Wine Braised Brisket Of Beef With Caramelized Pearl Onions And Dried Apricots Recipes

Steps:

• Porcini: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place the mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until rehydrated, 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, line a strainer with cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Gently squeeze the liquid from the rehydrated mushrooms with your hands and set the mushrooms aside. Pour soaking liquid through the cloth-lined strainer into the bowl. (The cloth will filter out any dirt and sediment from the mushrooms.) Set the soaking liquid aside.
• Vegetables: Cut onions into a large dice. Smash garlic, releasing the peel, then roughly chop; roughly chop mushrooms. Set aside.
• Brisket: In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Season brisket with salt and pepper on both sides. Sear brisket, fat side down, until golden brown, 5-10 minutes. Flip over and sear the other side, about 5 more minutes. Transfer to a roasting pan.
• Braising liquid: Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet, lower heat to medium, and add onions, garlic, mushrooms, rosemary, and bay leaves. Stir in a pinch of salt and sauté until onions are translucent, 8-10 minutes. Add tomato paste, and stir constantly until caramelized, 2-3 minutes. Add red wine and bring to a simmer; cook until the liquid has nearly evaporated, 5-6 minutes. Add reserved porcini soaking liquid and chicken stock. Raise heat to medium-high and bring back to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Pour hot liquid over brisket and cover with foil. Braise in oven for 2-2½ hours, flipping the brisket once halfway through cooking. After 2½ hours, raise heat to 350 degrees F, remove foil, and continue cooking to brown, 30 minutes. Brisket should be very tender when pierced with a skewer.
• Assembly: Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly in braising liquid. Remove to a cutting board and thinly slice across the grain. Pour braising liquid over the meat before serving.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne. Season brisket generously on all sides with salt mixture. (Use about 2 tablespoons and reserve remaining mixture.) If possible, wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight, then bring to room temperature.
• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place brisket in a shallow roasting pan or earthenware baking dish. Pour wine and 2 cups water over the brisket, then add cloves, garlic, bay leaves and allspice berries.
• Scatter about 1/3 of the sliced onions over brisket. Cover with foil or a tight-fitting lid. Place in oven and bake for about 3 hours or until meat is quite tender when probed with a fork. (Be careful not to overcook; you want slices, not shreds.)
• Meanwhile, place a large skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Add remaining onions and season with remaining salt mixture. As onions begin to brown, reduce heat to medium. Cook, uncovered, turning onion slices with a spatula every few minutes until caramelized and fork-tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water to onions and simmer a few minutes more. (For more flavor, use broth from the brisket pan instead.) Onions may be prepared in advance and reheated.
• To serve, transfer brisket to a cutting board. Trim extraneous fat from meat. With a large knife, cut meat across the grain into 1/4-inch slices. Strain braising liquid into a saucepan (discard solids left in strainer) and skim any rising fat from surface.
• Arrange sliced meat on a platter. Cover with caramelized onions and ladle some hot braising liquid over. Garnish with parsley sprigs and sprinkle with scallions, if using. Serve remaining juices separately.

Steps:

• Season the brisket evenly on both sides with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the wine to a boil and continue boiling until it reduces to half its original volume, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Evenly sprinkle the brisket all over with flour, shaking off excess. Heat a heavy Dutch oven over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and when it is almost smoking, turn the heat to medium-high, carefully add the brisket, and sear until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the brisket to a platter. Pour off the fat from the Dutch oven and add another 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the garlic, shallots, carrots, celery, and leek, and sauté until glossy and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add half of the apricots and all the parsley, thyme, bay leaves, and tomato paste, and continue to cook 1 minute more.
• Return the browned brisket to the Dutch oven and add the reduced wine and 2 quarts stock or broth. If the brisket is not completely covered with liquid, add enough extra stock, broth, or water to cover. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Cover the pot and carefully place it in the oven. Cook until the brisket is fork tender, 2 to 2½ hours. Meanwhile, blanch and peel the onions as instructed in the tips, leaving them whole. Cut the remaining apricots into 1/4-inch strips.
• In a small sauté pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat and sauté the pearl onions until lightly golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the apricot strips and pour in the remaining 1/4 cup stock or broth, stirring and scraping with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan deposits. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until tender, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.
• When the meat is done, carefully transfer it to a heated platter, cover with aluminum foil, and keep warm. Boil the liquid in the Dutch oven until it thickens and reduces to about 1 quart, 15 to 20 minutes. Pour it through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, taste, and adjust the seasonings if necessary with more salt and pepper.
• To serve, use a sharp knife to cut the brisket across the grain into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange the slices on heated serving plates or on a heated platter, spoon half the sauce over it, and garnish with the pearl onions and apricots. Sprinkle with minced parsley and pass the remaining sauce on the side. Serves 8.

