Brisket is not pork
December 30, 2022
Growing up I can only remember a handful of times that we ate brisket-Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and maybe Chanukah. I never asked for a recipe or thought to prepare it on my own. Yet, early in our marriage it became my husband’s favorite dish that my mom made during the Jewish holidays.
One afternoon, about 18 years ago, I was sitting in my friend’s kitchen and we were talking about what we each were going to make for Rosh Hashanah dinner. She told me that she was going to make a brisket. The recipe was from her mother-in-law. My friend is an amazing cook so I asked for the recipe. I had never made a brisket before.
She gave me the recipe and I asked, “what cut of meat should I buy?”
She looked at me oddly and said, “brisket.”
“But isn’t that a cut of pork?” I asked.
She again looked at me strangely and started laughing so hard it took her a minute to regain the ability to talk.“Tracey, brisket is a cut of beef, not pork.”
“Ohhhh,” I said. I turned bright red with embarrassment and started laughing.
To this day, she will call me every so often asking whether brisket is beef or pork. Now my mom uses the same recipe to make her brisket as well. Below is the recipe that I still use every time I make a brisket. The size of the brisket doesn’t matter as long as it fits into a pot that can go from the stove to the oven. If the brisket is large, you may have to cut it in half and brown each piece separately before putting them both back in the pot and continuing with the recipe.
Amy’s Brisket
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours plus 30 minutes to rest
Total time: 4 hours
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 brisket
1 large chopped onion
2-3 large cloves of garlic chopped
32 oz of beef broth
1 jar of chili sauce
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
In a large pot heat the oil on med-high until it is shimmering
Add the brisket, fatty side down first and brown. After 5-8 minutes flip the brisket and brown the other side.
Once both sides are browned, remove the brisket and add in the onions and garlic. Sauté until the onions are golden brown.
Place the brisket back fat side up in the pot on top of the onions and garlic.
Pour the beef broth into the pot around the brisket until the broth covers all but the top inch or so.
Pour the chili sauce on the top of the brisket and spread to cover the entire surface that is showing.
Roast in the oven covered on 300 for 3 hours.
Let the brisket stand for about 30 minutes before slicing
If desired, you can boil down the juices while slicing the brisket and pour over the sliced brisket before serving.