Hiller's ran a great sale on beef roasts, good price but the cut we bought needs braising to bring out all of the flavor and tenderness. Decided on the Belgian national dish, "Beef a la Carbonnade", beef with beer and onions; cooked slowly, the beef becomes very tender, the onions sweet and the beer, cooked and reduced down, becomes a rich, incredibly tasty and complex sauce.
Ingredients
1 3 1/2 - 4 lb. beef brisket trimmed of excess fat
3/4 t salt
1/2 t salt
2 T olive oil
2 lbs thinly sliced onions
1 Turkish bay leaf
1 12 oz. bottle of ale, not dark
1 crumbled beef bouillon cube
1 T balsamic vinegar
"Put a rack in middle of oven and pre-heat oven to 350* F.
Pat brisket and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 6 to 8 quart wide heavy oven proof pot, I used my new Chantal Dutch Oven enameled cast iron, weighs a ton, but perfect for this dish), over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown meat well on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a platter.
Add onions and bay leaf to fat remaining in pot, add more oil if necessary, and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer half of onion to a bowl. Set brisket over onion in pot, then top with remaining onions. Add beer, bouillon cube, and vinegar (liquid should come about halfway up sides of meat; add water, or beef broth as I did, if necessary) and bring to a boil.
Cover pot, transfer to oven, and braise until meat is very tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours+. Let meat cool in sauce, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Transfer brisket to a cutting board. Skim off any fat from sauce, discard bay leaf, and season sauce with salt and pepper. Slice meat across the grain and serve with sauce
Cook's Note:
The brisket actually improves in flavor if braised 2 days a ahead. Cool the meat in the sauce, uncovered. Cover it with [parchment paper or wax paper, then the lid, and refrigerate. Removed any solidified fat before reheating. To reheat, slice the old meat across the grain and arrange in a shallow baking pan, Spoon the sauce over the meat and reheat in a 325*F oven for 45 minutes. This really is right, I have been eating off this for several days and each day it is better than before. There is an old saw about eternity defined as two people and a ham. In this case two people have been very happy for several days.
Bon Appetit!
Taken from 'The Gourmet Cookbook'. Edited by Ruth Ritchell. Houghton Mifflin. New York. 2004. pg 423"
Posts
