Are you trying to preserve your family’s recipes exactly as they have always been made or do you put your own personal spin on them? I don’t think it really matters as long as everyone continues to enjoy them. Which are traditional favorites in your home?
When I first got married, I tried to duplicate my mother-in-law’s beef brisket exactly. Sadly disappointed in how less-than-perfect it came out, I began to learn from that experience and develop my intuition in the kitchen. Cooking a brisket in the oven is really quite simple.
How did the heat in my oven compare to hers? How big was my brisket compared to the roasting pan I used? Where is the best placement in the oven for that roasting pan? Many variables impact the quality of a finished dish.
As far as ingredients go, the sky’s the limit on how one could prepare a brisket. I still make it similar to my mother-in-law, Dottie, but rather than relying on exact timing and measurements, I prefer to let my intuition guide me. That’s how you get more comfortable cooking without a recipe.
Preparation For Cooking Brisket in the Oven
Like Dottie, I let the brisket come to room temperature by taking it out of the fridge about an hour before putting it in the oven.
Into a covered casserole that would fit this brisket, I poured roughly equal parts dry red wine and beef broth. Continuing to follow Dottie’s lead, I mixed in some dry onion soup mix; but you could just as well season with fresh onion and spices. The important thing to know is that you want an acidic ingredient to help tenderize the meat as you would with any slow cooked roast. I added some French thyme too.
I put the covered casserole dish into a preheated 350 degree oven for nearly 3 hours. Testing it at the 2 1/2 hour mark with a fork, I decided it could use a little longer to become more tender. Yes, that’s about as technical as it gets. Take the lid off, look at it, stick a fork in and see if it’s tender. Trust me when I say this method is more reliable than counting the minutes.
After sautéing sliced mushrooms, I poured the brisket gravy into the deep skillet with the mushrooms while the finished brisket rested.
In a small cup I put about a teaspoon of flour and ladled a little gravy into it while whisking with a fork. Ladled a little more gravy into the cup while whisking until I had a smooth slurry to add to the pot of gravy. Let that simmer a bit until thickened. That’s all there is to it. Cooking brisket in the oven is easy and leftovers are just as good…
What else can you put into the oven and let it do its own thing? Read Don’t Be Chicken. There’s nothing to roasting a chicken either.
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