Hanukkah Feast! Beer Braised Brisket & Cabbage

Serves 8 people

We suggest this hearty meal be served with our lovely reds.  The soft tannins and flavors will compliment your brisket.

Preparation time: 15 minutes    

Rest time: 45 minutes    

Cook time: 2-2 ½ hours

Beer Braised Brisket:

Ingredients:

• 5 pound beef brisket
• 2x 12 ounce bottles dark beer
• 2 Heads of garlic, medium
• 2 Carrots, large
• 2 Celery stalks, medium
• 4 Onions, medium 2 peeled, 2 unpeeled
• 12-16 oz Crimini Mushrooms
• 2 Bay leaves
• ¼ cup Canola oil
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• 2 tbs Flour

For the Brisket:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
2. Salt and pepper the brisket liberally. Let brisket rest at room temperature for 45-60 minutes.
3. Heat the canola oil in a roasting pan on the stove top. Then, brown the brisket, fat side down for 8 minutes. Turn and brown other side for 6 minutes. Remove from the pan.
4. Cut the unpeeled garlic heads in half, width wise. Then cut the carrots, celery and 2 unpeeled onions in large quarter pieces. Add these to the hot pan and caramelize the vegetables until they are slightly brown (about 3 minutes).
5. Add bay leaves to the vegetables and place the brisket on top in pan.
6. Add beer to the pan slowly. (Be careful of spattering if pan is too hot. Then, cover the pan tightly with heavy-duty foil.
7. Place in preheated oven for 1½ hours.
8. After 1½ hours, check the liquids in the pan. If dry, add 1 cup of liquid: water, broth or additional beer.
9. Turn oven up to 375 degrees and cook uncovered until browned (10-15 minutes).
10. Remove the brisket from the oven and remove it from the pan. Let the brisket set on a plate covered with tin foil.
11. After making the gravy and discarding the vegetables, slice brisket thinly and against the grain. Place on platter. Pour sauce over or serve on the side.

For the Gravy and Vegetables:

1. Strain the cooking liquid with the vegetables from the pan through fine mesh strainer. Discard the vegetables and let the liquid stand a few minutes.
2. After letting the liquid stand, skim the fat from top reserving ¼ cup of fat.
3. Wipe out your roasting pan with paper towels and add the  ¼ cup of skimmed fat into pan over medium heat.
4. Add the sliced mushrooms and 2 peeled and sliced onions to the pan.
5. Once the fat is liquid, add 2 tablespoons flour whisking constantly until smooth and lightly browned.
6. Slowly add cooking liquid whisking constantly until thickened.

Braised Red Cabbage:

Ingredients:

• 1 large Head of Red Cabbage (2lbs), cored and shredded
• 1 large Red Onion, sliced
• 2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored & julienned
• 1/2 cup of Red Wine Vinegar or Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 large Bay Leaves (or 3-4 small)
• 1 1/2 cups Apple Juice
• 2 tbs Apple Jelly *optional
• 4 strips Applewood Smoked Bacon, cut into a large dice *Optional Non Kosher
• 2 Tbsp Cooking oil *Kosher version

Cooking:

1. *Optional: In a large Dutch Oven, add bacon and start rendering fat on medium high heat. When bacon just starts to get crispy remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside keeping the bacon drippings in pan.
2. Add the sliced onion to the cooking oil or bacon drippings in the Dutch Oven and saute 4-5 minutes on medium high heat. When the onions become translucent add the shredded cabbage. You may need to add the cabbage in 2- 3 batches depending on the size of your Dutch Oven. The cabbage pile will look huge but don't panic! As it starts to cook it will diminish in volume. Once the 1st batch of cabbage cooks down, you can add the remaining cabbage.
3. Toss to incorporate all the oils/drippings and onions with the cabbage.
4. Add your vinegar and bay leaves while continuing to toss. You will see the cabbage take on this regal color of purple (so awesome). Let the cabbage absorb the vinegar then reduce the liquids it to concentrate the flavor. (5 minuets).
5. Once the liquids have been reduced down, add the brown sugar and toss.
6. Add a little kosher salt (1 tbs) and cracked black pepper (1/2 tbs) then toss it & taste it! This is the point where you check for tartness and sweetness. If it seems too tart for you, don't add any more sugar just yet.
7. When the vinegar has reduced to about half, add the apple juice to the pot. Bring the liquids to a slow boil then reduce the heat and simmer.
8. To keep that illustrious color of the cabbage, do not cover the pot. Simmer for about 20 minutes uncovered. Adjust the flavor at this time to your liking by adding more sugar if it is too tart. You need to strive for a nice balance of tart to sweet.
9. When you are satisfied with your flavors, add the apples and the *Optional* crispy bacon into the mix. A nice little touch at the end is adding 2 tbs of apple jelly. The jelly adds a little sweetness, but it also adds beautiful silkiness and shine to the dish. Taste one last time to see if the cabbage is tender, if so, serve it up!

This recipe was contributed by Leo Coulourides, our Culinary Specialist.