(Ian’s) Barbecued Brisket

This past weekend was our first trip out to the Millarville Farmer’s Market this season. We used to frequent the market pretty regularly but not so much lately. For me, the trouble with summer markets is that when the local food is freshest, I’m already growing it in my own garden. I don’t usually need much so the market becomes something to do on a Saturday rather than an actual shopping trip.

I do keep telling myself that I’m thinking backwards though. We should be purchasing our meat at the market as it is local and often pastured. If I’m going to spend the money on grass-fed, I should do it locally. I usually remember this when I’m at the market and right after purchasing a bunch of meat for the week. I’ll learn eventually.

That doesn’t mean that we don’t usually buy anything when we go, we do. This trip had us bringing home a handmade spicy capicola from Luc’s European Meats (oh my!), some tomatoes from Broxburn Vegetables, some Taber corn, and a 4 lb grass fed beef brisket from Grazed Right.

I intended to make the brisket this weekend for Sunday dinner.

My brother Ian is a pretty great cook. He favours recipes that are easy and really tasty and when I was looking for a recipe for barbecued brisket, I thought of one that he had made some time ago for a family dinner. This recipe makes a really nice, super flavourful and tender brisket with an onion gravy – and all with only a handful of ingredients.

A four pound brisket made enough for 5 people with several slices for leftovers. It is a super easy preparation too as all you need to do is season your meat with ground spices, salt and pepper and then cover it and pop it into the oven for, like, ever.

The first time I made it I was sure I was going to end up with shoe leather, but I didn’t. This time, the brisket I bought had a lovely fat cap for flavour and juiciness and I swear that the fact that the beef was pastured made a difference. It was super flavourful.

It is important to leave the fat in place while cooking, though you are welcome to trim the meat once it is on the plate if you want to reduce the fat. The fat is where the flavour is and you want the flavour!

For me, the sketchiest part of this meal was that I would be using our new barbecue. It was going to be hot and of course, since I planned to barbecue, Mother Nature decided that it should be windy too. Since cooking a brisket is a ‘low and slow’ process, I was worried that I would have trouble holding a steady 300°.

Luckily, our new Napoleon came through like a superstar. I used the outside two burners at a medium heat and it held for the entire 5 hours at the exact right temperature.

The onion gravy was finished up at the stove top, though if Steve hadn’t needed the grill for the corn, I would have done it outside too. I modified Ian’s recipe a bit as I find so many recipes make way more gravy than you actually need. Even then I could have been more patient and reduced it down further than I did. I just didn’t want the stove to be on for long enough to heat up my kitchen.

The final brisket was amazing and with such easy preparation I was free to work in the garden and to visit with my folks for the afternoon.

Ian's brisket on the barbecue

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes

Servings: 6

Author: Mia Staysko

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Ingredients

• 4 lb grass fed brisket
• 2 Tbsp cracked whole fennel seed
• 2 Tbsp cracked whole coriander seed
• 1 Tbsp cracked whole peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 C white or yellow onion sliced thick (about 1 large)

Gravy

• Pan drippings
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1. Grind spices roughly in a spice grinder or bash with a rolling pin to crush.
2. Mix fennel, coriander and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Sprinkle some salt over the underside of the brisket, flip it so that the fat side is up.
4. Sprinkle the crushed spices evenly over the fatty side of the meat, season with remaining salt.
5. Place the brisket into a roasting pan with a rack. Cover the top of the pan with foil and then with it's lid if it has one.
6. Place into a 300 ° oven, or barbecue over indirect heat.
7. Bake for 4 hours, then lift the foil and spread onions in the bottom of the pan. Replace foil and lid and continue to cook for another hour.
8. Remove the brisket from the pan and cover with foil lightly to rest.
9. Carve across the natural grain of the meat.

To make the gravy

1. While the brisket is resting, place roasting pan with pan drippings over burner at med-high heat. Add tomato paste, stock, soy sauce and seasoning to pan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce stock to about half its volume until slightly thickened and serve over sliced brisket.