Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
> Steven's sister is doing Thanksgiving this year. It was officially
> decided this morning Yippee!!! We don't have to do it this year.
> However, we have to bring a large brisket and 3 types of pies. There
> will be about 25 people there. The SIL will be doing the turkey and
> all the fixings but several people do not like turkey. Soooo, it was
> decided a brisket was in order. I've done small briskets many times
> but the one this time will be most likely 10 pounds or a bit larger.
> I've never done one that large. I do not want to smoke it, I want to
> do it in the oven. I can find dozens of recipes online but I'm
> mostly interested in suggestion for doing a large brisket in the
> oven.

Every year I cook about 15 lbs of brisket in the oven for a seder at our
church.

I use the recipe "Nach Waxman's Brisket of Beef" in The New Basics from The
Silver Palate series. I can't recommend it too highly. It is by far the best
I've ever had. There are few ingredients, but the result is delicious. This
is one dish where I never add anything. By the way, if you want to cook a
lot of brisket this way, consider buying several flat cuts rather than a
whole one.

What I do to accomodate such a large amount (15 lbs) is do all of the
searing and browning in a cast iron skillet, transferring the meat and
vegetables to a) a large, shallow enameled cast iron baking dish with a
heavy lid and b) a fairly heavy roasting pan (or two) that I then cover with
several layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil.

If you have a baking dish with a tight lid that you can also brown in over
high heat--ie, not enameled--then you can do all the work in it and skip the
skillet.

4-5 lbs flat cut brisket, excess fat removed if present
8 large onions
1 carrot
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp flour
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp kosher (coarse) salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375F.
Peel and thickly slice 8 large onions, separate into thick rings.
Peel and slice a carrot into a few large pieces on the diagonal.
Peel and quarter garlic.
Dry the brisket with paper towels and sprinkle it with flour and some fresh
black pepper. (If you need to go wheat free, either substitute something
like potato flour or omit the flour altogether. It won't hurt the dish.)

Heat some vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet or equivalent over medium
high heat, and sear the brisket well on all sides. You want substantial
crispy brown bits. Set it aside, add the onions to the skillet--add more oil
if necessary--and saute the onions over high til well browned and softened,
scraping up browned but from pan. Put the onions and garlic, along with an
juices, in the baking dish. (At this point, if I am browning in the skillet
and transferring everything to another dish, I add about 1/4 cup of water to
the skillet to deglaze it and capture all the nice browning flavor. Scrape
up all the brown bits, reducing the liquid to a couple of tablespoons at
most, and scrape that into the dish with the onions.) Place the meat on top,
fat side up, and the carrots around it. Smear tomato paste on the top of the
meat as if you were icing a cake. Sprinkle with salt, and coarsely grind
fresh pepper over the top to taste. Cover tightly, place in middle of oven,
and bake 1 1/2 hrs. Remove from oven, remove meat to a cutting board, and
slice into 1/4 inch slices across the grain. Reassemble slices into whole
brisket in baking dish, but on a slight slant. Pour juices back into dish.
If you must, add a tablespoon or two of liquid. (I've never had to do this.
If you have to, your lid probably isn't tight. I'd cover the dish with foil
before replacing lid for the next phase.) Bake for another 1 3/4-2 hours
until fork tender.

This is if anything better the second day when reheated.