Tangy Brisket

If you haven't picked up yet, I have a husband who's pretty picky when it comes to food. He's getting better on trying new things, but I have to pick my recipes carefully if I expect him to at least give it a try. Since he loved the beef brisket I made over the winter, I figured I'd try a new recipe.

This one was definitely more sweet than the previous one, almost a little too sweet for me even. I may have added too much brown sugar, I can't remember. Either way, this particular brisket reminded me of shredded pork barbecue and was great on a roll. Joe didn't necessarily like the sweetness though. I made it just before Dad came to help move us out. He definitely had no problem finishing it off.

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Emeril. I halved the recipe, which is reflected here.

INGREDIENTS

1.5 large onions, sliced
1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoons black pepper
3/4 teaspoons onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (adjust to your heat preference)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cups beef stock (unsalted or low salt)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
4 to 5 pound brisket

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the sauce: 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 minced 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.

While my husband eats onion rings, he doesn't eat sauted onions (who knows). So, once I made the sauce, I used my Ninja (love that thing!) to puree everything. (Yes, I'm trying to hide the vegetables and it worked!)

If baking in oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place brisket in a baking dish or casserole, spread onion mixture over the top, then pour sauce mixture over the entire dish. Cover tightly with foil bake until very tender but not falling apart, about 3 to 4 hours.

If making in a slow cooker (which I did): Place brisket in a slow cooker and pour pureed mix over it. Cover with the lid and place in fridge over night. In the morning, cook on low for 8-10 hours. Smitten Kitchen has lots of other directions, which I omitted. At this point, I just let it cool slightly and then sliced and enjoyed.