Use sweet and flavorful dried fruit to make a rich sauce for slow cooked brisket. Slow Cooker Brisket With Fruit And Wine Sauce will be your new favorite dinner.
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I do love a good comfort food dinner. This one does it for me times ten! The rich, savory and slightly sweet sauce is the perfect accompaniment to slow cooked brisket.
Oh slow cooking that brisket makes it so tender and luscious. It takes a while so be patient. Start this in the morning so it's ready for dinner. The brisket will take about 9 hours to get perfectly tender.
Brisket is unique in that it holds its shape even after hours and hours of tenderizing cooking, allowing it to be sliced. It's a lean cut of beef compared to chuck or short ribs that have more fat and connective tissue. Those cuts tend to shred and fall apart when slow cooked. Which, don't get me wrong, that's a great thing – but I like slices every so often.
This dish takes a while to simmer, but slow cooker brisket is every bit worth the wait.
I slice brisket for sandwiches, like my Dang Delicious Brisket Sandwiches. Sure you could serve this recipe on a sandwich! I'd do it on a buttered baguette with a little of the fruit sauce. Mmmm! I may need to do that!
For the time being try serving this with some soft polenta or creamy Mashed Potatoes.
I started with a little over 2 lbs of beef brisket. It often comes with a layer of fat on top. If the butcher hasn't trimmed this, feel free to do it yourself. I do like to leave a little on to enrich the sauce.
Dried plums, apricots and cherries are the stars of the sauce show. Dried fruits have such rich concentrated flavor and a meaty texture. Cooking them low and slow with broth and wine plumps them to soft perfection.
You can substitute cranberry juice for the red wine if you want to go alcohol free.
Garlic, thyme and a dash of cinnamon flavor the meat and sauce in a savory, unique way. The cinnamon is almost undetectable when you take a bite, but it gives the tart fruit a hint of sweetness.
Do you have a good slow cooker? It doesn't have to be expensive. Click HERE to try one of my favorites if you're in the market for a new one!
Even thought it's warm and comforting, this dish pans the seasons. Make it in the early days of fall, during the dark depths of winter or into the spring. Having it in the slow cooker keeps you out of the kitchen no matter when you decide to make it!
- 1 beef brisket (2½ lbs )
- ½ cup dried pitted plums
- ½ cup dried apricot halves
- ½ cup dried tart red cherries
- 1 clove garlic coarsely chopped
- 1 cup chicken broth low-sodium
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves plus sprigs for garnish
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
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Trim excess fat from brisket. Place in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Top with plums, apricots, cherries and garlic.
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Stir together broth, wine, thyme, cinnamon, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in flour until smooth. Pour over fruit mixture in cooker. Cover and cook 9 to 10 hours on low.
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Thinly slice beef against the grain and serve with fruit sauce. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.
You can substitute cranberry juice for the red wine if you want to go alcohol free.
Pin this slow cooker brisket recipe for later!
Recipe and Food Styling Tara Bench
Photography Steve Giralt
Prop Styling Gerri Williams
Originally published in Ladies' Home Journal October 2007
Mary Bench says
Brisket! Slow Cooker! Fabulous flavors! I really love this one!