Braised Brisket With Plums, Star Anise and Port

Name: Braised Brisket With Plums, Star Anise and Port
Total time: 6 h
Yield: 12 to 14 servings
Ingredients: 1 brisket (6 to 7 pounds), preferably second cut; 2 tablespoons kosher salt; 1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper; 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1 bunch lemon thyme or regular thyme; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 3 white onions, thinly sliced; 1 cup ruby port; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 4 whole star anise (or 2 whole cloves); 4 whole bay leaves; 2 1/2 pounds ripe but firm plums, halved and pitted; Thyme leaves, for garnish (optional)

By Melissa Clark

Total Time: 6 hours, plus marinating
Rating: 5(1,222)
Comments: Read comments

For this recipe, I added plums to the onions in the sauce for brightness, and port for sweetness. Star anise and bay leaf add depth, but you could leave them out without anyone missing them, or substitute a cinnamon stick and orange zest. And if you don’t want to use port, regular red wine spiked with a few tablespoons of honey or brown sugar is a nice substitute.

If you can, track down a second cut, or deckle, brisket for this dish. For lovers of fatty meat, this is brisket nirvana. It’s juicy, it’s succulent, it falls apart under the fork with barely a nudge. It’s also as tasty as short ribs but less expensive, which is what you want when you’re cooking for a large family dinner. You can’t find the second cut in many supermarkets, but butchers have it if you ask.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 to 14 servings

1brisket (6 to 7 pounds), preferably second cut
2tablespoons kosher salt
1½tablespoons black pepper
3garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1bunch lemon thyme or regular thyme
2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3white onions, thinly sliced
1cup ruby port
½cup dry white wine
4whole star anise (or 2 whole cloves)
4whole bay leaves
2½pounds ripe but firm plums, halved and pitted
Thyme leaves, for garnish (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Season brisket all over with salt and pepper. Place it in a large container and cover with garlic and half the thyme sprigs. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours. Let meat stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. Wipe off garlic and thyme.
Step 2
Heat oven to 325 degrees. On the stovetop, place a very large Dutch oven over high heat. Add oil. Place brisket in pot and cook, without moving, until browned, about 7 minutes per side. (Cut meat into two chunks and sear in batches if it doesn’t fit in a single layer.) Transfer to a plate.
Step 3
Add onions to pot and reduce heat to medium-high. Cook onions, tossing occasionally, until golden brown around the edges and very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Pour in port and wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in star anise, bay leaves and remaining thyme. Scatter half the plums over the bottom of the pot and nestle brisket on top. Scatter remaining plums over meat. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook, turning every 30 minutes, until meat is completely fork tender, about 5 hours. After 4 hours, uncover the pot so some of the liquid can evaporate and sauce can thicken.
Step 4
If you have time, let brisket cool completely in the pot, then refrigerate, covered, overnight. (This makes it easier to remove the fat from the top with a slotted spoon.) Reheat meat in a 300-degree oven for about 45 minutes before serving, if necessary. If sauce seems thin, remove meat from the pot and bring liquid to a simmer. Let cook until it’s reduced to taste. Slice meat and serve with the plum sauce, garnished with thyme leaves if you like.

Ratings

5 out of 5

1,222 user ratings

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Comments

Margie7 years ago

I let brisket cool on the counter, sliced it, put it in a baking dish (a shallow casserole), then spooned some gravy over it & refrigerated it, covered. Rest of sauce was refrigerated in a saucepan. The next day I removed meat from the fridge an hour before reheating. Brought the sauce to a simmer, poured over meat & reheated at 350 for 25 min. With meat already sliced there was much more surface area to absorb the sauce. Also, it was ready to put right on the table with no last minute slicing.

Perignon7 years ago

Why is it that so many of the complainants don't understand that after you marinate the brisket you rub it clean? I know the recipe only mentions "Wipe off garlic and thyme," but if you do that you also rub off any remaining salt and pepper.

KK7 years ago

After an hour of cooking, I tasted the sauce which was awful! Way too much thyme taste and too salty and peppery. I threw out all the liquid, rinsed the partially cooked brisket and made it the way I usually do, and it turned out perfectly. Was there an error in the recipe amounts- really, a whole bunch of thyme? And 1.5 tablespoons of pepper, plus 2 tablespoons of kosher salt? Maybe folks just have different tastes than mine, but, Ms. Clark, this one is a swing and a miss.

Deborah2 months ago

I replaced plums w prunes since there were none available. Delicious.

ko2 months ago

I found it to be too sweet. Still delicious, but too sweet. I solved the problem by adding a drained jar of sauerkraut. It became over-the-top delicious.

Gavin cady5 months ago

- garlic and Rosemary on the brisket overnight in fridge, to be removed before searing — useless and wasteful - a slotted spoon to remove chilled fat? How is that helpful. - chill it, reheat it, than slice it. —- why not slice once it’s chilled and then reheat, way easier. - when will salt be listed in grams? I hope before I die.

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