Beef Brisket with Caramelized Onions

by Jo Robinson in Pasture Perfect
Serves 8

1 beef brisket, 4 to 5 lbs (can use smaller brisket)
2 teaspoons flour
Lots of coarse pepper
1 tablespoon oil
8 onions, halved and thickly sliced
2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
1 heaping teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove visible fat fro the outside of the brisket. Don’t worry about the fat that goes inside. Dry the meat with paper towels and dust with flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium high. Brown both sides of the roast. Remove the brisket to a baking sheet or other large pan.

Add the onions to the pan on medium-low heat and stir to brown and caramelize. Cook 15 to 20 minutes or until the onions are soft and brown, but not burned. Scrape into a roasting pan and place the browned meat on top. Spread the tomato paste on top of the brisket like frosting. Sprinkle with salt and more pepper. Scatter the garlic on top.

Cover with foil and cook 2 hours. Remove the meat to a cutting board and slice across the grain into ¼-inch slices. This will be a little strange because the grain runs crosswise on a brisket. (that’s why corned beef is so often tough and stringy-it’s just cut wrong!) You may want to cut the whole thing in half across the middle so the slices won’t be long and unwieldy. Re-form the roast in the pan and cook another 2 hours.

I refrigerate it after slicing. Before serving I add carrots, potatoes, turnips, etc., and cook it the last 2 hours. The onions make a lovely thick sauce that’s delicious on mashed potatoes spiked with a little horseradish.

(I used one of our 2 lb half brisket roasts with great success when I tried this recipe. The result was very tender!)