Oh sweet brisket. How I love thee...
I was slightly hesitant to make this since it was relatively close to St. Patrick's Day and I was afraid people would be so packed to the gills with corned beef that the prospect of brisket would not be received well. That fear dissipated as soon as this puppy started cooking.
I had found this recipe ages ago via Smitten Kitchen (a website that I LOVE for recipes BTW), but since I was living alone up until recently it seemed silly to cook a whole brisket just for me. If I could go back in time, I would have totally made it. It was that good.
There are only 2 downfalls of this. The first is that brisket can be freaking expensive! Damn I had no idea. And second I wanted to eat it before it was done because it smelled so good!
Now the brisket doesn't need to be made into tacos. The initial recipe suggested it could also be made into sandwiches or whatever. I just personally really liked the idea of it in a taco and it tastes awesome. I'm also not usually a fan of slaw, but it was also quite yummy as part of the taco. Everyone agreed. It is, however, quite messy. You have been warned! Anyway, on with the recipes!
Here's what you'll need for the brisket.
First things first, a warning about this initial first couple steps. This stuff is going to smoke like whoa so make sure fans are on and/or windows are open. Second I left the fat on the brisket because it was super easy to take off later.
So first you brown the meat and then cook the garlic and onions with the spices (cumin, coriander, and chili powder). Then into the crockpot it all goes!!
Then all the rest of it goes into the crockpot. The initial recipe called for using a can of whole tomatoes and crushing the tomatoes between your fingers. I just kind of dumped them in because, well, I was lazy.
Add the cover and set that puppy to low and sit back and relax for 8-10 hours! I went for 10 and it was perfect. I mean PERFECT! It pulled apart soooo easily it was amazing!
I took the meat out, shredded it, took the bay leaves out of the pot, and then dumped the shredded meat right back into the crockpot. When, not if, I do this again I will probably use an immersion blender and mix up all the goodness that's in the crockpot a little. It was a smidge chunky which didn't work as well when serving it.
Once you are ready to serve, add some of that lovely, tasty meat to some warmed soft taco shells, top with some slaw and dig in!
Southwestern Pulled Brisket
Source: Adapted from The Food Network via Smitten Kitchen
3 lbs beef brisket
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices
1 chipotle chiles en adobo (they come in a can), chopped
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup molasses
1. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the oil and heat just it starts to smoke.
4. Add the meat to the skillet and cook around 10 minutes until browned on both sides by turning once (5 minutes per side).
5. Move the meat to the slow cooker.
6. Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to the drippings in the skillet.
7. Return skillet to heat and stir for about one minute until fragrant.
8. Add vinegar and boil until most of the vinegar is gone while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Beware of vinegar fumes in the steam!!
9. Add the water and stir to combine.
10. Pour mixture into the crockpot over the brisket.
11. Add tomatoes (with the juices), chipotles, bay leaves, and molasses to the crockpot.
12. Cover crockpot, set to LOW, and cook brisket for 8 to 10 hours until brisket pulls apart easily.
13. Remove brisket from crockpot and remove the layer of fat.
14. Remove bay leaves from crockpot.
15. Using immersion blender, thin the mixture in the crockpot to your desired thickness.
16. Shred the brisket using two forks and return the meat to the liquid mixture in the crockpot.
17. Make tacos using soft shell tacos with the meat.
