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Beef Brisket

Salt

Onion

Garlic

Thyme

Rosemary

Bay Leaves

beef stock

Carrots

Mustard

Potatoes

Instructions

• 1 Prepare the brisket for cooking: On one side of the brisket there should be a layer of fat, which you want.
• If there are any large chunks of fat, cut them off and discard them.
• Large pieces of fat will not be able to render out completely.
• Using a sharp knife, score the fat in parallel lines, about 3/4-inch apart.
• Slice through the fat, not the beef.
• Repeat in the opposite direction to make a cross-hatch pattern.
• Salt the brisket well and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• 2 Sear the brisket: You'll need an oven-proof, thick-bottomed pot with a cover, or Dutch oven, that is just wide enough to hold the brisket roast with a little room for the onions.
• Pat the brisket dry and place it, fatty side down, into the pot and place it on medium high heat.
• Cook for 5-8 minutes, lightly sizzling, until the fat side is nicely browned.
• (If the roast seems to be cooking too fast, turn the heat down to medium.
• You want a steady sizzle, not a raging sear.
• ) Turn the brisket over and cook for a few minutes more to brown the other side.
• 3 Sauté the onions and garlic: When the brisket has browned, remove it from the pot and set aside.
• There should be a couple tablespoons of fat rendered in the pot, if not, add some olive oil.
• Add the chopped onions and increase the heat to high.
• Sprinkle a little salt on the onions.
• Sauté, stirring often, until the onions are lightly browned, 5-8 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes.
• 4 Return brisket to pot, add herbs, stock, bring to simmer, cover, cook in oven: Preheat the oven to 300°F.
• Use kitchen twine to tie together the bay leaves, rosemary and thyme.
• Move the onions and garlic to the sides of the pot and nestle the brisket inside.
• Add the beef stock and the tied-up herbs.
• Bring the stock to a boil on the stovetop.
• Cover the pot, place the pot in the 300°F oven and cook for 3 hours.
• Carefully flip the brisket every hour so it cooks evenly.
• 5 Add carrots, continue to cook: After 3 hours, add the carrots.
• Cover the pot and cook for 1 hour more, or until the carrots are cooked through and the brisket is falling-apart tender.
• 6 Remove brisket to cutting board, tent with foil: When the brisket is falling-apart tender, take the pot out of the oven and remove the brisket to a cutting board.
• Cover it with foil.
• Pull out and discard the herbs.
• 7 Make sauce (optional): At this point you have two options.
• You can serve as is, or you can make a sauce with the drippings and some of the onions.
• If you serve as is, skip this step.
• To make a sauce, remove the carrots and half of the onions, set aside and cover them with foil.
• Pour the ingredients that are remaining into the pot into a blender, and purée until smooth.
• If you want, add 1 tablespoon of mustard to the mix.
• Put into a small pot and keep warm.
• 8 Slice the meat across the grain: Notice the lines of the muscle fibers of the roast.
• This is the "grain" of the meat.
• Slice the meat perpendicular to these lines, or across the grain (cutting this way further tenderizes the meat), in 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices.
• Serve with the onions, carrots and gravy.
• Serve with mashed, roasted or boiled potatoes, egg noodles or polenta.