BRAISED BEEF BRISKET

Braised Beef Brisket image

Provided by Moira Hodgson

Time 3h20m

Yield 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

6 pounds beef brisket
2 pig's feet
2 leeks, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
4 carrots, chopped
4 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups dry red wine
1/4 cup cognac
2 sprigs thyme
4 strips orange peel
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
24 small white onions
16 small white turnips
1 1/2 pounds potatoes

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a large casserole, brown the brisket and pour away the fat. Set the brisket aside. Add the pig's feet and brown lightly with the leeks, celery, garlic and carrots. Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the tomato paste, wine, cognac, thyme and orange peel. Return the brisket to the casserole. Season with salt and pepper and distribute the vegetables evenly around and on top of the brisket.
Cover and bake for three hours, turning the brisket once, and basting it every half hour.
Meanwhile, boil the onions until the skins are soft. Drain, cool and peel.
Half an hour before the brisket is cooked, add the onions to the casserole. Meanwhile, peel the turnips and potatoes. If the potatoes are large, cut them into smaller cubes the same size as the turnips. Boil them until cooked, drain and keep warm.
Place the brisket on a heated serving platter and arrange the vegetables around it. Remove the meat from the pig's feet and add.