Easy Red Wine Braised Beef Brisket

This Red Wine Braised Beef Brisket and glazed carrots is a budget-friendly recipe by braising an inexpensive cut of brisket in red wine and herbs. The meat was very tender and the gravy was super flavorful. We served this with buttered noodles and glazed carrots.

I have to give my son credit for inspiring me to make this recipe.  Brian doesn’t have cable television, but he can receive PBS television.  As a result of this, he watches a lot of cooking shows. My son and I like Every Day Food  (Martha Stewart) because the recipes are very simple and don’t involve complicated ingredients or instructions.  “Mom, please make this!” he pleaded, as we watched this episode together. 

Last weekend, it was raining and cold. This was the perfect day to make a braised dinner.  What I love about braising is that I can buy inexpensive cuts of meat and cook it for several hours, resulting in tender meat and tasty sauces. Sounds good?  I found a 6 pound chunk of brisket for $3.50 pound.  I decided to use 1/3 of this chunk of meat and freeze two more portions for a later time.

The ingredients list is short and simple.  You need shallots.  I love me some shallots! They’re sweeter than traditional onions, and I always have them in my fridge.

Just smash the garlic and peel off the paper peels.  I cut my shallots chunky style.  We’re about to sear the meat.  I have a friend who says she’s can’t sear meat. She says it never turns golden brown. My best advice is this– pat the meat as dry as you can. No moisture, or it will steam.  I love my Dutch Oven, because I can turn the burner to screaming HOT and that’s what you need.  HOT!  Here we go….

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Season brisket with salt and pepper; in batches, cook, turning occasionally, until dark brown on all sides, about 20 minutes total. Transfer brisket to a plate and discard fat from pot.  NOTE: I cooked my 2 pound chunk of meat in one large slice. I didn’t feel a need to cut it, but it’s up to you. Look at all that fond!
Color = flavor.

Return the pot to high heat and add 2 teaspoons oil and shallots; cook, stirring, until shallots are browned, 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute.  We’re about to deglaze all this tasty goodness. That translates to, adding liquid to loosen up all the brown bits to make an amazing sauce.  You could use beef stock, if you don’t want to use wine.  I grabbed a bottle of Merlot from my stash of wines reserved for braising….

Add wine and simmer rapidly until reduced by three-fourths, about 15 minutes.
TIP: Dip the end of my cooking spoon to leave a “mark” where the liquid started from. When you dip the spoon, after reducing the liquid, I can see that it’s reduced enough.

Because I have an herb garden, I decided to pick some Italian Parsley, marjoram and oregano and I tied it up and put it into the sauce.  I do this, because I think it adds extra flavor to sauces.

Return beef to pot and add just enough water to cover meat (5 to 6 cups). Bring to a boil, cover, then place pot in oven. Cook until beef is tender, 3 ½ to 4 hours.  NOTE: You could use a slow cooker, but I was planning to be home anyway.  In my very honest opinion, I find braising in a Dutch Oven to be my preferred method. Somehow, I think the meat come out more tender.   The next photo isn’t my best quality. The sun had gone down, and my natural lighting was pretty much done…

Look at how much the sauce had reduced!  I took a taste, 3/4 of the way through braising, and found the sauce to be missing something. I added some tomato paste (about 1 Tablespoon) and some thyme.

Remove the meat, and added some beef stock to the sauce…

This is the reward for waiting HOURS for a meal to be braised. The sauce was so flavorful. I liked the redness from the tomato pasta, and the herbs were perfect.

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Easy Red Wine Braised Beef Brisket

This Red Wine Braised Beef Brisket is a budget-friendly recipe by braising an inexpensive cut of brisket in red wine and herbs. The meat was very tender and the gravy was super flavorful. We served this with buttered noodles and glazed carrots.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time4 hours hrs

Total Time4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Red Wine Braised Beef Brisket

Servings: 6

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

• Dutch Oven

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus 2 teaspoons
• 3 1/2 pounds beef brisket cut into 3-inch pieces; or to the size that will fit into your upan
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 shallots halved
• 6 garlic cloves smashed and peeled
• 3 cups dry red wine
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste and 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, and I’m glad that I did!
• Beef stock (in case the sauce reduces to be too thick which happened in my case.)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.

  In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Season brisket with salt and pepper; in batches, cook, turning occasionally, until dark brown on all sides, about 20 minutes total.
• Transfer brisket to a plate and discard fat from pot.

  Return pot to heat and add 2 teaspoons oil and shallots; cook, stirring, until shallots are browned, 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute.
• Add the tomato paste
• Add wine and simmer rapidly until reduced by three-fourths, about 15 minutes. Return beef to pot and add just enough water to cover meat (5 to 6 cups).

  Bring to a boil, cover, then place pot in oven. Cook until beef is tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
• NOTE: The sauce had reduced down to be pretty thick, so I added some beef stock until it was the consistency I liked.

Notes

Recipe source: Adapted from Martha Stewart Every Day Cooking

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!

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2 from 1 vote

Foolproof Glazed Carrots

This recipe has changed my childhood aversion of cooked carrots. These are slightly sweet, slightly glazed and super simple and quick to make. I honestly love them and make these often.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish, Vegetables

Keyword: carrots, glazed carrots

Servings: 6

Calories: 74kcal

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Ingredients

• 1 pound medium carrots about 6, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick on the bias
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• Ground black pepper

Instructions

• Bring carrots, salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, and chicken broth to boil, covered, in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until carrots are almost tender when poked with tip of paring knife, about 5 minutes.
• Uncover, increase heat to high, and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add butter and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar to skillet; toss carrots to coat and cook, stirring frequently, until carrots are completely tender and glaze is light gold, about 3 minutes.
• Off heat, add lemon juice; toss to coat.
• Transfer carrots to serving dish, scraping glaze from pan.
• Season to taste with pepper and serve immediately.

Notes

Recipe source: Cook’s Illustrated

I’ve made this recipe with sweet potatoes instead of carrots and they turned out great.  I’ve also added orange juice instead of lemon.

Nutrition

Calories: 74kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 252mg | Potassium: 258mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 12690IU | Vitamin C: 5.1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!

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