Brisket is a lean cut of beef that comes from the lower breast area of the animal. The cut is notoriously tough, but if you cook it properly, it has a delicious beefy flavor and a firm but tender chew. Brisket is often used for both barbecue and corned beef, but you can also cook it in your oven. If you braise it, you not only get wonderfully tender beef, but you also can utilize the flavorful braising liquid to make a tasty gravy.
Prepare the Braise
Step 1
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and rub the brisket with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Place your Dutch oven on the stove top; add vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot and near smoking, place the brisket into the Dutch oven and sear each side until well browned. When browned, remove the brisket from the hot oil and set aside.
Step 3
Reduce heat to medium and add butter and mirepoix, a mixture of chopped or minced aromatic vegetables like carrot, onion, celery and leeks. Saute the mirepoix with the butter and pan juices for about 5 minutes until softened and slightly browned.
Step 4
Deglaze the Dutch oven pan by pouring in beef or veal stock and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of pan using a spatula. For a richer flavor, also add red wine along with the stock to deglaze the pan. Reduce the liquid for about 5 minutes and add garlic if desired. After reducing the braising liquid, turn off the heat on your stove top.
Cook the Braise
Step 1
Add the brisket back into the braising liquid and vegetables in the Dutch oven. Place an herb bouquet -- a small cheesecloth bag comprising fresh herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, parsley, bay leaf, lavender and marjoram, tied with a piece of twine -- into the braising liquid; cover the Dutch oven and place it in the preheated oven.
Step 2
Cook the braise for roughly 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. The brisket will be tender and cooked to medium doneness when the internal temperature, taken at the fattest part of the brisket, reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 3
Place the cooked brisket on a cutting board and tent it with aluminum foil. Allow the brisket to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Finish the Braise and Make the Gravy
Step 1
Strain the vegetables from the braising liquid and discard them. Place the strained braising liquid back onto the stove top and heat it over medium-high heat until it reaches a low boil.
Step 2
Add cornstarch to an equal amount of water in a cup and stir it to create a slurry. Add cornstarch slurry -- whisking in about a tablespoon at a time -- to the boiling braising liquid until the liquid thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Step 3
Take the brisket from the tent and slice against the grain into thin slices. Serve the sliced brisket topped with the pan gravy made from the braising liquid.