Marilyn’s brisket

Marilyn’s Brisket

Full Disclosure—You will never see another recipe from me like this one. I don’t cook this way.

The only exception to my made-from-scratch cooking is my mother’s brisket. Beloved by four generations of my family, this, my dears, is the stuff that brisket dreams are made of.

A classic example of 1960s cooking, it leaves “more time for mother” by utilizing store-bought convenience foods. My brother (the chef) and I have tried to update her recipe, make it more bougie, using a rich beef stock and lots of caramelized onions. It was good, but it wasn’t Mom’s. There’s no way around using that packet of Lipton’s onion soup mix.

I have family members and friends who come from far, far away, for holidays, and I know it’s the brisket that draws them.

It’s the only thing that almost tempts my vegetarian kids to go off the wagon.

(I’ve promised to try to develop a version that uses seitan instead of beef. Watch this space!)

I’ve tried other recipes. I do a very nice brisket for Shabbat, braised in wine with plenty of mushrooms and other vegetables-a hearty and flavorful one dish meal. But that’s a very different dish. At holidays, I’m generally serving a plethora of other dishes with the brisket, making the vegetables in that recipe redundant.

You won’t find any dull, grey/brown meat and gravy here. This super-simple recipe produces a richly colored, flavorful sauce, and meat that’s so tender you can cut it with a fork.

So, grab your gingham apron and whip up what is, in my opinion, the best Jewish-style brisket you’ll ever eat.

A note of caution: This needs to be made a day in advance for it to come out perfectly, so plan accordingly. It also freezes exceptionally well.

Marilyn’s Brisket

For Rosh Hashanah, Passover, or any time…except for Yom Kippur…

If you want to have a lot of gravy, for serving with noodles for example, you can double the sauce ingredients.

Ingredients:

  • ½ a first-cut beef brisket, about 6 lbs. A thicker piece is best.

  • 1 packet Lipton’s onion soup mix

  • 1 bottle of beer, any kind. (K for P beer is available)

  • 1 small can Contadina tomato paste (original, plain)

Method:

Note: If you’re using a whole brisket, about 12 lbs, cut it in half horizontally and use two pots. Double the ingredients, following the directions, for each pot.

  • Pre-heat a Dutch oven on the stove top, over medium-high heat.

  • When the pan is hot, put in the brisket, fat side down. Do not add any oil to the pot. Sear the meat for about 10 minutes until it’s colored a rich brown, then turn the meat over and brown it on the other side, I find this is most easily done with tongs. Don’t worry about the meat being cooked through; it will be braising for a long time.

  • Open a packet of Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix. There’s a kosher version, as well as a k for p version. Don’t use any other brand, as the flavor is just wrong.

  • Dump the contents of the packet over the meat.

  • Immediately, pour a bottle of beer over the soup mix. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pot, and gently simmer for thirty minutes.

  • At the end of thirty minutes, use your tongs to turn the meat over to the other side and put the cover back on. Simmer for another thirty minutes. Continue to simmer the brisket, turning it every 30 minutes, until a fork easily slips into the meat. This should take 1 ½ hours to 2 hours, depending on the thickness, the size, and the initial tenderness of the meat.

  • Once it’s fork tender, turn the brisket for one last time. Add in ½ can of Contadina tomato paste and an equal amount of water. Stir it carefully with a wooden spoon to combine, Don’ be concerned if there are some lumps of tomato past. They will melt in as it cooks.

  • Replace the cover on the pot and very gently simmer for another 30 minutes. Check from time to time to make sure the sauce isn’t boiling out. Add a little more water to the pot if necessary.

  • Remove the pot from the stove and allow the meat to cool before taking it out of the pot. If you try to take it out too soon, it will fall apart. Once cool, put the brisket into a rectangular pryrex or other oven-safe dish, and cover it with plastic wrap. Separate the gravy from the meat and store the gravy in its own container. Refrigerate them both overnight.

  • The next day, take the meat out of the fridge and, using a sharp knife, slice it thinly, against the grain. This is important. If you slice it with the grain it will be stringy and less tender. As you slice the brisket, lay the slices back into the Pyrex dish, overlapping them somewhat.

  • Take the gravy out of the fridge and skim off any excess fat that has collected at the top.

  • Pour the gravy evenly over the sliced brisket and cover the dish tightly with foil.

  • Return it to the refrigerator or freeze it for later use. (Freezing the brisket does not diminish the quality in the slightest, and the ability to freeze it makes this a great do-ahead dish for holidays)

  • Forty five minutes before serving, preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the brisket for 30 minutes, covered. The meat will absorb some of the sauce and be fabulous.

  • And…it will be even better the next day! It’s hard to believe possible, but if you have so much left over (it goes a long way) that you’ve actually grown tired of eating it, pop the rest into the freezer and save it for Sukkot, when you can make my Brisket and Barley Soup. It’s amazing.