slow braised brisket in the oven
With this recipe, we are slow-cooking the brisket in the oven for 4-5 hours on low to moderate heat. It’s half-braised in a broth, which slowly cooks down to form the most decadent reduction – our brisket sauce.
Ingredients:
7kg whole brisket
100 grams of Coffee Rub for the Spice Rub
For the brisket braising broth
2 large onion, sliced
3–4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1000 ml chicken stock (4 cups)
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon oil
- Preheat the oven to 170 C / 338 F.
- Pat dry the brisket. Leave the fat cap on (usually on one side) but feel free to trim off particularly thick areas. Don’t remove the fat altogether as it keeps the brisket moist and adds a lot of flavour.
- Rub the coffee rub spice mix on all sides using your hands. If not in a rush, place the brisket into a covered tray or a container and refrigerate overnight. Make sure to bring to room temperature before cooking.
- If the whole brisket is too big to fit into your baking tray you can cut it in half
- Place a heat-proof metal baking tray (not ceramic or glass!) over high heat on the stove. Place it so that the flame hits the middle of the pan. You can also do this part in a large skillet or a frying pan.
- Add a tablespoon of oil and once hot, place the brisket in the middle, fat side down. Cook for 1-2 minutes to sear the spices. Turn over, adding another splash of oil underneath, and cook on the meat side down for 1-2 minutes, just to brown off the spices a little. Remove the brisket to a plate.
- Add the onions and garlic to the tray and pour in a little bit of the stock. Stir through to deglaze the bottom of the pan and scrape off all those sticky spice rub bits. Now pour in the remaining stock, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic and soy sauce.
- Stir through and move the onions and garlic to the middle.
- Place the brisket on top of the onions in the broth (make sure to keep the fat layer side up!) and spoon a few tablespoons of the liquid over the top. Cover the whole tray tightly with foil and pop in the oven.
- Cook for 2 hour, then remove the tray and baste a few more tablespoons of the cooking broth over the top to baste the meat. You can place some of the onions and garlic on top of the meat. Cover with foil again and pop back for 1 more hour.
- After this 2 hours, repeat the basting process. At this stage, the cooking broth will be thickening and caramelising. If you have a taste, it will have a rich, salty gravy-like flavour. We recommend adding another 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of water and stirring through the cooking broth at this stage. Cover with foil again and cook for 1 more hour.
- After 4-5 hours, check on the meat and make sure the broth isn’t too thickened or sticky. Turn the oven off but leave the meat in there to rest for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for a little bit longer under foil.
- Transfer on a board or a platter with reduced sauce and onions on top. Slice into preferred thickness pieces and serve with mustard, your favourite BBQ sauce, or simply with a coleslaw, roasted or mashed sweet potatoes, green beans, and any other sides you love with roast or BBQ meats.
