Description
Plan to start this recipe one day before serving, as it’s best to season the meat at least 12 hours prior to cooking and allow it to rest in the refrigerator before cooking. This is a delicious and simple method for cooking brisket that results in a perfectly fork-tender piece of meat, that still slices neatly, with minimal effort.
Ingredients
- 1 3-4 pound flat-cut brisket
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 garlic gloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon minced garlic)
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1 cup apple cider
OPTIONAL SAUCE/GRAVY
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- Splash red wine
- Juices from cooking the brisket
Instructions
- The day prior to cooking and serving, trim off the fat layer from the brisket, and rub it on all sides with a combination of salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder. Place in a plastic bag or a baking dish and refrigerate for a minimum of 12 hours.
- Take the brisket out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature (about 2 hours).
- Slice the onion, and saute it in the olive oil and butter until softened. Add the garlic and rosemary and continue cooking for a few minutes.
- Add the apple cider and increase heat to high, bringing to mixture to a boil. Boil until liquid is reduced by about half.
- Place the brisket over the onion mixture. Spoon about half of the onion mixture over the top of the brisket.
- Cover the pan with foil and seal tightly.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Then turn heat down to 250 and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- At this point, check the meat for doneness. It may still need another hour at this point, but check to see if it is tender. Just pull off a piece with a fork and taste it.
- Once it is tender, remove the meat and place on a platter. Cover with a tent of aluminum foil.
- Blend the onion and liquid from the pot to form a sauce. This can be served as is with the meat, but to make a nice gravy, saute mushrooms in butter in a saucepan. Add flour and stir and cook for a few minutes. Then add the blended juices and onions from the meat, until it reaches a nice gravy consistency. Serve this gravy over the meat and a bed of buttered noodles.