Make Ahead Beef Brisket

Sometimes in the summer, I like to serve a simple buffet meal for guests.  A typical menu might be beef brisket sandwiches on hard rolls, shrimp rolls (recipe previously on Grandpa Cooks), fresh tomato salad, sweet corn, and apple pie with ice cream.  This beef brisket recipe calls for most of the cooking the day prior to serving, so on the day you are having guests, all you have to do is warm it up.  The shrimp salad for the shrimp rolls can be made a day ahead too, so on the day of your party all you have to do is make a tomato salad and boil up some sweet corn, assuming you have a household baker for the pie, like I do.  Costco apple pie isn't bad either, but it's not as good as Jan's. This makes for simple entertaining and you can devote your time to your guests instead of being in the kitchen.  Here is the brisket recipe:

Ingredients:(serves about 8)

5 LB beef brisket flat
merlot wine
liquid smoke
celery salt
garlic salt
onion salt
Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Two days prior to serving, begin to marinade the brisket, by lightly coating a broiler pan with pam.  Place the brisket fat side up in the broiler pan.  Pour 1/2 cup of merlot over the brisket, and then top it with a small ribbon of liquid smoke.  Sprinkle with celery salt, garlic salt and onion salt.  Cover the pan with foil and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. 

The next day(one day prior to serving), preheat oven to 275 degrees. Remove brisket from the frig. and pour another 1/2 cup of merlot over the brisket.  Top it with a ribbon of Worcestershire sauce and then some salt and pepper.  Cover with foil and bake covered for 4-5 hours.  I generally let it go the full five hours, but check it after four.  The meat should be fork tender and tear apart when you twist the fork.  When the meat is done, let it cool on the counter.  Once the meat has cooled use an electric knife and slice the layer of fat off of the top of the brisket.  Next slice the meat into the thinnest slices that you can.  Return the sliced meat to the juices in the pan that you roasted the meat in.  Cover with foil and refrigerate. 

On the day you want to serve the brisket, take it out of the refrigerator three hours prior to serving.  Uncover and let the meat warm to room temperature.  This will take a couple of hours. One hour prior to serving, reheat the uncovered brisket, in it's juices, in a three hundred degree oven for about an hour.  I like to serve as sandwiches on hard rolls with the cooking juices as a side gravy.  Or you can serve the brisket as a main course with some good mashed potatoes and a green salad.