Braised Brisket and Vegetables

I absolutely love my InstantPot, and I use mine several times a week. But, there are lazy Sundays when I enjoy putting my Dutch Oven to work.  Braising meats, in liquid, low and slow for several hours tenderizes meat until it's so tender that you don't really need a knife.

 We have made slow-grilled  brisket on the Weber (husband's favorite), and my personal favorite "Kansas City Style Burnt Ends" .  However, brisket is a perfect cut of meat to slow braise in the oven, and this is a new recipe that I saw on "The Pioneer Woman" show on Food Network.

This recipe is somewhat like my Pot Roast (adapted from the same show).  To build flavor, you have to make sure that your meat is patted very dry. Turn your oven-proof pot up as to high and sear that chunk of brisket until it's nice and brown on both sides (a few minutes).

I cut up onions and carrots nice and chunky. I passed on the parsnips because I haven't really bonded with that vegetable.  Once I removed the brisket all that beautiful "brown stuff" (fond) turned the onions a golden color and I sauteed the carrots for a few minutes.

For the braising liquid, I used beef broth, red wine, tomato paste, a little soy sauce and some brown sugar. I picked some fresh rosemary and thyme from our garden and toss that in.  Into a 300F oven it went.  Then, I puttered around the house, read my email, read a magazine and enjoy the aroma wafting from our oven.

Mmmm, five hours later it was time to remove the brisket (it does shrink a bit), covered it with foil and let it rest for a few minutes.  I tossed out the herb bouquet garni and I was surprised I really didn't have much fat to skim!  I thickened the sauce with a bit of Wondra flour (secret weapon) or you could make a slurry of cornstarch and water, if you please.

We had dinner guests, so sliced up the brisket, against the grain, and slid it into these serving dish. I put the carrots and onions all around and poured a generous amount of gravy, plus some extra on the side.  I made creamy Yukon Gold mashed potatoes as a side dish. I served extra sauce in a dish, to slather over the mashed potatoes. Win!

TASTING NOTES: Ree Drummond hit this one right out of the ballpark! The brisket was super tender. The carrots weren't mushy, because they were large and chunky. The onions had melted nicely into the background, but the flavor was there. The brown sugar and soy sauce gave a nice "umami" to the sauce.  This is a one-pot dish, that would be tasty with buttered noodles, polenta or whole potatoes. My guests raved about the recipe and I wouldn't change a thing about it!

It's nice to be back blogging again.  This Friday, we are headed on a non-stop flight from San Francisco to Munich, Germany.  I'll be sharing photos on my Instagram or Face Book Fan Page, if you'd like to follow along.   We are excited to spend Easter in my mom's home town of Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria. It's a bit cold, but I don't care! We'll be back in two weeks!

A printable recipe is at the end of this post.

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!