Emeril's Braised Brisket of Beef

Emerils' Beer Braised Brisket
5 to 6 pounds beef brisket
4 garlic cloves, sliced
Salt and cayenne
Essence, recipe follows
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups julienned onions
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cans (12 ounces each) Dixie beer
1 cup water

Garnish:
1/2 pound roasted new potatoes
1/2 cup fried shallot crusts (julienned shallots, marinated in hot sauce, dredged in flour and fried until golden)
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 tablespoons brunoise red peppers

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. With a sharp knife, make about 10 slits in the brisket. Stuff each hole with 2 to 3 slices of the garlic. Season the meat with salt, cayenne and Essence. In a large saute pan, heat the oil. When oil is hot, sear the meat evenly, for 2 to 3 minutes on all sides. Transfer the meat to a large Dutch oven with a lid. Bake, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven. In a mixing bowl, toss the onions with salt, cayenne and Essence. Arrange the onions around the meat. Add the beer and water. Cover and return the pot to the oven. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 2 1/2 hours, or until tender. Turn the meat over twice during baking. If the liquid evaporates too much, add another can of beer and 1/2 cup water. Remove the meat from the pan and reserve the liquid. Slice the meat into individual portions.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
Yield: about 2/3 cup

Modifications:
-I did not use the potatoes, onions, etc.  I strictly just used this recipe for the beef.

Here's what you'll need (plus your brisket):

Mix all of the herbs.

Put the brisket in a pan and rub the brisket.

Slice up some garlic cloves and cut slices into the beef.  Stuff the cloves into the beef (picture below).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Put some olive oil in a pan to get hot.  Sear the beef on each side for 2-3 minutes (see the sliced beef with garlic cloves in it).

Put the pan into the oven for 45 minutes at 400 degrees.

Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.

Add beer to the pan.  I only used 1 bottle and it was fine.

Cover the pan and put back into the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Put the meat over into a serving dish and pour the pan juices all over.

Our Thoughts:

When looking for a brisket recipe I had several people give me their family recipes.  They all looked great but I waited too long and didn't have some of the ingredients.  I found this Emeril Lagasse recipe and had all of the seasonings to make the Essence so I just went with this one.

This beef had a really good flavor to it.  It was moist and juicy but wasn't so soft that it fell apart like a roast.  I was afraid that since both of briskets were in the 2lb range that the 2 hour finish time would not be sufficient but when we sliced into it, it was perfect.  There was hardly any left!

Serving with the pan juices added moistness and flavor from the cooked off fat.

Hope you enjoy!

April