Easy Enough

I found this recipe through Cooking Light the other day. It seemed simple enough and we've never made brisket so this was a good opportunity. We prepared it all the night before and stuck it (it = stoneware from crock pot) in the fridge. In the morning the hubs just popped the stoneware back in the crock pot. I served this with veggies and speedy twice baked potatoes. (Instead of baking the potato in its skin the 2nd time, I put the potato mixture in a dish, sprinkled cheese on top, and baked about 15min. I was too impatient to wait for the potatoes to cool.)

Slow-Cooker Beef Brisket with Beer


Photo by Randy Mayor

1 (3-pound) beef brisket, trimmed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1/4 cup water
2 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 large)
1 1/2 cups chopped parsnip (about 2)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 (12-ounce) bottle light beer

Rub brisket with salt and pepper. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add brisket to pan; cook 10 minutes, browning on all sides.

Remove brisket from the pan. Add 1/4 cup water to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Add onion and parsnip; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Place onion mixture, vinegar, bay leaf, and beer in a large electric slow cooker. Place brisket on top of onion mixture. (M added water so the meat was almost completely covered) Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Discard bay leaf. Cut brisket diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve with sauce


M and I were nervous that the brisket wouldn't taste good and be too beery (is there such a thing.... ha!) We were wrong and pleasantly surprised. It was very good. If you're not a beer person you will not like this.


Nutritional Information
CALORIES 160(28% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 1.9g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 20.5g; CHOLESTEROL 49mg; CALCIUM 20mg; SODIUM 232mg; FIBER 1.1g; IRON 1.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 5.6g