Thursdays Are For Cooking

Slow Cooker Smothered Beef Brisket from Betty Crocker

This is from Betty Crocker’s kitchen again, and the first thing I thought of was “Yay! Slow cooker stuff!” Slow cookers are so handy and so inexpensive now that not having one, or maybe two of different sizes, seems silly. Neither of mine was expensive and I bought them several years apart.

Yes, that’s a morel in the photo. It was big enough to not be worth picking. Morels tend to lose their texture and flavor if they are too big and this one was so big it fell over on its stem, thus putting its mushroom spores into the soil for more generations of morels. No, I did not tell anyone where I saw it.

Beef brisket cooked low and slow, and smothered in a savory shallot-and-mushroom sauce, makes for a dinner bursting with flavor. Round out the meal with Betty Crocker™ garlic mashed potatoes, and you’ve got comfort food perfection.

By Betty Crocker Kitchens

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 medium shallots, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

1 package (8 oz) baby bella mushrooms, thickly sliced

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh garlic

2 ¼ lb fresh beef brisket (not corned beef)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons Progresso™ beef flavored broth (from 32-oz carton) (or use your favorite brand)

5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, if desired

Betty Crocker™ roasted garlic mashed potato mix, prepared as directed on package, if desired (or make your own mashed garlic potatoes like my sister used to do: cook ‘em, smash ‘em, season them with butter and garlic salt and cracked black pepper).

Steps:

1 –  Spray 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.

2 – In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add shallots; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until starting to brown. Add mushrooms; continue cooking 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in garlic; cook 30 to 60 seconds or until fragrant. Remove from skillet to small bowl.

3 – Rub the brisket with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Heat skillet over medium-high heat; add brisket, and cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place fat-side up in slow cooker; top with the shallot mixture.

4 – In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup broth, the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. Pour into slow cooker around beef brisket. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 9 hours or until brisket is very tender. Transfer beef to cutting board; cover and keep warm. With slotted spoon, transfer shallot mixture to small bowl.

5 – Strain cooking juices using fine mesh sieve, and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the strained juices; transfer to 1 1/2-quart saucepan. In small bowl, mix remaining 2 tablespoons beef broth and the cornstarch with whisk; beat into cooking juices in pan. Heat to simmering over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; stir in whipping cream.

6 – Cut beef into 1/2-inch slices, cutting against the grain. Transfer sliced beef to serving platter, using large flat spatula or fish turner. Top beef with shallot mixture; drizzle with sauce before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Expert Tips from Betty C.

Beef brisket benefits from the slow cooking by helping to tenderize the meat.

Be sure to use a very sharp knife when cutting the beef, pressing down with the knife, as if cutting into a cake. Avoid using a sawing motion, or the beef will tend to shred and fall apart.

Note: if you can’t find portabella mushrooms to use, then use what you can find. Sometimes, a good substitute will do the trick just as well. Ditto with shallots: use what you can find and enjoy it, instead of weeping over regular onions instead of shallots. They are both members of the onion family, but shallots are not as intense as onions.

If you’re pressed for time, you can season the brisket the night before and have it ready to go in the morning. Or you can just get up an hour early, get the brisket prepped and into the slow cooker before most people are even waking up. I kind of view this as a weekend dish, but you may not have a lot of leftovers when you’re done with it.

Category: Economy