Shelly's Recipe

SOUTHWESTERN PULLED BRISKET - Crock pot

Category: Brisket/Cornbeef

3 lbs beef brisket
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground coriander and ground cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (14 1/2 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices
1 to 2 whole canned chipotle chiles en adobo (I used one; two will give it a real kick)
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup molasses

For serving:
If sandwiches, soft sandwich buns. If tacos, small soft tortillas. For both, I suggest some slaw, pickled onions and/or pickled jalapeños.

Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat just until beginning to smoke. Add the meat and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker; leave the skillet on the heat.

Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in the skillet and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Add vinegar and boil until it is almost gone, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in water and pour the mixture over the brisket. Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; add the tomato juices, chipotles, bay leaves, and molasses. Cover the cooker, set it on LOW, and cook the brisket until it pulls apart easily with a fork, about 8 to 10 hours.

To serve, you have got two options: Leave the meat in the slow cooker and use two forks to pull it apart and stir it evenly into the sauce; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove and discard bay leaves.

Your second option, just a little more work. Strain the sauce and discard the vegetables and bay leaves and reheat and reseasoned it well, simmering it down (to about 2/3 the volume) to thicken it a bit. Pour it back over the brisket you pull, and reheat the whole pan on low. Serves 4

NOTE: This can also be made in a Dutch oven and baked in the oven at 350 for 3 hours.