Honestly, you could make a delicious Jewish-style brisket by following my 7 Tips for Perfect Brisket without a recipe. Still, I do understand that it can be comforting to have a recipe as a guide, so here is the one I made this Rosh Hashanah.
Jewish-style brisket is food for a crowd. You really can’t make a tiny brisket for one or two people to eat for a single meal, though you can easily make it and freeze portions for several meals. Don’t let the price of the meat dissuade you from cooking brisket if you’re willing to spend $6 per person on a main dish. After all, how much would you pay for a fabulous beef stew meal in a restaurant?
My main brisket advice is simple. Don’t be a slave to the recipe. Whether creativity takes you on a detour or you find that your batch needs more liquid, use this recipe only as a guide. There are as many ways to make delicious Jewish-style brisket as there are brisket-lovers who cook it. Which liquids you choose (white wine versus red, all broth versus a combination of broth and wine), how you season it, and which vegetables you add are matters of personal taste.
Speaking of ingredients, don’t be put off by an ingredient’s “stand alone” taste when considering whether to add it. Dried figs? You may be surprised at how ingredients blend during slow cooking. Unless you add way too much (like ¼ cup of powdered ginger) or use an ingredient that doesn’t belong at all (fish sauce in Jewish-style brisket – no!!!!), you’re on firm ground when you experiment.
I don’t thicken my brisket gravy. However if you find the gravy too thin for your taste, you can thicken it using the directions in my post on how to make gravy.
Jewish-Style Brisket
Servings – 8-10 Cost – $35-40
Ingredients
- 4 ½ – 4 ¾ pounds of brisket cut of beef
- About ¼ – ½ cup of flour for dredging
- 3 – 4 tablespoons of oil
- 3 cups thinly sliced onions
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 – 3 teaspoons of fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- ¼ cup dried and chopped figs
- 1- 14 ounce can of tomatoes, including juice
- 1 cup beef broth (may add more as it cooks)
- 1 cup white wine (may add more as it cooks)
- 3 or more cups of “hard” vegetables cut into chunks – carrots, potatoes, turnips
Equipment
- Paper towel
- 1 large, heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, big enough to hold the brisket without bending it much. (I use a Creuset enamel-coated cast iron Dutch oven.) The brisket shrinks slightly during cooking.
- 2 large plates
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Large spoon
- Meat carving fork
- Large, sharp knife for cutting brisket when it is done
- Carving board with a rim to catch juices or a cutting board placed inside a rimmed cookie sheet
Preparation
- Place the oven racks to allow enough room for moving the large pot and its cover in and out of the oven. (If you have to remove racks, do it before the oven is heated.) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Dry the brisket with a paper towel. Resting the meat on one of the plates, sprinkle all sides with flour and pat it to dust off the excess.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the pot. Gently place the brisket in the pot, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and brown on a medium high heat on the stovetop for about 3-5 minutes per side, browning every surface. Once the meat has fully browned, remove it from the pot and add in 2 more tablespoons of oil.
- After the oil has heated, cook the onions for about 5 minutes on a medium-low heat until they start to become transparent. Add the garlic, ginger, thyme and figs and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and their juice, beef broth, and wine. (I used broth I had frozen in ice cube-sized pieces.) Stir those ingredients until combined.
- Return the brisket to the pot, spoon some liquid and tomatoes on top, cover it tightly and cook for 3-4 hours. About halfway through (1½ -2 hours into the cooking), add the chunks of hard vegetables, trying to push them in gently around the sides rather than just leaving them on the top of the meat. Continue cooking the brisket covered, until the meat is completely tender. Add more salt and pepper as necessary.
- Test the meat by spearing it with the carving fork; if the meat is fully cooked, a fork slides in without resistance. Take the meat out and place it on a cutting board. Let it rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Brisket always tastes better the second day, so I prefer to cook mine a day before serving it. After cooking, separate the meat from the liquid and vegetables, refrigerate all of them, and slice the meat the next day. Cooling the brisket and gravy makes it easier to remove the fat; you can easily scoop it off the top of the cooled gravy and cut it off the meat as you slice it.
I often serve Jewish-style brisket with kugel, potatoes, or the wide kugel noodles simply boiled. Another favorite side dish of mine is kasha varnishkes. Also, I often add vegetables such as green beans, parsnips and even pieces of winter squash as sides for the meat-based main course.
Katerina Delidimou (Culinary Flavors) says
Jewish kitchen has so many similar dishes with Greek! I love your stew! Thanks again for coming and linking up at The Weekend Social. All posts get pinned on our pinterest board! Please be sure to come back next week starting Thursdays at 9PM EST on culinaryflavors.gr! I hope to see you there!
motherwouldknow says
Katerina,
Thanks for stopping by – yes, Greek and (European-style) Jewish food are quite similar in many ways. Glad you liked the brisket.
