Tender Beef Brisket Sauce (Printer-friendly)
Tender slow-cooked beef brisket braised in a rich tomato and onion sauce for a hearty meal.
# What You Need:
→ Beef
01 - 3.3 lbs beef brisket, trimmed
02 - 2 tsp kosher salt
03 - 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
→ Vegetables
04 - 2 large onions, sliced
05 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
07 - 2 celery stalks, sliced
→ Sauce
08 - 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
09 - 2 tbsp tomato paste
10 - 2 cups beef stock
11 - 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
12 - 2 tbsp brown sugar
13 - 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
14 - 2 tsp smoked paprika
15 - 1 tsp dried thyme
16 - 1 bay leaf
→ Cooking
17 - 2 tbsp olive oil
# How to Make It:
01 - Preheat the oven to 325°F.
02 - Pat the brisket dry and season all sides evenly with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
03 - Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the brisket for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until a rich brown crust forms. Remove brisket and set aside.
04 - In the same pot, add sliced onions, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
05 - Stir in tomato paste, smoked paprika, and dried thyme. Cook for 1 minute to release the aroma.
06 - Add crushed tomatoes, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and bay leaf. Stir thoroughly to blend all flavors.
07 - Nestle the seared brisket back into the sauce, spooning some of the sauce over the top to coat.
08 - Cover the pot tightly with a lid or aluminum foil. Transfer to the oven and braise for 3 to 3.5 hours, until the meat is fork-tender.
09 - Remove the brisket from the pot and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing against the grain to ensure tenderness.
10 - Skim excess fat from the sauce if needed. Simmer on the stovetop to reduce and thicken the sauce as desired.
11 - Serve sliced brisket with generous amounts of sauce and vegetables.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The whole thing happens in one pot while you're free to do something else entirely.
- Worcestershire and mustard sneak into the sauce in a way that makes people ask what the secret ingredient is.
- Leftovers taste even better the next day, and cold brisket on bread is an argument for always making extra.
02 -
- Slicing against the grain is the difference between tender and chewy—look for the lines in the meat and cut perpendicular to them.
- Don't rush the searing step; that golden-brown crust is where half the flavor lives, and you can't get it if you move the meat around constantly.
- If your sauce looks thin after braising, that's fine—simmer it on the stove for 10 minutes after you've removed the brisket, and it will reduce and deepen in color and flavor.
03 -
- Marinate the brisket overnight with salt, pepper, and a little olive oil before you cook it—the salt breaks down the muscle fibers and makes the meat even more tender, and the flavor goes deeper.
- Invest in a good Dutch oven if you don't have one; it's the one piece of equipment that will outlive you and still be worth using.