Oven Braised Beef Brisket

 Ingredients

• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary, crushed
• 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large (8 to 10-pound) beef brisket
• Additional kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup of baby carrots
• 2 ribs celery, cut into 3-inch chunks
• 1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, quartered
• 1 cup of beef stock or broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons of dried parsley
• 3 large bay leaves

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mash together the garlic, salt, and rosemary together until a paste forms. Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil and mix well; set aside. Season both sides of the brisket with plenty of salt and pepper. Rub the rosemary-garlic paste all over the brisket. Drizzle lightly with additional olive oil.

Sear the brisket in a large pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat on the stove, to form a nice brown crust on both sides, adding additional oil to the pan as needed to prevent sticking. Remove from heat, scatter the vegetables all around the brisket, adding the beef stock, and diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with parsley, and scatter the bay leaves around the brisket.

Cover the pan tightly with a lid or aluminum foil and bake at 325 degrees F for roughly 1 hour per pound, or until fork tender, basting with the pan juices occasionally. Check *temperature with an instant read thermometer. Remove the brisket from pan and let it rest on a cutting board for 15 minutes.

Scoop out all of the vegetables from the pan with a slotted spoon and discard. Spoon excess fat off of the top of the pan drippings or use a gravy separator. , pour off the pan juices to separate all of the fat. Return about 1 cup of stock to the roasting pan, set it over medium high heat and let cook until reduced to about one half. Pour over the brisket to serve. If you would like to thicken, mix 1 tablespoon flour with 2 tablespoons water and quickly whisk that into the hot pan juices.

Cook's Notes: I used a 10 pound brisket and cooked mine for the full 10 hours.