Ina Garten's Brisket with Carrots and Onions

This recipe was on the Today Show and looked like a perfect meal for me to serve a crowd with - so we made it over Christmas for dinner for 12  and there was barely a drop left. Serve it with some great crusty bread to get every last drop! I am including her hints especially re the brisket.

seRVINGS:

10-12

Brisket is a great one-pot meal; the meat and vegetables are roasted together for hours. I make the meat ahead of time, slice it when it's cooled a bit, then reheat it with the vegetables in a pretty ovenproof serving dish. This recipe will definitely make enough to have leftovers.

Technique tip: Don't confuse corned beef brisket with plain brisket. Corned beef is the same cut, but it has been processed with salt and spices.

• 6 to 7 pounds beef brisket
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 8 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 6 yellow onions, peeled and sliced
• 6 fresh or dried bay leaves
• Two 28-ounce cans tomato juice
•  
  Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

  2. Place the brisket in a heavy roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, garlic and oregano.

  3. Rub the mixture on the brisket. Pile the carrots, celery, onions and bay leaves on the brisket and pour in enough tomato juice to come about three quarters of the way up the meat and vegetables. Cover the stew completely with parchment paper, then with the aluminum foil (the tomato juice will react unpleasantly with the aluminum foil if they touch.)

  4. Bake for 3½ hours, or until the meat is tender. Remove the meat from the pan and keep it warm. Place the pan on 2 burners and boil the vegetables and sauce over medium heat for another 30 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened.

  5. To serve, slice the meat across the grain. Serve with the vegetables.

  Reprinted from Barefoot Contessa Parties!: Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun. Copyright © 2001 by Ina Garten. Photographs copyright © 2001 by James Merrell. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.