Beer and Sherry Braised Brisket

Yum. I upped the anti and the slow cooking on traditional brisket with this one.  The aroma was so strong, I tempted a long time vegetarian into considering taking the meaty plunge... Clearly a success by any measure!  I made two briskets simultaneously and froze one ... how can you resist red meat on sale, I wonder? Feel free to add root vegetables to the roasting pan - I didn't want to deprive the vegetarians, so I didn't... but I saved the sauce/gravy and added it to both chicken soup and roasted parsnips and carrots the following week.


Dry Rub:
1/3 brown sugar (I use  turbinado brownulated)
1/3 garlic powder
1/3 onion powder
(I didn't put measurements above, usually pour in about 1/3cup or less)
2 tbsp Emeril's essence
1 tbsp Mustard seed (ground)
1-2 tsp Allspice
2 tsp cumin

Mix all ingredients in a ziploc bag
Coat both sides, leave fatty side up.


Add
3/4 c Harpoon (I used summer ale.... but any beer will do the job)
1/2-1c Gonzales Byass Tio Pepe kosher Sherry

Seal really tightly w/aluminum foil

Cook at 225 for 3 hours
Flip (If serving for shabbat/holiday lunch, this is where I put it in the fridge)
Then 200 for 4-5 hours
Let cool for 10-15 min before you slice it to serve.
Cut against the grain!!!It's the slow and low that makes it fork tender. It can stand to be in the oven tightly sealed a bit longer ... But 8 hrs is my gauge. Enjoy!

Best Brisket

This recipe is inspired by my childhood best friend's mom. I've turned into my own special recipe, but her slow cooking technique is what I recommend!

Either Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lower to 300 after 2 hours for an additional hour
or 250 if you plan to slow cook for 6-8 hours.

2.5 lbs Brisket, 2nd cut
1/4 c. sugar (brown, turbinado or in the raw)
1/3 c. onion soup mix or if you need low sodium, onion powder
1/2 c. garlic powder
2/3 c. sherry (tio pepe makes a kosher blend every passover and it's usually available year round)
1/3 c. water or broth
Veggetables to add: Root vegetables, celery, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, mushrooms (whatever is on hand)
Optional dry ingredients: Paprika, zatar, mustard powder, rosemary or emeril's spice blend. Clove of garlic - place slices into little slits you cut in the meat

If using fresh garlic, insert first. Then mix dry ingredients and use as a dry rub on both sides of meat. Chop vegetables into big pieces, celery, parsnips and carrots on the bias. Toss into bottom of pan. Add meat and liquid. Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven. See above for temperature and cooking time options. Turn over half way through cooking. (If you want to nestle the meat directly into the liquid, you won't regret it.) You may want to add more liquid half way through, or take off the aluminum foil to let the gravy thicken depending on how your oven does and how much liquid the meat gives off.