Laura
Shannon @ Dinner from the Heart says
This looks so delicious. I never in a million years would have thought to put figs in with brisket. I’m sure it gives it a wonderful flavor. This is on my list for the next time I need something to serve a crowd. 🙂
motherwouldknow says
Figs and prunes are common in Eastern European Jewish main dishes with meat. I’ll try another to put another dish on the blog one called cholent. The version I love is a mixture of beef, sweet potatoes, prunes and carrots – amazing!
Dana @ Foodie Goes Healthy says
This brisket looks delicious. I have a family recipe that I have been wanting to update, and your recipe gives me lots of ideas. It’s time for me to ditch the ketchup and onion soup mix.
motherwouldknow says
Dana, I’ll be standing next to you as you ditch the ketchup and onion soup. Call me anytime!
Michelle Nash says
I have always wanted to try brisket Jewish style. I have only had it bbq style. Pinning. It looks utterly delicious.
motherwouldknow says
Michelle, It’s the absolute best comfort food, especially with challah and lots of vegetables.
karen @ karen's kitchen stories says
Laura, I love a good brisket. This is something I’m definitely making!
motherwouldknow says
Nothing like a good brisket and I’m on a campaign to make sure Jewish style doesn’t take a back seat to barbecue. Of course my Southern Jewish friends say Jewish style is barbecue:)
Manila Spoon says
That brisket sure looks moist and comfortingly delicious! Pinned and added to my must-try list. 🙂
motherwouldknow says
Wonderful – hope you try it. Brisket is comfort food for me no matter what season we’re in.
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer says
I have never made brisket before, but my husband keeps mentioning it. My mother-in-law made a huge ham for Easter dinner and with only two people who eat meat in the house, it just was not worth it. Time to convince her to try brisket!
motherwouldknow says
Brisket is great for many reasons, including that it freezes really well. You can make a small one, slice it and freeze whatever you don’t eat.
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Mmmm, I love me some brisket, and I’m definitely intrigued by the additions of ginger and fig. Sounds tasty!
motherwouldknow says
Brandon, You should try it – the fig and ginger are flavor "undertones" – there but only to boost the overall effect. Scrumptious!!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
I’m all over the idea of fig in here! Wonderful idea!
Laura says
Dorothy – It’s unusual but turns out to be an excellent combination.
Manila Spoon says
Love the zing from the powdered ginger and the sweetness from the figs – what a delicious comfort food! By the way, I love your website’s new look! 🙂
Laura says
Thanks Abigail. I do love this combination.
Mary Brookstein says
I am a “good Catholic girl” married to a “good Jewish boy” but we were in our mid-50’s when we married, 5 years ago. I had never had brisket (except bbq, which I did not care for) until we married. My sister-in-law provided me with their mom’s brisket recipe which is an onion soup-ketchup-beer recipe. It is okay but I substitute red wine for the beer. I have an idea there are better ways to make it but my concern is the figs and ginger combination. My husband and I do not care for bbq sauce as most of them are sweet and we prefer not to combine sweet with meat. Does this small amount of fig/ginger make it sweet or just give a hint of flavor, in your opinion? I am dying to try this as I have a brisket in the fridge to make this week. My main issue with the family recipe for brisket is that the MEAT does not have flavor. It seems slightly dry even after letting it sit before carving and the flavor is in the sauce, not the meat. I am going to give this a try and see if the flavor combination makes it for us. I can guarantee you it won’t go to waste as long as it is brisket as there are plenty of ways to use it as leftovers.
I will post after I try it and let you know how I like it. I have been looking for an alternative Jewish-style recipe so this just looks like it could be exactly what is missing in the flavor department. Since Hubby loves the family recipe, I am sure if I sub the ketchup for the fig/ginger combination it will be fine, as ketchup is somewhat sweet.
Laura says
Mary, I’m so delighted that you found my blog and appreciate it. I think the fig and ginger give the brisket only a hint of flavor, but if you’re concerned about what they add to the mix, I’d say leave them out entirely or halve the proportions. Subbing ketchup for them might work, but there is a lot of tomato in the sauce as is, so you might use a bit less of the tomatoes if you’re going to add ketchup. Do let me know what you end up doing an how it works out. PS – If you’re looking for general directions for Jewish-style brisket without a recipe, check out https://motherwouldknow.com/7-tips-for-perfect-jewish-style-brisket/ Best regards, Laura
Mary Brookstein says
Laura,
Thanks for the link I checked that out when I was reading your recipe so I had already seen your 7 Tips. They were very helpful and I am so glad you make things so easy! I am not sure how to say Thank you other than Toda, so I hope that is acceptable.
Mary Brookstein says
I made the brisket for dinner tonight and it was hit with all of us. Everyone agreed that the sweetness of the figs and the ginger did not overpower the flavor of the brisket nor did it make the brisket sweeter than we like. I cut the 10lb brisket in half and followed your recipe for one and Hilah Cooking’s for the other. Hilah’s requires longer cooking as it is not cooked in liquid and is still in the oven. It will be perfect for tomorrow’s dinner as all of the portion I made your way is gone in one meal. Since brisket is so rich I did not expect it to be completely gone but was pleased that it went over as well as it did. Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely save this as a keeper.