Lansdowne Braised Beef (Serves: 6)
Lansdowne braised beef brisket with horseradish sauce & pickled onions
Ingedients
1 large or first-cut beef brisket,(look for meat of even thickness, avoid brisket with a tapered tip) about 5½ to 6 pounds, with ½-inch fat-cap (brisket can get dry without protective fat-cap, and fat-cap also provides flavor).
Remove from refrigerator 2 hours before cooking.
Season with;
- 2 tbsp coarse kosher salt
- 3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 crumbled bay leaves
- 10 peeled and smashed cloves of garlic
- 2 tsp crushed red-pepper flakes
- 1½ tbsp cracked black pepper
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
- 3 medium carrots, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 22 oz Crispin Lansdowne Irish Stout Yeast unfiltered hard cider
- 4 cups beef stock
Preparation
Preheat oven to 160C/325F
Weigh Lamb and calculate final cooking at 12 minutes per 450g/1Lb for Medium-Rare, and 15 minutes for Medium.
Place a large, heavy roasting pan (preferably with a lid) over 2 burners at high heat for 2 minutes.
Add 3 tbsp olive oil and wait a minute.
Place seasoned brisket, fat side down, in pan and sear on both sides until deep brown - about 8 minutes a side.
Once both sides are well browned, remove brisket, and reduce heat to medium-high.
Add remaining olive oil and vegetables to pan and cook until caramelized, 8 - 10 minutes.
Stir often with a wooden spoon, scraping up all the crusty bits.
Turn off heat (so liquids won't evaporate immediately), add balsamic vinegar and then Crispin Lansdowne.
Turn heat back up to medium-high and reduce liquids by about a quarter.
Add beef stock and bring to boil over high heat.
Return brisket to pan, settling it so vegetables surround meat.
Stock should come just to the top of the brisket. Add more stock if necessary.
Cover pan tightly.
Braise in oven for about 4 hours.
If fork slides in easily, brisket is done. I meat resists, cook another 15 minutes or so. Do not let it dry out.
Turn up heat to 205C/400F
Transfer brisket to a baking sheet, and return to oven until top is crispy - about 20 minutes.
Strain braising juices into a saucepan and skim the fat.
Let meat rest 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven.
Place on a cutting board and slice thinly, against the grain.
Serve with mashed potatoes.
Plate meat, spoon braising juices over meat, add dollop of horseradish cream.
Top with pickled onions.
Horsradish Cream
Mix ¾ cup of sour cream with 1 tbsp prepared white horseradish (found in refrigerator case at grocery store) and salt & pepper to taste.
Pickled Onions
Place 1 peeled and thinly sliced red onion in a heatproof bowl.
In a non-aluminum pot, bring 1 cup water, ½ cup red-wine vinegar, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, ½ tbsp whole black peppercorns. 1 chile de arbol (broken in half) and 1 bay leaf to a boil and then pour over onions. Let cool completely, then refrigerate over night.
