Oven-Cooked Brisket With Worcestershire & Balsamic Reduction
Servings: 6
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Calories: 346kcal
Learn how to slow-cook a whole beef brisket in the oven with a delicious, caramelised balsamic and Worcestershire reduction, onions and garlic. This oven-cooked brisket is braised in the broth that is then caramelised and the meat is browned during the roasting process, resulting in the most succulent meat full of flavour.
Ingredients
- 1 kg brisket I used flat cut with the fat layer on, which I trimmed off slightly (2 lbs.)
Spiced Brisket Rub
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1.5 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1.5 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or chilli powder
For the brisket braising broth
- 1 large onion sliced
- 3-4 cloves of garlic sliced
- 500 ml chicken stock 2 cups
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons Tamari soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil coconut oil or macadamia oil for searing the meat
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 C / 338 F.
- Wash and pat dry the brisket. Leave the fat cap on (usually on one side) but feel free to trim off particularly thick areas, which is what I did. Don't remove the fat altogether as it keeps the brisket moist and adds a lot of flavour.
- Mix the spice rub in a bowl and cover both sides of the brisket. Rub it in on all sides using your hands. If not in a rush, place the brisket into a Ziploc bag or a container and refrigerate overnight. Make sure to bring to room temperature before cooking.
- Place a heat-proof metal baking tray (not ceramic or glass!) over high heat on the stove. Place it so that the flame hits the middle of the pan. You can also do this part in a large skillet or a frying pan.
- Add a tablespoon of oil and once hot, place the brisket in the middle, fat side down. Cook for 1-2 minutes to sear the spices. Turn over, add another splash of oil underneath, and cook on the meat side down for 1-2 minutes, just to brown off the spices a little. Remove the brisket to a plate.
- Add the onions and garlic to the tray and pour in a little bit of the stock. Stir through to deglaze the bottom of the pan and scrape off all those sticky spice rub bits. Now pour in the remaining stock, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic and Tamari soy sauce (or coconut aminos). Stir through and move the onions and garlic to the middle.
- Place the brisket on top of the onions in the broth (make sure to keep the fat layer side up!) and splash a few tablespoons of the liquid over the top. Cover the whole tray tightly with foil and pop in the oven.
- Cook for 1 hour, then remove the tray and splash a few more tablespoons of the cooking broth over the top to baste the meat. You can place some of the onions and garlic on top of the meat. Cover with foil again and pop back for 1 more hour.
- After this hour, repeat the basting process. At this stage, the cooking broth will be thickening and caramelising. If you have a taste, it will have a rich, salty gravy-like flavour. I recommend adding another 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of water and stirring through the cooking broth at this stage. Cover with foil again and cook for 1 more hour.
- After 3 hours, check on the meat and make sure the broth isn't too thickened or sticky. Turn the oven off but leave the meat in there to rest for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for a little bit longer under foil.
- Transfer on a board or a platter with reduced sauce and onions on top. Slice into preferred thickness pieces and serve with mustard, your favourite BBQ sauce or simply with coleslaw, roasted or mashed sweet potatoes, green beans and any other sides you love with roast or BBQ meats.
- Note:A few people commented that their sauce didn't reduce. One thing I can think of is the size of the baking tray. For example, if your baking tray is smaller but deeper, the liquid wouldn't have been as spread out (if that makes sense?). So it would take longer to reduce. If that happens, you can also remove the brisket to rest and leave the sauce in the oven for longer OR pour the sauce into a frying pan and saute on high to reduce for 5 minutes or so.
Notes
Sides for the brisket (this is what I served):
- Coleslaw - I do a basic red cabbage, carrot, onions, red peppers slaw with olive oil or mayo dressing. I have quite a few slaw recipes on the site: try this one, rainbow slaw with avocado dressing (egg-free), or this yummy cabbage salad.
- Sweet potatoes - you can place another tray of sweet potatoes in the oven at the same time as the brisket. At 170 C / 375 F, I would say 30 minutes for sweet potato wedges or cubes. Try my garlic roasted sweet potatoes here. You can also do whole sweet potatoes for an hour or until they are soft enough. My miso butter sweet potatoes are the bomb! Sweet potato mash is another option.
Nutrition
Calories: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 1129mg | Potassium: 824mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 263IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 5mg
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