Sweet & Sour Brisket - Copy

When this week’s Raw vs. Slow mission was announced, I picked my side in no time. Team Raw is fine for the summer, when there’s lots of farm fresh produce around that doesn’t need any cooking, but in the depths of January, obviously I’m Team Slow. I knew right away that I wanted to make this brisket from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook for this mission. With a 10 hour cooking time in the slowcooker, it definitely qualifies.

This couldn’t be any easier, either. Just put the brisket in the slowcooker, pour the sauce over top, and off you go. After cooking for 10 hours it’s so tender it’s falling apart. I ate this with mashed potatoes and roasted carrots for the ultimate in winter comfort food.

The only downside to being on Team Slow is this: it ain’t pretty. Seriously, nothing cute or photogenic ever comes out of the slowcooker, but it always tastes amazing.

Brisket Plate

Sweet & Sour Brisket

Source: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Yield: serves 4-5 people

Ingredients

2-3 lb piece beef brisket

1/2 cup beef stock

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp onion powder

2 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

  1. Before you go to bed, sprinkle both sides of the brisket with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and place in the slow cooker. In a medium bowl, whisk all other ingredients together, and pour over brisket. Set slowcooker to low and cook for 10 hours.
  2. In the morning, gently transfer the brisket to a baking dish with all of the sauce. Cover and chill for the day.
  3. When you’re ready to eat, preheat the oven to 300, and take the brisket out of the fridge. Remove the fat that has solidified from the sauce. Carefully remove the brisket to a cutting board, and slice into 1/4″ or 1/2″ slices* and then place back into the sauce. Spoon the sauce overtop, and reheat in the oven until bubbly and hot.

*I think this would also be great shredded and used as a taco filling, like this other brisket recipe on Smitten Kitchen