If you’ve ever come to my house for dinner around the holidays, you know that my hosting crutch is lasagna. I make it over and over, for big events and cozy Saturdays alike, whenever I’m called upon to cook for a crowd. I hate the process of picking a main dish—I’m too impatient to dig for something new that feels just right. I want drama! Something that lands on the table with gravitas! And I don’t want to spend another minute thinking about it! So I make lasagna. Again.
The problem with lasagna is that it involves all the entertaining pitfalls I try to avoid: It’s time-intensive, deeply hands-on, and dirties nearly every bowl and spare surface in my kitchen. Shouldn’t I know better than to stress myself out like that?
Isn’t there a way to give myself a break without sacrificing grandeur? This year, I finally put my foot down and hunted for an answer.
I developed this Brisket Bourguignon recipe initially for Thanksgiving, as a way to avoid putting turkey on the table (I’m one of those). But in a delightful twist, it has also helped me avoid putting lasagna on the table, as it checks every holiday-hosting box my security pasta does, and then some.
It’s a one-pot wonder that only requires 45 minutes of assembly. This means you won’t dirty many dishes, and after the initial sear-and-sauté routine, you’ll pop the lid on your Dutch oven and tuck it into the oven for four hours. Brisket loves a long cook, stewing until delicate and shreddy, begging to be scooped up with a bite of mashed potatoes. Let the red wine, garlic, and herbs—all the flavors of the classic French stew—work their magic while you do literally anything else.
It’s also entirely make-ahead. If you have time to do everything the same day you’d like to serve it, that’s fantastic (with the benefit of imbuing your house with the intoxicating smell of braised beef before company arrives). But the brisket is even better the next day, after the flavors have had time to relax. I like to slice the meat after it cools slightly, then return the pieces to the pot, cover, and refrigerate. The next day you’ll only need 15 minutes to reheat the whole pot on the stove (keep the lid on, so you retain all the gorgeous juices). You can do this with no stain risk to your cute party outfit, which for me, is a major win.
And finally, the end result is undeniably celebratory. Substantial when served directly out of the Dutch oven, but refined thanks to dainty pearl onions (use frozen!) and a sprinkling of parsley, it’s the main to solve all your hosting problems and make you look like a pro while doing it (plus it’s just as good without the bacon, if that’s your bag). To all my friends worried about being fed yet another béchamel, be of good cheer: I’m shelving the lasagna noodles for now, in favor of this stunner.
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