What a great time to be from Kansas City. After clinching the World Series, the entire city is united in fun. It took thirty years for our local team to win the World Series, so the excitement is Over The Moon! The entire city is painted blue!
Add to this, it is unseasonable warm. The fall landscape is painted in bright sunshine and BLUE skies. It is a happy time here, for sure.
Fall, no matter where you live, means it is time to tailgate, to host casual dinners, and to enjoy all things fall!
Every fall, my cousins gather for a fun weekend. Two years ago, at that annual family reunion, I toured New Belgian Brewery in Ft Collins, Colorado. That was my first taste of a sour beer. The taste was straight from the tanks and it shocked my taste buds.
For those of you who know me, wine is my beverage of choice. It is a very rare day that I drink a beer. While I couldn’t imagine drinking that sour ale, I could not shake the taste. I was intrigued and I had to cook with it—and instantly knew I wanted to braise a brisket in that tart brew.
At first, sour beer was only on tap, so bringing home a bottle for cooking seemed out of the question. Finally, individual bottles of sour beer are readily available so it was time to cook! And my wait paid off, big time.
It is easy and it tastes fantastic. I love sauerbraten and German foods, so maybe that it why I loved this brisket so much. Yet, the “sour” is so very subtle; no one will guess what the secret ingredient is.
In full disclosure, I have not tested all of the sour beers available in this recipe, so now I charge you to try it with your favorite and let me know the results. Deal? If you haven’t tried any of the sour beers, ask the liquor shop for some suggestions. Here are a few suggestions from Serious Eats to get your creative juices flowing.
The brisket was awesome, hot out of the oven, sliced with a little au jus on it. Then, I made a mustard sauce and serve it on crusty rolls as sandwiches. The choice is yours. I will be making this brisket often, and bet you will, too.
Sour Beer Braised Brisket
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (4-pound) beef brisket, trimmed
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sugar, optional (see tip)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 bottle (11 to 12 ounces) sour beer or ale (see tip)
Preheat oven to 325ºF.
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add brisket and brown well on both sides. Set meat aside.
Reduce heat to low. Add onions to the drippings in the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are golden brown and tender, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Return meat to the pan and spoon onions over the meat.
In a small bowl, stir together Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in the beer. Pour the sauce over the meat. Cover and place in the oven. Cook 3 to 4 hours or until the meat is very tender. When tender, remove meat from the hot pan and place on a tray or cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest about 15 minutes. Thinly slice meat. Serve meat with juices spooned over it.
Tips:
Serve slices of meat on toasted sandwich buns and top with Mustard Sauce.
I used Monk’s Café Flemish Sour Ale. I added the sugar—but the choice is yours. If you like more tart flavors, reduce or omit the sugar.
Of course, you can make this recipe with any beer—the flavor of the meat will vary a little with the flavor of the beer you choose to you.
Mustard Sauce
½ cup prepared mustard
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
Dash cayenne
Salt and pepper, to taste
Whisk together all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, 5 to 8 minutes or until bubbly and hot. Cool and serve over cooked meat.
If desired, cover, refrigerate and serve the mustard sauce as desired, within 1 month.
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