Cowboy's Brisket
Submitted by colleent
Vinegar-marinated beef brisket studded with garlic, seared in bacon fat, and braised with strong black coffee and caramelized onions until fork-tender. A rugged, flavor-packed Texas-style brisket.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
2 hrsREADY
11 hrsThis brisket doesn’t come off a smoker. It comes out of a hot oven, and it’s every bit as bold.
A 4-pound first-cut brisket gets studded with garlic slivers, then marinates in apple cider vinegar with onions and crushed garlic for six hours (or overnight if you’ve got the patience).
After a hard sear in bacon drippings, it braises on a bed of deeply browned onions in strong black coffee and water, first at a higher heat to get things going, then low and slow until the meat surrenders to a fork.
Slice it thin against the grain, skim the pan juices, and serve the slices swimming in that dark, rich, coffee-and-onion gravy.
Pro Tips
- Pat the marinated brisket completely dry before searing. Wet meat steams instead of browning, and you need that deep crust for flavor.
- Brown the onions until they’re genuinely dark, not just translucent. Deeply caramelized onions give the braising liquid a natural sweetness that balances the vinegar and coffee.
- Use strong brewed coffee, not instant. The real stuff adds a smoky, bitter depth that rounds out the beef beautifully.
- Slice against the grain. Brisket cut with the grain is chewy and stringy no matter how tender it is.
Ingredients
Directions
With a long thin, sharp knife, make slits in the meat and insert the slivers of garlic.
Place the meat in a bowl, spread 1 sliced onion and the crushed garlic over the meat, and pour in the vinegar.
Marinate for 6 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator, turning several times.
When ready to cook, prehaeat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Heat the bacon fat in a deep, heavy skillet large enough to hold the brisket.
Remove the brisket from the marinade and discard the onion and vinegar.
Dry with paper towels. Brown the meat well on all sides.
Remove brisket to a platter.
In the fat remaining in the skillet, sauté the remaining sliced onions until deeply browned.
Pour in ½ cup coffee.
Bring to a boil, stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet to loosen the browned bits.
Spread the onions and liquid from the skillet in a shallow baking dish .
Place the brisket on the onions.
Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Pour in the remaining coffee and water.
Cover tightly with foil and place in oven for ½ hour.
Turn the oven down to 250 degrees F and bake for an additional 2 hours or until meat is very tender.
Slice the brisket thinly against the grain.
Skim the fat from the pan liquid.
Return the meat slices to the pan.
Serve at once or refrigerate for later use.
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