The Beauty of Braising {Recipe: Apple Cider Braised Brisket}

Written by Shaina of Food for My Family.

Leaves change color and fall to the ground as the market fills with the bounty of summer. These weeks are my favorite at the market, where a sweater alone keeps you plenty warm and there’s a certain nip in the air that invites hot apple cider as vendors rearrange their goods and offer up the season’s best.

While seasonal shifts in this direction always have me feeling a bit melancholy with the thought of winter to come, pausing time right here in this moment is a thought I’ve welcomed often and freely. The mix of warm and cold, summer and autumn and the slow shift from salad to soup on the dinner table causes me to breathe deeply and enjoy.

Along with soup will come an increase in baking, a return to warm breakfasts and a desire to hole up in the kitchen creating. Let’s not forget, however, roasted meats.

Where summer had me turning off my oven and looking towards the grill and the smoker to provide the heat for the family’s meals, the fall will bring the meat back inside simmering away, especially if you, say, purchased a good portion of a whole cow that is coming to a freezer near you.

Braising Basics

Braising generally uses tough pieces of meat and makes them stretch a bit farther than they otherwise might be able to, creating a tender dish that makes you think of home. It starts with a good searing of the meat about to be braised. Liquid is added, and the meat is then roasted and simmered in the oven along with a few vegetables until tender and perfect.

  1. Season your meat.
  2. Heat oil, butter or other fat in a Dutch oven. Add in the meat and sear on all sides. Remove to plate.
  3. Add in vegetables and sauté slightly before deglazing the pan with a bit of liquid.
  4. Choose a liquid to work with, be it wine, beer, tomato sauce or, in our case, apple cider. Add meat and vegetables and pour in the liquid.
  5. Cover and place in a hot oven for a few hours until the meat is tender.
  6. Drain the liquid and separate the fat before boiling down the sauce into a gravy to be served over the now-braised meat.

Photos by Shaina

Apple Cider Braised Brisket

4.50 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Gluten-free
Essential Ingredient: beef
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 467kcal
Author: Shaina

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 4-5 lbs beef brisket outer fat trimmed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 yellow onions cut into wedges
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 3 sprigs rosemary
  • 3 cups unfiltered apple cider
  • 3 apples cored and sliced

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325ºF. On the stovetop over a medium-high heat melt butter in a Dutch oven. Season brisket on both sides with salt and pepper, and then add to Dutch oven and sear on all sides until golden brown. Remove to a plate.
  • Add in the onions and garlic and sauté until softened. Pour a few tablespoons of the apple cider into the pan to deglaze. Stir until all caramelized bits are lifted from the pan. Add in brisket and herbs and pour remaining apple cider over the top.
  • Bring to a simmer, cover and move to the oven. Roast the brisket at 325ºF for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until tender, adding in apples 30 minutes prior to the end of cooking.
  • Remove Dutch oven and allow to cool. Drain fat from the top of the pot and discard. Remove meat, apples and onions and heat the remaining sauce over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces and becomes a gravy. Add in brisket, apples and onions and cook until warm. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 467kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 148mg | Sodium: 501mg | Potassium: 959mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Vitamin C: 6.5mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 4.6mg

 What fall and winter meals have you been looking forward to?

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37 Comments

  1. I love this recipe and make it at Rosh Hashanah and when my in-laws are visiting. No more ketchup and onion soup mix! This is hands down the most flavorful, tender brisket I’ve ever had. Many, many thanks Shaina 🙂

    1. Hi, Stuart. I don’t mean either, actually. 🙂 Apple cider is the juice expressed from apples that is unfiltered and unsweetened. It is available when the apple season is going on (now!), and is cloudy and tangier than apple juice. No alcohol and with a different taste than traditional apple juice. Hard cider would be the fermented variety. There’s a Wiki article with pictures that might help explain it better?

      If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend seeking out fresh apple cider. There is nothing better..in my opinion. Thanks for commenting!

      1. So it’s basically “natural apple juice”, rather than “clear liquid that is coloured slightly brown and is supposed to taste of apples” (AKA apple juice).

        Gotcha 😉

  2. It’s definitely prime braising weather in Portland. I’m currently staring at rain out my window. Boooooo. Love apple cider as the braising liquid in this! Yum!

  3. A question – the recipe says:

    “Remove meat, apples and onions and heat the remaining meat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces and becomes a gravy.”

    Sorry if I’m missing something obvious but – what remaining meat?

  4. Thanks for the dinner inspiration, Shaina! I’ve got braised roast beast (or is it beef?) in the oven right now 🙂

  5. This is PERFECT we just bought a brisket from a local farmer, and we are pressing apple cider this weekend. Thank you so much!!! I love brisket. I am so looking forward to Butternut Squash Soup. I love all the different ways one can make it, and even my kids like. And I’m looking forward to baking in the oven. I do feel like Summer just flew by though- wow. And I didn’t preserve half of what I planned to. Oh well, soon the pumpkin pies will be cookin’ and I won’t even remember 🙂

  6. Oh Shaina! Your roast looks luscious!

    I love the fall. It’s my favorite time of year – and it also embraces one of my favorite ways of cooking…braising! This Sunday, we will be celebrating my husbands birthday with a family dinner where I am going to serve a delicious braised chicken dish that is one of my favorites – it relies on apple cider also for the braising liquid.

    In addition to braising in apple cider, I also enjoy using hard cider which imparts a great flavor when cooked down. For some fantastic recipes, be sure to check out the cookbook “All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking” by Molly Stevens.

    Love,

    Mary

  7. I can just imagine the scent that this dish makes in the kitchen. Last fall we visited an apple orchard in Ohio’s Amish country and the cider that they served was just fabulous! It was ice cold and dispensed from an old fashioned pail-like cooler. Oh to have that to serve with this brisket!!
    Thanks for the great recipe and Happy Fall!

  8. I made this recipe tonight and it was incredible! Normally, I am awful at cooking beef. And my poor husband, who grew up on beef, has been hinting that I should finally figure out the secret to making tender beef. I saw this recipe and decided to give it a go. So, so, so, soooo delicious. My husband even told me I should make this for his mom – which is the ultimate compliment.

  9. Your recipe calls for apples. Do you suggest tart, green cooking apples (like Granny Smith) for this Apple Cider Braised Brisket dish? I think I’ll add as a side dish a Cabbage, Apple w/Bacon Recipe instead of the traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage St. Patrick’s Day dinner for a change.

    1. Any sweet-tart baking apples will do the trick. I used Haralsons from the farmer’s market, specifically. They are tart, but more sweet than a Granny Smith, and are firm and crisp.

  10. Loks and sounds great! Exactly what I was looking for for a cool autumn New England Sunday. Wanted to do a sort of deconstructed NE Boiled Dinner. Will do your brisket with boiled potatoes and sautéed turnips and carrots?
    Thanks for the recipe!

  11. 4 stars
    I’m wondering if this could be done in a slow cooker. I’d like to use this for the High Holy Days when I’ll be hosting a crowd.

  12. 5 stars
    Great Recipe! Thank you!
    I actually cheated, I took all your ingredients and just threw it in the slow cooker. 8 hours on high. Amazing!