Tender, flavorful brisket perfect for Jewish holidays
As the Jewish holidays approach, it's time to think about brisket.
My sister who cooks for the Jewish holidays every year (and plenty during the rest of the year) recently admitted to me that she had never made brisket, that it intimidated her. How to make sure it's flavorful? How to know how long to cook it? It all made her anxious.
This brisket recipe is straightforward, uses traditional seasonings and flavors, and results in a tender-but-still-sliceable piece of meat. Aside from setting aside a few hours for it to cook, it really takes little work. Don't you just love a main course that you can ignore while you're preparing the rest of the dinner?
Some recipes call for browning a brisket first, which is nice if you have extra time on your hands, but it's not necessary for a perfectly tender brisket. If possible, make the brisket a day ahead. This accomplishes several things: One, your main course is made and checked off the list. Two, you can scoop off any fat that has hardened on top of the sauce, resulting in a cleaner-tasting gravy. Three, cold brisket is easier to slice, and then you reheat the slices in the sauce. Four, the flavors have more time to meld and build (like soups and stews).
First-cut brisket means brisket with much of the fat cut off (but not all; you don't want that). If you get a bigger piece of meat and want to cut it into two pieces, you can overlap them in the pot. In general, brisket is resilient.