BBQ Beef Sandwiches

If you want the perfect weekend food, this is it!

Brisket is such a versatile meat.  I like it best, slow cooked.  I make it in the winter time, slow roasted with red wine, orange marmalade, orange zest, garlic and dried herbs.  Yet, in the summer and fall months I like to make it BBQ style and serve it on delicious french bread with a side of Asian Cole Slaw.

The recipe calls for jarred BBQ sauce.  Yet over the past few years I have really become even more conscious of what I am feeding my family.  I have never bought a jarred salad dressing (even in college).  Two reasons why;

• they taste lousy 
• there are way too many things in the ingredients list that I can't pronounce.  

And if I can't pronounce it, I am not going to eat it.  I have come to the conclusion that BBQ sauce is no different. I have decided to make my own.  I make a big batch of it and use it for grilling, marinating, roasting and my kids like to dip their oven baked chicken nuggets ( recipe to come ) in it.

I have been making my brisket this way for 20 years and each time I make it it gets rave reviews.  It is a great Sunday evening meal, creating left overs for the next day.  It is also terrific for a big crowd!

BBQ Brisket
yield: lots of sandwiches!

ingredients:
6 - 7 lbs brisket of beef, grass fed
12 oz homemade BBQ sauce
1 large yellow onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves
dash of paprika
dash of garlic salt
1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes

instructions:
• preheat oven to 325*
• pat dry the brisket with paper towels.  put in a large dutch oven ( I have a large, oval Le Creuset that I use)
• slice garlic.  make slits in brisket and put slivered garlic in the brisket.  season with garlic salt, paprika, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.
• add sliced onion, tomatoes, and homemade BBQ sauce.
• cover pot and put in oven for 3 1/2 - 4 hours.  check it every 45 minutes and baste.
• remove brisket from the pan and let cool to room temp.  once cooled wrap in foil and refrigerate.
• puree all the sauce from the pan and place in a clean container.  put in fridge until ready to use.
• when ready to serve, slice thin and place in a roasting pan.  cover sliced brisket with pureed sauce (save some for slathering on the bread).  cover roasting pan and put in a 250* preheated oven.  heat brisket when for about 25 minutes or until warm to the touch.
• generally, I make the brisket the day before I want to serve it. this is one of those easy meals; put everything in the pot, put in the oven and forget about it!
p.s.  shred the brisket and put it in fresh corn tortillas with a little bit of pickled onions.  so goooood!

BBQ Sauce
yield: 2 1/2 quarts

ingredients:
1 large yellow onion, diced
9 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbls. avocado oil
1 Tbls. lemon zest
5 Tbls. fresh lemon juice
4 1/2 cups organic ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 Tbls. molasses
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chili powder
4 Tbls. cider vinegar
1 Tbls. chipotles in adobe, pureed
3 cups water

instructions:
• heat pan and add oil.  saute onions and garlic until translucent, about 7 minutes.  add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  let cool completely, then refrigerate.