Wine and Chicken Stock Braised Beef Brisket Slow Cooker

Wine-Braised Brisket with Tart Cherries

April 4, 2012

Wine-Braised Brisket with Tart Cherries Photo by Lara Ferroni

Beef brisket is the centerpiece of many Jewish holiday meals, particularly at Passover, and every family has their favorite way of preparing it. There are countless recipes out there, but how many do you need besides your grandmother's? At least one more: This one!
Why? Because the meat is slowly braised in Pinot Noir, and the cherry notes in the wine pair brilliantly with dried tart cherries, which plump up with winey beef juices to become little mini-pouches of flavor on their own. Add to that a bit of star anise, which perfumes the brisket and your home with an exotic and enticing hint of licorice. Season the mixture with the sweet-and-sour agrodolce dance of brown sugar and balsamic vinegar, and you have a brisket that is at once counterintuitively familiar and wonderfully different. Like all braised meats, brisket improves in flavor, and slices more easily, if made a day ahead and chilled (see Cooks' Notes).

Editor's Note: This recipe is part of Gourmet's Modern Menu for Passover. Menu also includes Quinoa and Asparagus Salad with Mimosa Vinaigrette and Amaretto Olive Oil Cake.

Ingredients

Makes 8 to 10 servings

1/4 cup matzoh cake meal (see Cooks' notes)

Kosher or fine salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 (6- to 6 1/2-pound) first- or second-cut beef brisket

3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

16 medium shallots (about 1 pound); peeled, leaving root ends intact

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 cups Pinot Noir

2 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups (8 ounces) dried tart cherries

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

2 whole star anise (see Cooks' notes)

2 pounds young, slim carrots in bunches (not pre-cut variety), peeled

Special Equipment

A nonreactive large, heavy-bottomed roasting pan

Step 1

Heat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Step 2

Whisk together matzoh meal with 1 tablespoon kosher salt (2 teaspoons fine) and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Pat brisket dry and dredge in matzoh mixture, shaking off excess.

Step 3

Set roasting pan across 2 burners and in it heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until oil shimmers. Brown brisket (fat side down first if using first cut) on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a large platter or rimmed baking sheet.

Step 4

If necessary, add remaining tablespoon oil, then reduce heat to medium, and cook shallots, turning occasionally, until they begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute.

Step 5

Add wine and boil until liquid is reduced by half, then stir in chicken stock, cherries, sugar, balsamic vinegar, star anise, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon fine salt). Bring to a simmer and return brisket, fat side up, to pan. Cover pan tightly with heavy-duty foil or a double layer of regular foil, and braise in oven for 2 hours.

Step 6

Meanwhile, blanch carrots in a 3-quart pot of well-salted boiling water. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Drain again and pat dry.

Step 7

Add carrots to roasting pan (after meat has braised for 2 hours), then cover again tightly with foil, and continue to braise in oven, until meat is fork-tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours more.

Step 8

If serving soon, transfer meat to a cutting board and let it rest, loosely covered, 15 minutes, then slice meat across the grain. Skim off any excess fat from surface of sauce, then discard star anise, and season to taste with salt. Reheat sauce, then return sliced meat to sauce to reheat before serving. Serve meat with sauce and carrots on a large deep platter. (If making brisket ahead, see Cooks' Notes.)

Cooks' notes:

•You can easily make your own matzoh cake meal by finely grinding regular matzoh meal in a clean, electric coffee/spice grinder.
•First-cut brisket with a single side of exterior fat is relatively lean, while second-cut is more evenly marbled throughout. While second-cut has more succulent, moister meat, either works well in this recipe.
•Each star anise is composed of 8 petals, so if the star anise you buy has no complete stars, count out 16 petals.
•Regular-size carrots can be substituted for the smaller variety. Use same weight indicated, and cut them diagonally into 1-inch-thick pieces before blanching.
•Brisket, like all braised meats, improves in flavor if made at least 1 day ahead, if not 3 days ahead. Leave brisket whole and let cool in sauce, uncovered, before chilling, covered. When ready to serve, remove meat from sauce, and discard solidified fat from sauce. Slice meat across the grain while it's still cold (it will cut into neater slices), then reheat gently in sauce, in oven or on top of the stove.

