Grandma Miller's Famous Brisket

First let me apologize to all of you for the delay on this recipe, between wedding planning and a little car accident, things have been really crazy.

A couple weeks ago it was a special someone's birthday in my life.  This meant only one thing for me, dusting off the Grandma Miller Brisket Recipe (taken from Bon Appetit Magazine, year unknown).  I have tried making this recipe twice before, and each time was a failure.  Well maybe not a failure (we still ate them), just not the same as Grandma Miller. What did you have problems with, well let me list them for you:

- I used Ketchup instead of chili sauce (trust me don't substitute here, it ends up tasting like a salt lick). 
- Make sure you have the full recipe (otherwise you won't know to make the wonderful tasting gravy).

Now to the recipe, ingredients:

Whole Brisket (8-pounds, or less before trimming)
1 Large Onion (or 2 Small ones)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 package onion soup mix (each box contains two packages)
1 bottle chile sauce (I used Heinz as Grandma Miller was from Pittsburgh)
1 can or most of a bottle of beer (I used Yuengling)
1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
3 slices of rye bread (get fresh made from the bakery in your supermarket, trust me)
8 carrots
Fresh Ground Pepper

For the  Preheat oven to 350°.   Pat Brisket Dry with paper towel, to make it easier to work with and asses how much fat you have.  

Trim brisket of as much fat as possible. 

Rub Brisket with garlic and place the garlic and meat on top of a your stale bread and onions in a roasting pan with a tight fitting cover (I used a dutch oven).  

Over the brisket place the following in this order: fresh ground pepper, Worcestershire Sauce, onion soup mix, chile sauce and beer.  

Cut carrots into smaller pieces and fit around the brisket wherever you can.  

Cover and place in oven.  After 45 minutes reduce oven temperature to 275°  braise another 2 hours and 15 minutes or until done.  Once during braising, check to see that the bread is covered in liquid (I have never needed to add fluid, but that doesn't mean you won't).  When Brisket is done, remove from oven and let stand to cool (I like to get it out of the cooking pan and onto a cutting board).  

Make sure to get carrots out of the pan before making the gravy.  Try to start your potatoes boiling about an hour before the brisket is done.

Gravy:

Take the bread, half the onions, garlic, and 2 cups of the liquid from the roasting pan.  Place into either a food processor or a blender and process until blended.  

Return mixture to pan and combine with remaining liquid.  Cut meat against the grain and thinly for the best flavor.

Serve with carrots, mashed potatoes meat and the gravy.

My taster tried this meal for you and wanted to say that he truly enjoyed it, and that it was just how he remembers Grandma Miller making it.  I hope that all of you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.  My next recipe is an old Lenten treat that Oma has passed down.  This is one that has been shared in the past, and I am happy to be able to share it with you as well.  The recipe is Fastnacht Kuechles, can't wait to share this with you!