The Garden Gate Recipe Collection
Oven Baked Brisket
* Small whole brisket, about 12 to 15#
* Coarse grain mustard, about a cup
* Montreal or Chicago Steak Seasoning (the Chicago, is better, if you can find it...has a coarser grain, and so forms a heartier crust
* Kosher salt
* 12 oz. bottle of beer, lager or your favorite...no beer? Use extra beef stock or bouillon & water with a splash of worcestershire sauce mixed in.
* 1 to 2 cups beef stock with a splash of Worcestershire mixed in
* 2 large onions, skin peeled & cut into rings
If the brisket has an overly thick fat cap, feel free to remove some of it...do leave a nice layer, as it will melt out and baste the meat as it cooks.
Set up your roasting pan with a layer of the onion rings. Use them all.
Starting with the meaty bottom, massage brisket with the mustard. Sprinkle quite liberally with the seasoning blend ans a sprinkling of Kosher salt.
Place in large roasting pan, seasoned side down, on top of the bed of onions.
Mustard and season the top liberally.
Pour beer in on the side of the pan along with the stock. (Don't wash off the crust you've just yellowed your hands over!) You want a half inch of liquid in the bottom.
As the brisket cooks, it will release its juices and fats into the pan, for a fabulous au jus!
Cover pan first with plastic wrap, and overwrap with heavy duty foil.
Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree F. oven for 3 hours, until a temperature internal of 190 is reached. Let rest before taking out for carving.
Take pan out of oven and let rest as long as you can, with brisket in its cooking juices. Overnight, refrigerated, if possible! We love doing this a day in advance. When you hold it in the fridge overnight, the fat rises to the top and congeales, making it easy to pull off the fat layer. Warm, then strain, the au jou. Thicken, if desired, with a slurry of flour and water.
And, the brisket is easier to slice after it's had time to set up. Just re-heat in the strained au jus...melt in your mouth goodness!