I finally got to reunite with my kitchen after being away and I decided to try out a sweet and sour brisket recipe. The first roast I made wasn’t all that great and the sauce for this one sounded really tasty. So I started after work around 6:30.
I used a 3 lb shoulder instead of brisket as our local grocery was out of brisket. First up was searing the large hunk of beef. I have never been able to get a really good crust on anything when I have seared beef before but this time I was determined to get it right. 
After searing and pulling out the brisket, in went the onions garlic and various other saucy ingredients. Then a quick dunk in the sauce for the beef and it all went in the oven for about 2 1/2 hours.
And at around 9:30 after the smell of this roast had been teasing us all night long we got to pull it out of the oven to rest. We made some sour cream smashed potatoes and green beans with a bit of bacon. Finally at 9:50 we sat down to a fantastically satisfying meal and still had tons left for lunch and another dinner.
The sauce alone is more than enough reason to make this recipe, it was tangy and sweet and tasted just like it smelled.
Sweet and Sour Brisket
Ellie Krieger
- Ingredients
- 1 (3-pound) beef brisket, first-cut or flat-half cut, trimmed of any excess fat
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 medium onion, cut in 1/2, then thinly sliced into 1/2 moons
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
- One 15- oz. can tomato sauce, preferably no salt added
- 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
- 3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 allspice berry
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Pat the brisket dry and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or braising pot. Sear the brisket until it is browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the brisket to a plate.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pot and cook the onion, stirring a few times, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, broth, brown sugar, 1/3 cup of the vinegar, the raisins, peppercorns, and allspice and stir to combine well. Bring mixture to a boil, return brisket and any accumulated juices to the pot, spoon some of the tomato-vinegar mixture over the brisket, cover tightly, and transfer to the oven. Cook until the brisket is fork tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Remove the brisket from the oven, transfer the meat to a cutting board, and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes or, if serving later, cover and refrigerate the meat and sauce for several hours or overnight. When you are ready to serve, cut the meat against the grain into 1/4- inch thick slices. Stir the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar into the warm sauce. Return the sliced brisket to the sauce until heated through, then serve.
Yield: 10 servings, serving size: 4-ounces brisket plus 3 tablespoons of sauce