Growing up, I loved diners. I gravitated towards the old school jukebox stainless steel kind (and still do), and for many years, I dreamed of opening my own place up. Now the dream has shifted, but I still live out my diner love when I watch Food Network‘s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Hosted by Guy Fieri, his constant road trips introduce viewers to little hole-in-the-wall type places that serve fabulous food. Even though he put out a cookbook late last year with some of the recipes featured from restaurants that he’s visited, it’s not enough. I literally watch the show with a notebook and pen, jotting down ingredients of the dishes they’re highlighting on each episode.
Brisket is one of those things that has been on my to-try list forever and a day, yet I hadn’t gotten around to it, but after catching a recent episode with brisket that looked so good, my mouth was watering, I was done for. This is one of those recipes that you’ll thank me for later, and it’s barely a recipe at all. You can commit it to memory in about 30 seconds, and you really only need one ingredient past a few pantry basics. It cooks for 12 hours in the oven, but trust me when I tell you … it’s worth it to figure out your schedule so you can make this.
The recipe? Buy brisket. Put garlic powder, salt and pepper all over it. Put it in a baking dish and bake at 225 for 12 hours. See? That’s it. I ended up putting it into the oven after dinner, and then The Husband took it out in the morning when he left for work. Within only two hours of cooking, it smelled amazing, and my mouth is watering again now, just thinking about the leftovers (hello lunch!).
The meat is fall apart good and is juicy and tender, and everything it should be after cooking for 12 hours. And for a 30-second recipe, what better reward?
When the diner owner made it, he didn’t elaborate on how they served it, so I had to put my thinking cap on. Truth be told, you can just slice it and serve it with some traditional BBQ sides (see the comments here for some great suggestions) and just call it a day. But instead, I dug out one of my BBQ cookbooks, Legends of a Texas BBQ, and looked up a brisket BBQ sauce. While I was getting dinner ready, I made the barbecue sauce, and then I put the sliced brisket in the sauce to warm it up. The cookbook also had a suggestion for a brisket sandwich, and I followed that idea, serving the now-sauced meat on a toasted roll with sliced raw onion and pickles.
To produce something that is close to OMG good for as little effort as this took is a wonderful reward indeed. I sent a sandwich over to one of our neighbors, and she came back asking for the meat and BBQ sauce recipe. One of the easiest recipes I have on this site so far, yet one of the most delicious… enjoy!
Cook All Night BBQ Beef Brisket
Recipe courtesy of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
brisket
garlic powder
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 225. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt and pepper all over the brisket and put in baking dish. Bake for 12 hours. When serving, you can slice meat and serve with your favorite BBQ sides, or put the meat in the below BBQ sauce and serve as a sandwich (toasted roll, raw sliced onion, pickles).
Ancho Barbecue Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Legends of a Texas Barbecue Cookbook
3 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded (I skipped)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups diced onion
7 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1-1/2 tablespoons mustard
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
Soak the anchos in hot water for 30 minutes or until soft. In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes, or until they begin to wilt. Add the ketchup and anchos and saute for 4 minutes. Add all of the remaining ingredients and simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool. Place in a blender or food processor and puree. (I skipped that step) Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 3 weeks. Reheat before serving.
Makes about 4 cups (I halved recipe)
