Beer Braised Beef Brisket with an Asian Flare

I love beef brisket! Despite knowing that it is a fatty cut, I still love it for its tenderness and the melt-in-your-mouth texture. Thus, when a recipe calls for beef brisket, I can never bring myself to substitute it for a leaner cut. However, I do try to give it healthy twist by using less meat than the recipe calls for and perhaps mixing in a leaner cut as well. In addition, I also add in extra vegetables to bulk up the dish and boost its nutritional value.

In this beer braised beef brisket recipe, I reduced the amount of beef brisket and added in some precooked beef tendon pieces. Beef tendon is not a very common ingredient in western supermarkets, but it can easily be found in Asian stores. I chose to add that in because once its fully cooked, it has a very unique chewy, almost gummy texture that I really enjoy.

As for veggies, I added lot. I love adding in all sorts of vegetables, not only because they bulk up the dish, but mostly because through prolonged cooking, the veggies’ natural sweetness will melt into the sauce and give the final dish a fuller, more complex flavour profile.

For this beer braised beef brisket, in addition to the typical onions, carrots and celery, I also decided to use daikon. This Asian vegetable has a delicate sweet flavour that absorbs the rich tomato-y and beefy flavour very well.

Beer Braised Beef Brisket with an Asian Flare

Serves 4.

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 lb beef brisket, visible fat trimmed and cut into large cubes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leave
• 2 carrots, cut into large wedges
• 12 oz cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 bottle leftover beer
• 1 daikon, cut into large wedges
• 1 piece pre-cooked beef tendon, cut into large pieces (available in most Asian supermarkets, optional)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 scallion, chopped, for garnish

Directions:

• Heat a large pot with 1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil.. Cook onion, garlic and celery on medium heat until soft and translucent. Remove and set aside for later.
• In the same pan, add in a bit more olive oil if necessary, brown the beef brisket chunks. Remove and set that aside in a separate bowl.
• In the same pan still (do not wash the pan, we want to collect the brown bits on the bottom), add tomato paste and the bay leave, fry it for 30 seconds or so until fragrant. Then, add back in the onion, garlic and celery. Also, add in the carrots, cherry tomatoes and dried basil. Let the mixture simmer on low heat to allow the tomatoes to soften and release their juices. As this point, scrap the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula to release the brown bits.
• Add back in the beef brisket cubes and enough beer to just barely cover the beef; avoid adding water, as that will dilute the sauce. Bring to a simmer then cover, turn the heat to low and let the mixture cook for about 1.5hrs, or until the beef brisket cubes are tender.
• At around the 1hr mar, add in the daikon chunks. Daikon cooks fairly quickly, so it only needs to simmer for about 30 minutes to achieve a tender texture. If added in too early, the daikon can easily become too soft and become mushy even.
• If using beef tendon, it should be added near the very end. Since it is pre-cooked, it just needs to be reheated; it will become overly soft and melt into the sauce if heated for a prolonged period of time.
• Before serving, add in salt and pepper to taste and garnish with chopped scallion.