Cooking A Brisket In The Oven

Country Pot Roast

Skill: Braising

Chef: Kevin Callaghan, ACME Food & Beverage Co., Carrboro, North Carolina

Braising is a two-step technique that works best with economical cuts of meat like chuck, shank, and brisket. The meat is first browned on the stove, covered, and then slowly cooked at a low temperature (either in the oven or on the stove) in a small amount of seasoned liquid so that connective tissue and the meat's own fat melt away to flavor and enrich that cooking liquid, yielding very tender results. Braising is about steam. It requires an oven casserole dish that's heavy enough to regulate and distribute heat evenly throughout the meat during the cooking process and that can be used on the stovetop as well as in the oven. Lids should fit tightly so the steam from the simmering liquid can rise, collect and condense on the underside of the lid, and then drip back into the pot to ensure continuous, natural basting. (See our Dutch oven advice here .)

3½ to 4 lbs chuck roast (at least 3 inches thick) ½ cup all-purpose flour whisked with 1 tbsp onion powder and 2 tsp garlic powder 4 garlic cloves, cut in half coarse salt and ground black pepper 2 tbsp canola oil 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted 6 cups sliced sweet onions (4 medium-sized Vidalia, halved and cut from top to bottom (not across), about ½-inch thick 6 cups sliced button mushrooms (about 1 lb) ¾ cup bourbon 1½ cups Madeira or marsala or other inexpensive, sweet cooking wine (not sherry) 3 cups chicken stock several sprigs rosemary and parsley, tied together with butcher's twine Optional: Dijon mustard

Let roast come to room temperature. Place seasoned flour in a shallow plate or pie pan. Set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

With a sharp knife, slit veins of fat (or the meat itself) and insert garlic halves fully, so they don't pop out when the roast contracts during cooking. Then, using your hands, generously rub salt and pepper into the meat.

Oven “Smoked” Beef Brisket - Cooking by the seat of our pants

) What has come to be known as Faux-B-Que as the greatest evil to ever be foisted upon the world of Barbecue.

Sadly, in as much as I know and love some of these individuals, they are terribly, horribly wrong.

First of all; Faux-B-Que is not necessarily a bad thing. Let’s face it. Not everyone has the luxury of using his or her own smoker, either because of living situations or lack of space to use one. (I doubt many New York building supers would be happy with a smoker running inside one of their buildings.) And then there is the time and maintenance issue.  You have to invest the better part of a day to smoking a piece of meat in a smoker. With faux-b-que, you invest minutes and let the oven or slow cooker do the work.

True, there is no way that I have found to get an exact duplicate of a slow smoked brisket without smoke… A lot of it… Over long periods of time.  You can come very close in terms of flavor and have an almost identical texture though, all without owning a smoker of your own. This is F aux-B-Que  at its best, and it has passed the test in a home full of regular eaters of real pit smoked meats.  If it gets their seal of approval, it will pass muster for your guests as well.