Most beef brisket in Montréal is cured and brined with a mix of “secret” spices to make Montréal’s iconic smoked meat sandwiches. It’s a lengthy process, and when I need a fix of smoked meat I know where to go. This Braised Beef Brisket is slow-cooked tender and not bright pink. It’s perfect for a lazy weekend get-together and makes great leftovers. And yes, it’s Schwartz’s.
Braised Beef Brisket
Serves: 8 to 10
Ingredients:
Cajun Tartar Sauce
- 1 (5-pound/2.25 kg) untrimmed flat-cut brisket
- Kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
- 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, smashed 8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste 4 cups beef stock
- 2 batches Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes (page 102), for serving
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Season the brisket generously all over with salt and pepper and set aside on the counter for 30 minutes.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, lay the brisket in the pot and sear until golden brown on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the brisket from the pot.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to brown. Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 more minutes.
- Pour in the beef stock, return the brisket to the pot, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Braise the brisket for about 3½ hours, until the meat is fork-tender.
- Cool the brisket in the liquid, covered, in the fridge overnight. Letting the brisket cool completely in the liquid allows it to soak up all the flavour, as well as cool it enough to handle and slice.
- Once cooled, remove the brisket from the liquid. Place the pot with the liquid over high heat and gently mash the cooked vegetables in the liquid. Bring to a boil and reduce the sauce by half. Strain it through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Return the sauce to the pot. Discard or compost the solids.
- Slice the brisket crosswise against the grain into ¼-inch-thick slices and carefully return to the sauce. Heat the brisket over low heat until warmed through. Divide between plates and serve with brown butter mashed potatoes.
Chuck’s Home Cooking by Chuck Hughes. The first cookbook in 10 years from the Celebrity Chef, TV host and restaurant owner. Chuck’s Home Cooking features Chuck’s favourite go-to recipes to cook for his family, whether it’s an easy weeknight dinner, a delicious weekend treat, or a dish to impress on special occasions. Juggling work and a young family, Chuck knows first-hand that the hustle of everyday daily life can make mealtime feel like a chore—but with his simple planning and prep-ahead methods, delicious dishes with bold flavours come together with ease!
Excerpted from Chuck’s Home Cooking by Chuck Hughes. Copyright © 2024 Chuck Hughes. Photography by Marc-André Lavoie. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
