Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Brisket and Roasted Fingerling and Carrot Coins

Simply Sweet Justice is smitten with the Smitten Kitchen cookbook.  Say that ten times fast.  ;)

At the Smitten Kitchen cookbook signing, Deb talked about her mother-in-law's famous brisket, and she has blogged about many different brisket recipes.  I never made brisket and thought it was time to give it a try.  Plus, this would be a perfect main course for my "Smitten Kitchen" dinner party with friends.

Deb recommended making the brisket a day in advance.  I put it together the night before and intended to put it into my large 7 quart slow cooker.  When I went to turn on the slow cooker, it did not turn out.  To no avail, I tried resetting fuses, trying different plugs, and blowing into the outlet and the plug (hey, blowing on Nintendo games used to work for me).  Rut roh!

Fortunately, when I moved into my first college apartment, my mom packed my car up with "treasures from home."  *cough cough, treasures being random things sitting in the garage that still worked and were useful, cough cough* One of these "treasures" was an old slow cooker that my mom brought to my elementary school potlucks.

Let the record state that these "treasures" now sit in the basement of my house since they still work and have some use.  Aaah, it all comes full circle.  This slow cooker is vintage and still works.  It was a lot smaller, so I had to slightly cram the brisket in there (oops!), but the brisket fit.

The brisket was well-devoured at my dinner party!  It was fork-tender and full of flavor.  The ingredients are all common ingredients that are likely sitting in your pantry, making this a great no-fuss recipe to have in your repertoire for dinner parties.

The roasted fingerling and carrot coins balanced the brisket.  The carrots helped bring out a little sweetness while the potatoes added some more savory to the dish.  It was a simple side dish to make, too.

It's hard to go wrong with "simple and a little sweet."

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Brisket and Roasted Fingerling and Carrot Coins
Yields 10-12 servings

Sweet and Sour Brisket
Ingredients:
5 lb. beef brisket
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for initial seasoning of brisket
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup beef stock
3 tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/9 tsp. red chili flakes
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. onion powder

Directions:
Season the meat both kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Whisk all of the remaining ingredients together in a bowl.  Place the meat in the slow-cooker, pour the sauce over it, and set it to cook on low for 10 hours.

After those 10 hours have passed, you can either transfer the brisket with all of the sauce to a baking dish or leave it in the removable pot of the slow cooker.  Leave the baking dish or the removable pot in the fridge for several hours (up to one day).  An hour before you are ready to serve it, preheat your oven to 300ºF, and then remove the dish from the fridge.  Alternatively, if you left the brisket in the removable pot of the slow cooker, you could put it back on low heat of the slow cooker.

To serve, carefully remove the meat from its sauce, and place it on a cutting board board.  Cut the brisket into 1/4-1/2 inch slices, and place the sliced meat back into the sauce.  Spoon the sauce over the meat.  Cover tightly with foil or with a tight-fitting lid, and reheat in the oven until bubbling at the edge.  Serve immediately.

Roasted Fingerling and Carrot Coins
Ingredients:
2 lb. fingerling potatoes, sliced into 1/2" coins
2 lb. large carrots (4-5), sliced into 1/2" coins
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. minced fresh dill, or any herb of your choice

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400ºF.  Generously coat two large baking sheets with olive oil.  As evenly as possible, spread the vegetables onto the baking sheets and drizzle with any remaining olive oil.  Next, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Roast for 20 minutes, and then use a large spatula to flip the vegetables.

Continue to roast for another 10 to 15 minutes.  When the vegetables are done, they will be brown and crisp at the edges.  The potatoes will be soft and fork-tender, and the carrots will be soft and not mushy.

Remove from the oven.  Season with additional salt and paper if desired, and then sprinkle with your herbs.  Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Source: Directly adapted from Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen Cookbook