Braised Beef Brisket Sandwich as served by The Pastrami Project, located in Orlando, as seen on Food Network’s Triple-D Nation, Season 5
Recipe courtesy of The Pastrami Project

Braised Beef Brisket Sandwich

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  • Level: Intermediate
  • Total: 8 hr 5 min (includes rising and cooling time)
  • Active: 2 hr
  • Yield: One 10- to 16-pound brisket
This recipe relies on the fat trimmed and rendered from the meat to provide the liquid to braise. If you attempt to use a lean piece of brisket, say, just the flat, I do not think it will work. There are no vegetables or seasoning other than salt and pepper used. This will definitely not taste like pot roast, but way better! The Donkey Sauce is my take on one of Guy’s signature sauces. I use it on beef brisket and as a dipping sauce for fries. Making a good loaf of rye bread for sandwiches isn’t hard. Th Rye Bread recipe simplifies the process and produces a perfect loaf in only 3 to 4 hours. Simply double everything to make a second loaf. Most home stand mixers can handle enough dough for 2 loaves at a time.

Ingredients

Deli Style Brisket:

Donkey Sauce:

Rye Bread:

Directions

  1. For the brisket: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Trim the fat on the brisket to 1/4 inch. Place any pieces of soft fat on the bottom of the pan, discarding all the pieces of hard fat. (Take special care to remove the hard fat nodule between the flat and the point of the brisket.)
  3. Place the brisket in the pan on top of the fat trimmings, fat cap side up.
  4. Generously salt and pepper the fat cap side of the brisket; this will be the only side of the brisket seasoned, so make sure to season it very well. We recommend 3 tablespoons salt and 3 tablespoons pepper for a 10-pound brisket; if it is larger, use more.
  5. Cover the brisket with parchment paper. This will keep the fat from melting through the aluminum foil in the oven. Cover the entire pan with aluminum foil and seal tightly.
  6. Place in the oven to roast for 3 1/2 hours. Thickly cut across the grain into 5- to 8-ounce portions, then serve on Rye Bread slathered with donkey sauce.
  7. For the donkey sauce: Meanwhile, place the garlic in small pot and cover with olive oil. Simmer until medium brown in color; be careful to not overcook, or the garlic will become hard. Drain well, reserving the olive oil. Put the drained garlic in a food processor; add the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Add the mayonnaise and process until incorporated. Store in the refrigerator until it is needed.

Rye Bread:

  1. Add the flours, water, sour cream, wheat gluten, caraway seeds, instant yeast,
  2. sugar and salt to a stand mixer. Run the mixer on low speed with the dough hook until the dough pulls away from the bowl and bowl gets warm! (I know that is kind of strange, but it works EVERY TIME.) Turn off the mixer, remove the hook and let the dough rise in the bowl.
  3. Punch down the dough, then form into a loaf. Put in a loaf pan, then allow it to rise again until it is 1 inch above the side of the pan.
  4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  5. Sprinkle some flour on top of the loaf and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven. Cool completely, or, for a crusty loaf, let it sit out overnight on a wire rack.