Beer-Braised Beef Hot Pretzels

Easier to prepare than it looks, this stuffed dough turns into a recipe sure to impress – and tastes fabulous

3 min read December 28, 2016

Food and prop styling by Renee Muller | Photography by Hudi Greenberger

I used brisket in this recipe but feel free to substitute for any meat that braises well — flanken and beef cheek would both be great options. The meat can be cooked a day or two in advance so the actual work is pretty minimal — just stuff the dough brush with baking soda and water mixture and bake!

INGREDIENTS

YIELDS 12 PRETZELS OR 24 PRETZEL BOMBS

3 lbs (1 1/3 kg) second-cut brisket
3 lbs (1 1/3 kg) pizza dough room temperature
1 cup ketchup
½ cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp hot paprika
1 cup dark lager or your favorite beer (I don’t have a favorite beer but this helps make it really soft)
2 oz (55 g) liquid smoke (optional but recommended)
½ cup baking soda
2 cups hot water coarse salt for sprinkling

Dipping Sauce

¼ cup whole-grain mustard
¼ cup dark lager
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp maple syrup

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C). Combine ketchup brown sugar vinegar garlic powder paprika beer and liquid smoke. Pour over the brisket and cover tightly. Bake for 3 hours or until the brisket is extremely tender. Using 2 forks shred the beef and return to the sauce. This can be made a day or two in advance.

While the beef is in the oven spread the baking soda on a baking sheet and bake for an hour then cool and store in an airtight container (this will keep for several weeks). This will amp up the alkalinity of the baking soda to create that pretzel-y crust on the dough.