Steps:

• Season the brisket evenly on both sides with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the wine to a boil and continue boiling until it reduces to half its original volume, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F Evenly sprinkle the brisket all over with flour, shaking off excess. Heat a heavy Dutch oven over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil. When it is almost smoking, turn the heat to medium-high, carefully add the brisket, and sear until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the brisket to a platter. Pour off the fat from the Dutch oven and add another 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the garlic, shallots, carrots, celery, and leek, and sauté until glossy and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add half of the apricots and all the parsley, thyme, bay leaves, and tomato paste, and continue to cook 1 minute more.
• Return the browned brisket to the Dutch oven and add the reduced wine and 2 quarts stock or broth. If the brisket is not completely covered with liquid, add enough extra stock, broth, or water to cover. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Cover the pot and carefully place it in the oven. Cook until the brisket is fork-tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, blanch and peel the onions as instructed in the tips (see below), leaving them whole. Cut the remaining apricots into 1/4-inch strips.
• In a small sauté pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat and sauté the pearl onions until lightly golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the apricot strips and pour in the remaining 1/4 cup stock or broth, stirring and scraping with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan deposits. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until tender, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.
• When the meat is done, carefully transfer it to a heated platter, cover with aluminum foil, and keep warm. Boil the liquid in the Dutch oven until it thickens and reduces to about 1 quart, 15 to 20 minutes. Pour it through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, taste, and adjust the seasonings if necessary with more salt and pepper.
• To serve, use a sharp knife to cut the brisket across the grain into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange the slices on heated serving plates or on a heated platter, spoon half the sauce over it, and garnish with the pearl onions and apricots. Sprinkle with minced parsley and pass the remaining sauce on the side.
• Wolfgang's Easy Tips:.
• • If you can't find a 5-pound brisket at your supermarket, cook 2 smaller pieces.
• • While the meat braises, keep the heat gentle since boiling tightens rather than relaxes the meat's fibers. Check the liquid in the cooking vessel and if it's bubbling more than slightly, turn down the heat. The results should be so tender that you can pull the meat apart with a fork.
• • To prepare the pearl onions, bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the pearl onions and blanch them for 30 seconds. Drain and immediately immerse them in a bowl of ice and water. Cut the very ends off at the stem ends, peel the onions, and leave them whole.
• • For neater slices, you could let the brisket cool before cutting it across the grain. Reheat the slices in the sauce. That makes brisket an ideal dish to prepare ahead. Just cook and slice it the day before, and reheat it in the oven in its sauce for about half an hour at 300°F before serving.

Steps:

