Oven-Braised Brisket with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

To assemble

1. 8
   Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).

   Oven
2. 9
   Heat the oil in a wide pot that can go in the oven and brown the meat on all sides. Remove to a plate.

   StoveCast-iron pot

   💡Brown the meat in batches, without crowding: in a crowded pot it stews in its own juices instead of searing.

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
3. 10
   Add the onion to the oil left in the wide pot and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the onion browns.

   StoveWide, shallow pot

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 11
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
5. 12
   Add the carrot and fry another 5 minutes, stirring.

   Stove
6. 13
   Add the paprika and cumin and fry 30 seconds, until fragrant.

   Stove

   💡Paprika burns quickly and turns bitter: half a minute in the oil is enough, then move straight on to the next step.
7. 14
   Add the tomato paste and fry 2 minutes, stirring.

   Stove
8. 15
   Add the stock and bring to a boil.

   Stove
9. 16
   Return the meat to the pot and season with salt and black pepper.
10. 17
    Cover the pot and put it in the oven for 3.5 hours, until the meat falls apart easily with a fork.

    OvenCast-iron pot

    💡In the oven, heat reaches the pot from all sides, not just from below: a large cut cooks slowly and evenly for hours without sticking to the bottom.
11. 18
    Take the meat out of the pot, slice and serve with the sauce.

    KnifeCutting board