How would you rate Wine-Braised Brisket with Tart Cherries?

Reviews (16)

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• The BEST brisket ever! It is now my standard. YUM

• Delicious is all that needs to be said about this tender, sweet, tart, deep-flavored brisket. I will be making this again! (this was not for Passover so I used regular flour instead of matzoh flour as well)

• It not being Passover I used flour instead of matzoh meal; worked just fine. Delicious, if slightly sweet. I used a slightly sweet Spanish vinegar instead of balsamic and it worked well; it would be interesting to try with just a good red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness. I followed the suggestion to use red onions instead of shallots and it tasted very good, but next time I'll use the shallots for a prettier presentation. Used a first cut brisket; not dry at all. Definitely on my do-again list.

• Made this last week, with a 5 lb brisket. I forgot to put the wine in on its own and reduce it down. Instead, all the liquids, along with the tart cherries, brown sugar, Star Anise, and salt went in at once. Except for my having a LOT of sauce, I don't think it made a difference. I made it the day before, sliced it cold, and reheated it. This was great, and a huge hit with my wine and dinner group! I am going to make this again. A few questions, for those that understand this stuff better than I do....1) I cooked it at the recommended 350 degrees, for 3 hours and 15 minutes. I have seen brisket recipes with a lower cooking temp, would cooking it 300 degrees improve it? 2) Should I reduce some of the liquids or boil off some of the wine as the recipe calls for?

• Made this for our gourmet group and they all loved it, as did I since I did most of the work ahead of time then just reheated it to serve. So rich and flavorful - this brisket will steal the show. Only change I made was added fresh-ground allspice instead of star anise and it was lovely.

• Terrific brisket. The meat was wonderfully tender and flavorful. I used cabernet rather than pinot noir but otherwise followed the recipe.

• I have tried many brisket recipes and none have compared to this one. This brisket was delicious and easy to prepare. The meat was perfectly tender and there was enough sauce. I added baby yams along with the carrots and a little extra wine and broth. It was ideal for Passover. I will make it again next year.

• I made this for Passover. Everyone said it was the best brisket they have ever eaten. I used apricots instead of cherries and basted the brisket with the sauce about every hour. It has many layers of flavored. Highly recommend .

• Has anyone made this in a slow cooker? If so what changes did you make and how did it come out? Thanks!

• It was very tasty but the consensus was that it's a little too sweet. I would definitely cut back on the amount of cherries. Doesn't hold a candle to "My mother's brisket" recipe on this site.

• I made this for Passover last year and the whole family loved it! I am not Jewish my husband is and they said i am now the offical Brisker maker..

• Served this brisket at our Passover Seder this year and everyone agreed it was the best brisket they ever had. The one change I made was to use dried cranberries rather than tart cherries which I found to be too tart.

• Big hit at seder last night and I've been bringing brisket for years. Nice presentation with the sauce and cherries. This one is unique. I didn't use carrots since there was already so much food.

• 1st review for me. Excellent dish... unique flavor in a delicious brisket. Let sit in fridge for 2-3 days to age in liquid. My butcher cut fat off first cut brisket.. and i put whole sheet of fat back on meat to cook and removed before slicing. Slice across the grain while cold. l lightly warmed meat in rectangular casserole dish and then reheated liquid in pot... laid out on severing dish and covered with some liquid on top with cherries and shallots... and laid carrots around the sides. Wonderful.

• I have made this recipe twice, first as written, and second time by substituting red onion for the shallot and cranberries for the cherries. Both times it came out delicious!!

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Source: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/wine-braised-brisket-with-tart-cherries-395411

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