• Boil first 3 ingredients in pot until reduced to 4 cups, about 25 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add bones; sauté until well browned, turning occasionally, about 12 minutes. Transfer bones to bowl. Add onions, celery and allspice to Dutch oven. Season with salt; cook until onions are golden, stirring often, about 25 minutes. Continue cooking until onions are deep dark brown, scraping bottom of Dutch oven and stirring often, about 15 minutes more. Add garlic and thyme; sauté 5 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to large roasting pan. Add 1 cup broth mixture to Dutch oven. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits; transfer to roasting pan.
• Season brisket generously with salt and pepper. Add to Dutch oven and brown over high heat, about 5 minutes per side. Place brisket, fat side up, on onion mixture in roasting pan; surround with bones. Add remaining broth mixture and tomatoes to Dutch oven; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Pour mixture over brisket.
• Cover roasting pan tightly with heavy-duty foil and place in oven. Bake until brisket is tender, about 3 hours 45 minutes. Remove foil. Cool brisket 2 hours. Refrigerate uncovered 3 hours. Cover brisket tightly and keep chilled 1 day or up to 3 days.
• Scrape fat from top of pan juices; discard fat. Transfer brisket to cutting board, scraping gelled juices off brisket back into roasting pan. Bring contents of roasting pan to simmer. Discard bones. Pour contents of roasting pan into coarse strainer set over large bowl. Press on solids to release as much liquid as possible. Purée solids in processor, using on/off turns. Mix enough purée into juices in bowl to form thick sauce. Add tomato paste and whisk to blend. Pour sauce into medium saucepan and simmer until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
• Slice brisket thinly across grain at slight diagonal angle. Arrange slices in glass baking dish. Drizzle 1/2 cup sauce over; cover with foil.
• Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add all squashes, turnips and carrots and cook until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to large bowl. Add potatoes to boiling water and cook until just tender, about 12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to same bowl. Add onions to boiling water and cook until almost tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. Peel onions; add to same bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake brisket until heated through, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, boil margarine, honey and thyme in heavy large skillet over high heat until syrup is reduced to 1/3 cup, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add cooked vegetables, tomatoes and asparagus; toss until heated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange brisket on platter. Bring remaining sauce to simmer. Arrange vegetables around brisket. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.

Steps:

• If you have time, up to 24 hrs before, sit the beef in a snug plastic container and pour over the wine. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge, turning the beef as and when you can.
• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3½. Drain the wine from the beef (if you've marinated), but keep the wine. Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole dish that will fit the beef and all the vegetables - don't worry if the beef is too tall for the dish. Season the beef and spend a good 15 mins browning it on all sides, then remove from the dish. Add the celery, carrots and onion to the dish, sizzle in the beef fat for 5 mins, then add the garlic and herbs. Nestle the beef among the vegetables, pour over the wine and bring to a simmer. Cover the dish with its lid (or foil if the beef is too tall) and braise in the oven for 4-4½ hrs until very tender, turning the beef once.
• Once cooked, leave to rest for 10 mins, then lift the beef onto a carving board. Drain the vegetables (reserving the braising juices), toss with the parsley and tip into a dish. Spoon the fat off the braising juices and pour into a bowl for spooning over. The sauce can be chilled in the fridge - the fat will solidify and can be lifted off the sauce before it's reheated.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Generously season brisket with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Sear brisket until browned, 4 to 5 minutes a side; transfer to a plate. Drain fat from pot and discard. Reduce heat to medium; add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, shallots, garlic, and potato starch and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot. Add broth, mustard, zest, and thyme; bring to a boil. Add meat and any accumulated juices. Cover and transfer to oven; cook 2 hours, 15 minutes.
• Flip meat over; add vegetables. Cover and continue to cook until everything is very tender, about 45 minutes. (If you're saving it for the next day, let cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Reheat, covered, in a 350 degrees oven until warmed through, about 40 minutes.)
• Transfer vegetables to a platter and meat to a cutting board; season with salt. Skim fat from liquid in pot. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Slice brisket against the grain and serve, with vegetables and sauce.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix thyme, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl and rub the mixture over both sides of brisket.
• Heat olive oil in a roasting pan over medium-high heat; place brisket in the hot oil and brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove brisket from pan and set aside.
• Place red onion slices into the hot roasting pan and cook and stir until onion is slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in beef broth, tomato sauce, and wine.
• Place the brisket back into the roasting pan and cover pan with foil.
• Roast the brisket in the preheated oven for 1 hour; remove foil and baste brisket with pan juices. Place foil back over roasting pan and roast brisket until very tender and pan sauce has thickened, 1 1/2 to 2 more hours.