Beef Brisket Pot Roast

Instructions

1- 1 Prepare the brisket for cooking: On one side of the brisket there should be a layer of fat, which you want.

2- If there are any large chunks of fat, cut them off and discard them.

3- Large pieces of fat will not be able to render out completely.

4- Using a sharp knife, score the fat in parallel lines, about 3/4-inch apart.

5- Slice through the fat, not the beef.

6- Repeat in the opposite direction to make a cross-hatch pattern.

7- Salt the brisket well and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

8- 2 Sear the brisket: You'll need an oven-proof, thick-bottomed pot with a cover, or Dutch oven, that is just wide enough to hold the brisket roast with a little room for the onions.

9- Pat the brisket dry and place it, fatty side down, into the pot and place it on medium high heat.

10- Cook for 5-8 minutes, lightly sizzling, until the fat side is nicely browned.

11- (If the roast seems to be cooking too fast, turn the heat down to medium.

12- You want a steady sizzle, not a raging sear.

13- ) Turn the brisket over and cook for a few minutes more to brown the other side.

14- 3 Sauté the onions and garlic: When the brisket has browned, remove it from the pot and set aside.

15- There should be a couple tablespoons of fat rendered in the pot, if not, add some olive oil.

16- Add the chopped onions and increase the heat to high.

17- Sprinkle a little salt on the onions.

18- Sauté, stirring often, until the onions are lightly browned, 5-8 minutes.

19- Stir in the garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes.

20- 4 Return brisket to pot, add herbs, stock, bring to simmer, cover, cook in oven: Preheat the oven to 300°F.

21- Use kitchen twine to tie together the bay leaves, rosemary and thyme.

22- Move the onions and garlic to the sides of the pot and nestle the brisket inside.

23- Add the beef stock and the tied-up herbs.

24- Bring the stock to a boil on the stovetop.

25- Cover the pot, place the pot in the 300°F oven and cook for 3 hours.

26- Carefully flip the brisket every hour so it cooks evenly.

27- 5 Add carrots, continue to cook: After 3 hours, add the carrots.

28- Cover the pot and cook for 1 hour more, or until the carrots are cooked through and the brisket is falling-apart tender.

29- 6 Remove brisket to cutting board, tent with foil: When the brisket is falling-apart tender, take the pot out of the oven and remove the brisket to a cutting board.

30- Cover it with foil.

31- Pull out and discard the herbs.

32- 7 Make sauce (optional): At this point you have two options.

33- You can serve as is, or you can make a sauce with the drippings and some of the onions.

34- If you serve as is, skip this step.

35- To make a sauce, remove the carrots and half of the onions, set aside and cover them with foil.

36- Pour the ingredients that are remaining into the pot into a blender, and purée until smooth.

37- If you want, add 1 tablespoon of mustard to the mix.

38- Put into a small pot and keep warm.

39- 8 Slice the meat across the grain: Notice the lines of the muscle fibers of the roast.

40- This is the "grain" of the meat.

41- Slice the meat perpendicular to these lines, or across the grain (cutting this way further tenderizes the meat), in 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices.

42- Serve with the onions, carrots and gravy.

43- Serve with mashed, roasted or boiled potatoes, egg noodles or polenta.