Slow-Cooked Brisket with Apricots and Harissa
6-8
servings
Main
Course
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
3 c
whole dried apricots
a good pinch of saffron
5 ½ lb
brisket, cut into 10 big chunks
4 tbsp
salt, divided
3
medium onions, peeled and quartered
4
whole bulbs garlic
5
bay leaves
7 oz
harissa
I don’t know about you, but this dish will be front and center on our holiday table. I was adamant about creating a simple, luscious main course with the flavor I love the most; the sweet-tartness from dried apricots combined with the rich and deep flavors of our harissa. Hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do. Serve with a side of white rice to soak up all the juicy goodness. Enjoy!
Directions
- Soak the apricots with saffron in 4 cups of cold tap water for 3 hours. Strain the apricots and reserve the water.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Season the meat chunks with half of the salt on both sides. Place the meat, fatty side up in shallow pot or a roasting pan.
- Add to the pan the apricots, onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Mix the apricot soaking water with the remaining salt and harissa and pour over the meat. Make sure to place the apricots under the meat so they won't dry out. The meat should be just covered and not completely immersed in it.
- Cover the pan with parchment paper and aluminum foil and place it on the stove top, bring it to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, place in the oven on the middle rack.
- After 45 minutes, lower the heat to 325°F and let it slow-cook for another 2 hours and 15 minutes. After 3 hours in total, check your meat with 2 forks by trying to separate a chunk of meat in two. If it pulls easily, you are ready, but if not, you are probably very close, so put it back in for 20 more minutes and check again. If by the end of the cooking the liquid has not thickened enough, just put it on the stove top without a cover for 10 minutes and let the liquid evaporate a bit. Right before you serve, broil it for approximately 10 minutes to get a nice golden color on the top. Serve with good couscous.