While preparing our Memorial Day menu, I realized that I still had some red Chile sauce from the tamale recipe I posted for Cinco de Mayo. So I took advantage of the opportunity to incorporate the sauce into a Mexican Cerveza, and slowly roast it over a beef brisket. The resulting dish totally lived up to its expectations. The sauce had a nice tangy heat and the meat was so tender and juicy, it sliced like softened butter. I usually plan for a recipe to make enough for a second meal, unfortunately, we all enjoyed this dinner so much we ended up eating the whole thing!
This dish would be perfect to serve when you have company over since most of the time is spent roasting in the oven. Plus it can be scaled up or down depending on the size of your group. Keep in mind, a 5-pound roast easily serves 3 people so plan accordingly!
Ingredients:
For the Red Chile Sauce:
6 ounces dried Chile peppers
6 cloves garlic, sliced
4 cups fire-roasted tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
1 white onion, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Brisket:
5-pound brisket roast
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium yellow onions, sliced and separated into rings
2 cups prepared red Chile sauce (steps below)
1 cup celery, finely diced
1 bottle dark Mexican beer
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Directions:
For the Red Chile Sauce:
1) Combine the tomatoes, broth, garlic, and onion in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
2) Stir in the dried Chiles, cover the pot and remove it from the heat. Let the mixture steep for 15 minutes.
3) Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until it is smooth.
4) Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan, scraping the solids in the strainer with a wooden spoon to extract as much of the Chile flavor as possible. Discard the solids.
5) Place the pan on the stove on medium heat, and stir in the butter until it has melted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste and remove the sauce from the heat to cool.
For the Brisket:
1) Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
2) Place the brisket fat side up in the bottom of a roasting pan and season generously with salt and pepper.
3) Layer the garlic, celery and onion on top of the roast, covering the surface completely.
4) Layer the red Chile sauce over the vegetables, allowing some of the sauce to drip down over the sides.
5) Place the pan in the oven and roast the brisket for 1 hour uncovered.
6) Remove the pan from the oven and pour the beer over the roast. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and return it to the oven for 3-4 hours (depending on your oven’s cooking time).
7) Remove the pan from the oven and lift one corner of the foil to allow access to the liquid in the pan. Ladle the juices into a small saucepan and place it on the stove over medium heat until it is slightly boiling.
8) Transfer about 1/4 cup of the juices to a small bowl and stir in the cornstarch until the mixture is smooth. Stir the mixture into saucepan and continue cooking until slightly thickened.
9) Season the sauce with salt and pepper as needed and transfer it to a heat-safe bowl.
10) Remove the aluminum foil from the roasting pan and place the brisket on a cutting board. Carefully slice the meat into thin diagonal slices across the grain.
11) Serve the sliced brisket along with the Chile sauce.
