brisketSundays at our house are a relaxed family day. Some weeks that means playing board games all afternoon, watching football or going for a hike. Whatever we end up doing, the last thing I want to do on a Sunday is spend the afternoon in the kitchen cooking dinner. I try to choose easy dinners that do not take much prep time. Dinners that are easy but also healthy and filling are even more of a hit. Recently I decided to try out this recipe for barbecue braised style beef brisket for a Sunday evening dinner because it sounded so simple. I mixed up the marinade the evening before, added it to the brisket and stuck it in the refrigerator to sit overnight. Sunday afternoon the only thing I had to do was throw it into a roasting pan and put it in the oven for three hours turning it a couple of times. It was wonderful to be able to sit around and relax all afternoon while enjoying the amazing smells thatbrisket2 were coming from the oven. Try it out for yourself on a day when you want a great meal but without all the effort. The flavor the marinade gave the meat was delicious.

2 heads garlic
1 can (355 mL) root beer
¼ cup (50 mL) EACH Worcestershire sauce and red wine vinegar
1 large onion
¼ cup (50 mL) EACH packed brown sugar and liquid honey
1 tbsp (15 mL) dry mustard
1 tsp (5 mL) freshly ground pepper
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
4 lb (1.81 kg) Beef Brisket Pot Roast (Double/Point/Second Cut portion NOT thinner First Cut portion)
  1. Slice off top of garlic heads; wrap in foil and bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until softened, about 50 minutes. Squeeze garlic into large sealable freezer bag; stir in root beer, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, onion, sugar, honey, mustard, pepper and salt.
  2. Pierce roast all over with fork and place in marinade, turning to coat well. Seal bag and refrigerate for 24 hours or up to 2 days, turning occasionally.
  3. Transfer meat and marinade into a Dutch oven or heavy roasting pan; bring to boil on stove-top. Cover tightly and transfer to a 325°F (160°C) oven. Cook, turning roast every hour, until fork tender, about 3 hours. Remove roast to carving board, skim fat from sauce and boil until thickened, about 30 minutes. Thinly slice warm roast across the grain and serve with sauce.