Help! Emergency brisket question!

[ElenaRose]

I am making 11 pounds of brisket (3 pieces) for seder. I thought I would finally break out my 9.5 qt le creuset, but one piece covers the entire bottom. Once they are seared and I've sauteed the onions and spices in the pot can I stack the meat (with spice mixture between them and over them) and pour the glaze and broth over it all and put it in the oven for a few hours or do I need to do a separate pan for each piece?

Thx

[fourunder]

Save yourself and use a roasting pan and cover with foil.....

[ferret]

Braising is baking in the presence of moisture, so a tightly covered pot will be sufficient. The tenderizing (conversion of chewy collagen to tender gelatin) occurs in during a "low and slow" cooking process and moisture conducts the heat more effectively than roasting (although you can get the same tenderizing effect from barbecue/smoking where the brisket is not immersed).

So short answer is: don't worry about full immersion and the meat will also release liquid during the cooking process.

[dave_c]

How much liquid are you using? Enough to cover (or come close to the top of) the beef stack or enough to fill half the pot?

You should be fine to stack... with less liquid you may need to rotate the stacks a couple times.

[valerie]

+1. I do it all the time. Stack them, but rotate the pieces every so often.

[ElenaRose]

I should add that it's an emergency because I need to get it cooked today and I already have the second piece searing right now!