is typical of most brisket recipes.  I had this recipe for Tangy Spiced Brisket from Smitten Kitchen bookmarked in my Google Reader.  Smitten Kitchen is one of my favorite cooking blogs, and so far, I’ve had nothing but success with Deb’s amazing recipes, including that 4 ingredient tomato sauce.  I loved everything about this Tangy Spiced Brisket: most notably the juicy brisket, flavorful sauce, and a crockpot cooking method.  There’s still a lot of prep work involved (and a long marinating time), so get started the day before you’re going to serve it and cook it overnight, like I did!

Tangy Spiced Brisket

recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 3 large onions, sliced
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (adjust to your heat preference)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups beef stock (unsalted or low salt)
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup chili sauce (I used Heinz)
• 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
• 8 to 10 pound brisket

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and sauté onions in vegetable oil, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and most of liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add halved garlic cloves and saute for 3 minutes more. Stir in spices and seasoning (paprika, salt, garlic and onion powders, black pepper, cayenne, oregano and thyme) and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the beef stock, ketchup, chili sauce and brown sugar. Don’t worry if your brown sugar is lumpy (mine always is), the acidity of the ingredients will quickly break it down.

Place brisket in a slow cooker, spread onion mixture over the top, then pour sauce mixture over the entire dish. Cover with the lid and cook it on LOW for 10 hours. (I like to start it before I go to bed, and process it in the morning to rest over the course of the day in the fridge.)

Rest the dish: When the brisket is cooked but still hot, use a spoon to scrape off any large fat deposits adhered to the top and bottom of the brisket. (This part is easiest to do when hot. The sauce will be de-fatted after it has chilled.)

Transfer the brisket and all of its sauce to a baking dish.

Chill entire dish in the fridge for several hours and up to one day; this resting time will significantly enhance the flavor and texture of the meat.

An hour before you’re ready to serve it: Preheat your oven to 300°F, and remove the dish from the fridge. Remove all of the fat that has solidified with a slotted spoon for a less oily finish.

Carefully remove the meat from its sauce and place on a large cutting board. Cut the brisket into 1/2-inch slices.

If you like a smoother sauce, this is a good time to run it through a blender or literally just smash up the onion and garlic strands with a wooden spoon. They’ll be so soft, that’s all it takes.

Carefully place the sliced meat (moving it in large sections with a spatula helps keep it together) back into the sauce and spoon the sauce over the meat. Replace the lid or cover the dish tightly with foil and reheat in the oven until it is bubbling at the edges — this usually takes up to to 30 minutes.