With Passover starting tomorrow night, I figured this was a perfect time to share a brisket recipe. I’ve poured over countless recipes for beef brisket in magazines, online recipe searches, cookbooks, and Pinterest, trying to find a delicious-sounding recipe also suited for a smaller piece of brisket since I don’t have a whole big group to feed.

Browning the brisket pre-oven ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

In the end, I had to combine a whole bunch of recipe ideas and ingredients to develop this beef brisket for two. Most prevalent in the combo are tips from Rachael Ray’s slow-cooker BBQ brisket sliders recipe and Pat Kelley’s oven beef brisket recipe. Otherwise, there are bits and pieces from a few Jewish cookbooks, Gourmet Magazine, and other food blogs. I think this recipe is truly divine and fits a smaller household with leftovers for the next day still. You can slice it and serve it with gravy or au jus and mashed potatoes but tonight, we wanted to use the brisket to make BBQ brisket sandwiches. I served them with a basic salad. Here’s my tender and smokey flavored beef brisket made into BBQ sandwiches:

©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Oven-Braised Beef Brisket

From: Everyday Cooking Adventures, 2013
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1-2 lb. beef brisket
• Spices: Chipotle Chili Rub or Paprika with salt & pepper
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth or stock
• Canola oil
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup cola
• FOR SANDWICHES: 2 buns & BBQ sauce (Swiss or cheddar cheese optional)

Directions

1. In a pan, pour in 1 cup of the beef broth, a few shakes of the spices, the sliced garlic, and all of the soy sauce. Place the brisket, fat side up, in the pan. Cover it with tightly with foil and refrigerate it for 6-24 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a cast iron or ovenproof skillet with a thin layer of canola oil, heat the pan on medium and brown the brisket on all sides. Remove from heat.

4. Off the heat, pour the beef stock and cola into the skillet with the brisket. Add the sliced onion. Cover the skillet tightly with foil (don’t burn your fingers on the pan while doing this–just sayin’).

5. Put the covered brisket in the oven and lower the heat to 300ºF. Roast for an hour and a half, and then check it every 20 minutes until the brisket is fork-tender and can slightly be shredded with a fork. Add stock to the pan if it has significantly evaporated while cooking. Let the brisket rest for 15-30 minutes before slicing. Pour the juices from the pan through a strainer and back into the pan on the stovetop and warm and reduce it over about 10 minutes to use as an au jus to pour over the sliced brisket. You can even cook this ahead of time, put the meat back in the fridge and then reheat it later at serving time.

6. To make sandwiches, warm two rolls or buns of your choice in a 200ºF oven for 2 minutes or until warm but not hardened. Optionally add a slice of Swiss or cheddar cheese to the bread while it’s in the oven to melt it slightly. Meanwhile, slice your brisket thinly and place 4 or so slices and a scoop of the braised onions from the pan on the rolls and top with BBQ sauce. Enjoy!