Beef Brisket - Guinness & Brown Sugar

This recipe has been used multiple times within the last month due to the holidays and the demand for this meat! Every time I make this, the meat comes out so tender a knife is not needed and the vegetables still have integrity. This is based on my previous post, Homemade Beef Brisket, with some changes. I thought I would post the new recipe, which I have been using so frequently.

Information:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 9 hours, 30 minutes

Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 beef brisket - 4-5 lbs

1 medium sweet onion

3/4 whole garlic

6-8 carrots

6-8 red skinned potatoes

12-16 mushrooms

2 cans of Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup

3 bay leaves

4-5 tbsp dried thyme

1 bottle Guinness beer

1 1/2 C brown sugar

5 dashes of Tabasco sauce

8-10 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

4-5 tbsp pepper

4-5 tbsp salt

Directions:

1. Wash all vegetables! Washing the inside of an onion will keep down the strong smell and eye stinging.

2. Chop vegetables. Onions: 3 inch pieces; garlic: peeled, whole - not minced; carrots: 2-3 inch pieces; potatoes: quartered, or smaller if you want; mushrooms: quartered

3. Put the Golden Mushroom soup in a large bowl.

4. Add the bay leaves, thyme, water,  Tabasco, Worcestershire, pepper, and salt to the soup and mix until incorporated.

5. Add the vegetables to the soup mix and mix until the vegetables are smothered in the soup.

6. Cut the brisket along the grain of the meat. Cut into 4 or 5 strips.

7. Put half of the vegetable mix into the crock pot.

8. Lay the brisket strips on the vegetables, leaving enough room on the sides and in between the beef to let moisture mingle.

9. Lay the rest of the vegetables on the top of the beef. Make sure every part of the beef is covered in vegetables.

10. Cook on low for 9-10 hours.

11. Serve when the meat is as pink as you like.

********** The changes from the original are not major changes, but they do make the brisket taste differently, a sweeter and richer flavor. These changes are: don't add the water, instead add the Guinness and brown sugar    .........      That's it. Remove one ingredient and add another? It sounds so simple, at yet the flavor is more complex and full - robust, almost. I've gotten more compliments on this recipe than some of my better cupcake recipes!!! I love this recipe and will continue to use it until I swap out more ingredients, in which case I will definitely keep you posted as to the new changes.