Brisket

Updated April 16, 2024

Brisket
Kelly Marshall for The New York Times
Total Time
12 ¼ hours
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
4 hours, plus overnight chilling
Rating
4(583)
Comments
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For Jewish holidays, especially Passover, when there is a big crowd for dinner, I always make brisket. This recipe was carried down in my mother’s family, but updated a bit by me in my new cookbook “My Life in Recipes” (Alfred A. Knopf, 2024). The secrets to a good brisket are simple: Slowly braise it in ample liquid, and add lots of onions for flavor. The brisket can be eaten straight from the oven, as soon as it’s cooked, but is best prepared in advance to let the flavors blend together. Refrigerating overnight makes it easy to skim and discard the fat that accumulates on the surface of the gravy. You can strain the sauce if you like, but do keep the onions and carrots. Serve this with matzo farfel, egg noodles, potato latkes or kasha varnishkes.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings
  • 5pounds beef brisket
  • 2garlic cloves, peeled
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3medium yellow onions, cut into chunks
  • 1(15-ounce) can diced or crushed tomatoes
  • 2celery stalks with leaves, chopped
  • 1fresh bay leaf
  • 1fresh thyme sprig
  • 1fresh rosemary sprig
  • 2cups dry red wine
  • 6 to 8carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally
  • ¼cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

717 calories; 51 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 22 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 42 grams protein; 940 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    In a 9-by-13-inch Pyrex baking dish, rub the brisket with the garlic (you can leave the garlic in the dish), then sprinkle it all over with 2 teaspoons salt and about 1 teaspoon pepper. Lay the brisket fat side up. Top this with even layers of the onions, tomatoes, celery, bay leaf, thyme and rosemary. Pour the red wine on top, then cover with aluminum foil and seal tightly.

  3. Step 3

    Transfer to the oven and bake for about 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes or so with the pan juices.

  4. Step 4

    Add the carrots and half the parsley, and bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes more, or until the carrots are cooked and the beef is tender. To test for doneness: Stick a fork in the flat (thinner or leaner) end of the brisket. When there is a light pull on the fork as it is removed from the meat, it is fork-tender.

  5. Step 5

    Bring the meat to room temperature in the sauce, then remove it to a cutting board and trim all visible fat from the brisket. Look for the grain — the muscle lines of the brisket — and, with a sharp knife, cut slices across the grain about ¼-inch thick.

  6. Step 6

    Return the sliced brisket to the baking dish with the sauce, nestling the meat into the liquid, and refrigerate overnight or freeze. When you’re ready to serve, reheat it, covered, in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes.

  7. Step 7

    If the gravy needs reducing, put the meat on a serving platter, strain the liquid into a saucepan and reduce the gravy over medium heat until it has the desired consistency; season to taste. Pour some over the meat, and put the rest in a gravy boat. Cover the meat with the carrots (and onions, if desired) and the remaining parsley, and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5
583 user ratings
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Comments

I really wish folks would understand that the recipe is just how this person cooked it. If you're a good cook, you can modify it however you want, and that includes the vessel in which you cook the brisket...

Why isn’t this being prepared in a Dutch oven? Putting it in a Pyrex dish is just not right. Also I would slice the onions instead of chunks.

It is much easier to cut the meat when it is cold. Ditto with the fat skimming, when it's a solid. I only reheat the meat after those steps.

I made the recipe as written, but in a Dutch oven with an inverted foil lid. I turned the heat down to 300 after the first hour or so because the gravy was boiling. The meat is so flavorful and tender. I have made many briskets and I think I have found a winner!

DELICIOUS Just needed a little more salt

Do this in a large slow cooker and it works beautifully. Start for 3 hours on high then finish for 4-5 hours on low. Classic brisket. I also use a large deep pyrex w foil too and it works just fine as well. I do toss carrots and or potatoes around it sometimes and have added prunes too which almost melt away to bring a change in taste.

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Credits

Adapted from “My Life in Recipes” by Joan Nathan (Alfred A. Knopf, 2024)

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