Brisket Bruschetta
SLOW COOKER BRISKET BRUSCHETTA
We’ve all had our fair share of pulled pork recipes. What about pulled brisket? Better yet, a slow cooker brisket is one of my favorite ways to have brisket. It sits in a wine bath for most of the day at 9 hours, and you can slice the fat right off on the bottom, leaving you gristle and problem free.
Heinen’s carries a brand called Two Brothers, and their line of barbecue sauces are amazing!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
Heinen’s CARE certified beef brisket is of top quality. Make sure you cut the brisket the right way, because there is one! Slice to the point which is between the lean and the bigger side. That means, hold the lean side at the point (thinner) and slice thin half inch slices until you get to the thicker side. Grab the bigger side that’s left, and turn it 90 degrees. Working your way to the outside from the middle, slice in 1/4 inch slices.
Heinen’s Two Brothers line of barbecue sauces as mentioned previously is the way to go with Heinen’s brisket. If you like a sweeter brisket, there is a honey barbecue version. I used the regular in this recipe because this particular brisket involves red wine.
Turning this slow cooker brisket into a bruschetta meal or table appetizer is the best way to elevate your table and have a different version of brisket than maybe you’ve had before. Heinen’s bakery has some really nice French baguettes that are the perfect bite with this brisket.
I like to add some toppings to these bread bites such as a Greek yogurt, a sour cream, or a dairy free cream that has a tangy addition. Also, fresh cut tomatoes and parsley with red pepper flakes and olive oil drizzle over the tops are the perfect way to dress up your pulled brisket!
SLOW COOKER BRISKET BRUSCHETTA RECIPE
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 9 hrs | Serving Size: Large Appetizer
Ingredients
slow cooker for 4.5 lb brisket
immersion blender
1 Heinen’s CARE Certified beef brisket (4-4.5 lbs)
3 cups red wine
Two Brother’s classic barbecue sauce
2 tbsp flavorless oil like canola, avocado, vegetable, or sunflower seed
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
salt & pepper to taste
1 yellow onion quartered
1 red onion quartered
1 fennel bulb quartered
4 carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
2 stalks celery cut into 2 inch chunks
2 sprigs rosemary
8 cloves garlic peeled
2 dried bay leaves
2 tbsps soy sauce, or just more salt
1 french baguette, sliced thin
1/2 cup chopped parsley for topping
2 tomatoes, diced small
olive oil for topping
Instructions
On medium-high heat, start heating up a cast iron skillet big enough to sear all sides of the brisket.
Quickly rinse the brisket with water and then pat dry.
Rub on your desired amount of salt and pepper.
Once your cast iron is ready, add in the 2 tablespoons of oil. I use vegetable.
When the oil is starting to lightly smoke and ripple, place the brisket in to start searing. You will most likely need to use your stove vent and a splash guard for the oil popping. Sear the brisket on each side for 4-5 minutes. Even the thin sides. If you need to use two pairs of tongs to hold in place do so!
Set your slow cooker on low, and place the brisket in first. Add in the wine, all seasonings and herbs (not the parsley), garlic, fennel, carrots, onions and celery on top. This will all cook down over time and the brisket will start to sink below the liquid line.
Cook on low for 9 hours. I suggest you make this the night before you want to serve this!
Once the cooking is done, remove the brisket to a cutting board (not wood), and flip to show the fatty side. I prefer to slice that all off in a few easy cuts so that you don’t have fat in your pulled brisket. Then slice your brisket. The slicing instructions if you haven’t done this before is above in the “You’ll love this recipe because” section.
Once your brisket is sliced, remove the rosemary and thyme branches if any left, from the slow cooker and the bay leaves. Use your immersion blender to blend all the slow cooked vegetables in with your wine broth that has been cooking for so long!
Remove half the blended gravy and store away for another use because it’s a GREAT gravy over rice. Add in the bottle of barbecue sauce to the slow cooker gravy that is now half the size. Mix well.
Go back to your sliced brisket, and start pulling the beef with two forks to your liking.
Once all pulled, mix into the slow cooker barbecue wine sauce and keep on warm for serving!
When it comes to serving, place a few spoon fulls of the pulled brisket onto a baguette slice and top with your desired toppings! In the order I constructed was brisket, tomatoes, parsley, then if you want, a small dollop of cream and then red pepper flakes with the olive oil drizzle!
Enjoy!
