Braised Beef Brisket with Onions, Mushrooms, and Balsamic

Filed under Beef

Prep: 25 min | Cook: 180 min | Servings: 6

Recipe courtesy Anne Burrell. Serves 6 to 8.

Inactive prep: 20 minutes.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Coat a large roasting pan with olive oil over high heat. Season the brisket generously with salt and brown well on both sides. Remove and reserve.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  3. Lower the heat to medium, discard the excess oil, and add the bacon and reserved skin with a little more oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy and it has released a lot of fat. Add the onions and celery, season with salt and cook until very soft and aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft and wilted.
  4. Add the balsamic vinegar and reduce it by half. It will taste very vinegary; that's OK. Season with salt, if needed. Lay the brisket on top of the vegetables and add chicken stock until it just covers the brisket. Add the bay leaves and thyme.
  5. Cover with foil and roast for 1 hour. Turn the brisket over and add more stock if the level has reduced. Cover and roast another hour. Remove the foil and roast 30 minutes more.
  6. Transfer the brisket to a cutting board, cover with foil, and let rest 20 minutes. Skim the fat from the cooking liquid; if the vegetables are swimming, reduce the liquid on the stovetop over medium-high heat. You want the sauce soupy. Taste and reseason if needed.
  7. Slice the brisket against the grain on the bias. Serve topped with the onion-mushroom mixture and sprinkled with chopped chives.