The flavor of this meat is incredible, plus the sauce unbelievably delicious, PLUS its absolute tenderness falls apart in your mouth. It could not be easier and yummier. Do not be discouraged by the length of the recipe, they are just words.
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 pounds of brisket (pecho, for us Colombians) salted & peppered all around
- 2 small yellow onions, big chunks
- 4 stalks of celery, big chunks
- 4 thick carrots peeled, big chunks
- 1 beer, any lager will do
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- pepper and salt
Instructions
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Give a quick wash to the whole piece of brisket and pat dry with paper towels.
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Using your big heavy pot turn heat to medium low and place your meat fat side down and let it brown, checking it after about five minutes and moving it around the pot from time to time with tongs.
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After about ten minutes the fat side should be browned all over.
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Turn it around and follow same procedure as 3.
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When meat is browned, not burned, turn the heat to high and add all the vegetables under the meat and stir them around with a wooden spoon for two minutes.
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Add the whole bottle of beer, cover and wait until it starts to boil, about 30 seconds.
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As soon as it boils turn the heat to low, leave the cover on and cook for 3 to 4 hours or until meat is falling apart.
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Remove meat from pot, place it on the cutting board and cover it with aluminum foil. Leave the liquid and vegetables inside the pot.
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Wait 5 minutes to cut the meat.
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Cut the meat against the grain, like in this next picture and slice the meat in big cubes like in the following picture, this way you just use your fork, there is no need for knife and I think it just looks nice.
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With an immersion blender, turn the pot a little to one side and start blending turning it on and off and taking care to cover the covered blades with the sauce or you will sputter sauce everywere. The sauce will taste delicious as it is but you might want to add more salt or your hot sauce.
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The sauce might be a little thick for your taste, so adding a little water is perfectly fine.
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Leave the sauce inside the pot at very low heat to keep it warm.
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Serve the meat with the warmed sauce on a warmed serving dish or plate it with one of the
Cheesy Tomato Smothered Salted Potatoes, like in the first picture above, and some crispy Romaine Lettuce Bathed with Creamy Cilantro Vinaigrette.
Cooking Time
Getting all ingredients together and ready, 5 to 8 minutes.
Turning and browning meat, 20 to 25 minutes.
Cooking meat by itself, priceless... :)
3 to 4 hours depending on how tough the meat is.
Altogether 4&1/2 hours; a half hour of your active time.
Notes
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What is a warmed serving dish...? Just placing a serving dish inside your sink and covering it with very hot water, leaving it there and when ready to serve just take it out and dry it, place food....easy!
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Because this is a slow cooking dish you have three choices here; cook it as above, cook it in your pressure cooker, or in your slow cooker, both after the browning and vegetables turning around.
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Cutting against the grain means that if the lines of the meat run sideways like in this meat, you cut a vertical line like in the picture, this ensures that the meat will be more tender.