Apple Butter Brisket

Serves 6-8

Submitted by Nancy Barrett

MKL Cooking Contest, April 14, 2007

5-pound brisket	3 large carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
Kosher salt	32-oz pkg 365 Everyday value chicken broth
Black pepper	1 cup Kime’s apple butter spread
Garlic powder
3 onions, coarsely chopped
2Tbls olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Liberally season brisket on all sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place brisket in a roasting pan and cook, uncovered for 45 minutes, flipping over halfway through cooking.

2. In the meantime, cook onions in olive oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened.

3. Add carrots and continue to cook until onions reach a deep golden color, about 20 minutes.

4. Remove brisket from oven and turn oven temperature down to 325 F. Spread onion mixture on brisket. Whisk together chicken broth and apple butter and pour over meat and vegetables. Cover pan tightly with foil and roast until meat is fork tender, about 3 hours. Allow brisket to cool and refrigerate overnight. Separate meat from vegetables and remove excess fat. Slice brisket across the grain.

5. Puree vegetables with cooking liquid in blender until smooth. To reheat, warm puree in ovenproof skillet or baking dish, then add brisket and cover. Warm in 350 F oven until meat is hot about 30 minutes.

Nancy’s Notes:

· For the chicken broth, I use the dry packets (usually Washington’s Golden Seasoning & Broth, from King’s.) I have written down that I use 1 ½ packets with 1/3 cup water – although I may sometimes use less. The recipe definitely needs some chicken broth seasoning to mix with the sweetness of the apple butter, but you don’t want to use so much dry chicken broth that the recipe ends up too salty when combined with the salt on the brisket.

· I stop midway through step 4 (right after cooking the meat for 3 hours.) I never bother to blend the veggies and sauce. I usually freeze the recipe at this point, and personally I like the veggie pieces.