slow-braised beef brisket with a nightshade-free nomato BBQ sauce

Cookouts get complicated fast when you are the one person checking every label for tomato and nightshade before you can even sit down. This sauce solves that quietly. Orange juice and applesauce bring the sweetness, molasses brings the depth, vinegar brings the tang, and every part of it fits AIP Core. You get to fill your plate the same way everyone else does.

Beef holds a meaningful amount of iron, and iron is what lets your blood carry oxygen to tissue that is already working overtime to manage inflammation. A brisket this tough needs hours in a low oven before it turns tender, and that same slow heat is what makes the iron easiest for your body to use.

Pause before you sear it and acknowledge the animal that made this meal possible. Then let the oven do its quiet work for a few hours while you go on with your day, and come back to something worth the wait.

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 lb flat-cut beef brisket
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp solid cooking fat
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece ginger, grated
• 1/2 cup bone broth
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar (swapped in for red wine vinegar)
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 anchovy fillet
• parsley, for garnish, optional

Method

Heat the oven to a low 300F to 325F. Pat the brisket dry and season it all over with the sea salt.

Warm the cooking fat in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the brisket until it is deeply browned on both sides, then set it aside. Lower the heat, add the chopped onion, and cook until softened. Stir in the garlic and ginger for a minute, until fragrant.

Pour in the bone broth, orange juice, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, and molasses. Add the oregano, garlic powder, and anchovy fillet, and stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. The anchovy melts into the sauce and adds savory depth, not fishiness.

Return the brisket to the pan and spoon some liquid over it. Cover tightly and braise in the oven until the meat is fork-tender, about 3 to 4 hours, turning it once partway through.

Lift the brisket out and let it rest. Blend the pan liquid smooth into a BBQ sauce, then reduce it on the stovetop if you want it thicker. Slice the brisket against the grain, spoon the sauce over, and finish with parsley.

Instant Pot variation

Use the saute setting to sear the salted brisket in the cooking fat, then set it aside and soften the onion, garlic, and ginger. Add the bone broth, orange juice, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, molasses, oregano, garlic powder, and anchovy. Return the brisket, lock the lid, and cook at high pressure for about 60 to 75 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally. Blend the liquid into sauce and slice the brisket as above. The pressure-cook time is untested and worth checking as you go.

*Adapted from autoimmunewellness.com*