Brisket is probably my favorite cut for braised, slow cooked meat. It is a great treat for any holiday (it is a traditional meal for the Jewish New Year coming up) or just a wonderful savory meal. There are many recipes for brisket that add cans of soup or boxed flavorings. Clearly we do not follow those here. Actually the tastiest cut to get is the whole brisket that has not had any fat trimmed at all.
If you buy the “first cut” while that may sound like a better quality, it is the lean part of the brisket trimmed of all it’s fat and it may become dry and hard. If you can get a grassfed brisket, the fat is good for you! When you cook it with all the fat intact it adds an amazing flavor and succulence that is unsurpassed. Excess fat may be trimmed after it is cooked.
Brisket is the perfect meal for a holiday or special occasion because it can be cooked a day, a week or a month ahead, frozen and reheated with the homemade gravy. It will be moist, tender and delicious.
The gravy is SCD/GAPS legal because there are no starches added to thicken it. It is not necessary to add flour to thicken a gravy at all. The onions and carrots add nutrition and thickness to any natural juice gravy and is much better than adding flour.
Brisket
Ingredients
3 -4 pounds untrimmed brisket (grassfed if possible) — cut into two pieces if it is large
1 pound carrots
1 large onion
1 small whole garlic
2 -3 cups water or beef stock
salt and pepper
Instructions for cooking on top of the stove
- In a 5 or 6 quart dutch oven on medium heat start to brown all sides of the brisket fat side down
- While it is browning, cut the vegetables in 1″ pieces
- After both pieces of brisket are browned take them out of the pan and season with salt and pepper
- Quickly saute the vegetables in the fat left in the pan until they are just a little soft
- Add the meat back to the pan on top of the vegetables
- Add the water or stock so the meat is just covered
- Cover the dutch oven and bring to a simmer
- Let simmer for about 3 hours
- It should be soft when pierced with a knife
- Remove it to a plate and let cool about 20 minutes
- Slice with an electric knife, against the grain when it is still a little warm (if you let it get cool it will be hard to slice)
Gravy Instructions
- Let the liquid in the pot cool
- Remove some of the carrots and onions to serve with the brisket
- Using an immersion blender carefully blend the rest of the vegetables with the liquid to make a delicious gravy
- If you do not want to chance scratching the dutch oven, remove all the liquid and vegetables and put into a blender, or use a pot that will not scratch
Reheating Instructions
- Take the sliced brisket out of the refrigerator and put into a large enough pot
- Add plenty of gravy to cover all the meat
- Slowly heat it on low so that the gravy saturates the meat
This recipe makes enough for 5 -6 people. It may be frozen in the gravy for a later date and the gravy may be frozen for various other uses.