Brisket With Ginger, Orange Peel and Tomato

Amarante

Sun, Dec 26 2021, 8:34 am

This turned out to be a very good preparation. The flavors complemented each other and didn't rely on overly sweet ingredients. Also all of the ingredients are pretty basic.

I made this the day before - it makes it easier to defat the sauce and also slice the brisket. I gently warm the slices in the sauce.

I might have added a few more garlic cloves and a generous knob of ginger. If you don't have cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar or sherry vinegar would work - they are both milder than white vinegar but cider vinegar is a very nice vinegar to have in the pantry as it can be used in a lot of dishes where a mild acid is needed.

Joan Nathan generally has very reliable recipes - kind of our Ina Garten Very Happy

BRISKET WITH GINGER, ORANGE PEEL AND TOMATO

Adapted from Joan Nathan’s Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous

Serves 6–10

Daniel Rose is a young American chef with his own restaurant (Spring) in Paris. (One recent cyber rave: “Spring in the 1st: Pow, Wow, Zap, Izt!”) Here, Rose has used his considerable superpowers to create a contemporary classic, at once refined and robust. The lemon and orange—literally and figuratively—give it equal amounts of American zest and French style.

1 (3- to 5-pound) beef brisket, trimmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 small spring onions, trimmed and halved, or 2 medium onions, peeled and thickly sliced
6 carrots, peeled
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups veal, beef, or chicken stock
3 small tomatoes, halved
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs fresh parsley, plus ¼ cup chopped
1 (½-inch) slice fresh ginger
Green top of 1 leek
2 lemons
2 oranges

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Season the brisket with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the oil into a Dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the meat for about 4 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic to the Dutch oven, cooking until they are just beginning to soften, adding more oil if necessary. Raise the heat, pour in the vinegar, and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the white wine and continue stirring, allowing the liquid to reduce for a few minutes.

Put the meat back in the pot, along with the stock. Bring to a simmer, and add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, parsley sprigs, ginger, and leek top.

Using a straight peeler, remove the zest in long strips from one of the lemons and one of the oranges. Add to the pot. Cover and place in the oven for 45 minutes.

Lower the oven temperature to 275°F, and continue cooking for 2 to 2½ hours more, or until fork-tender.

Remove the meat and vegetables from the pot. Discard the citrus peels, thyme, parsley sprigs, ginger, bay leaf, and leek top. If cooking in advance, let the pot cool and refrigerate the brisket in the sauce.

Before serving, remove the meat from the sauce and slice on the bias against the grain. Put the meat back in the sauce, and reheat in a warm oven or on the stovetop. Arrange the meat on a serving platter along with the vegetables.

Strain the sauce into a pan, then reduce it over high heat to concentrate the flavor and thicken it. Pour the sauce over the sliced brisket, and, before serving, sprinkle with the grated zests of the remaining lemon and orange and the chopped parsley