This Holiday Brisket is one of my more popular brisket recipes for the Jewish holidays. It is inspired by a classic Ashkenazi sweet-and-sour brisket, but the flavors here are more subtle. This brisket is savory, aromatic, and subtly sweet with just a touch of tang. It’s always a crowd pleaser!
Jews living in Eastern Europe rarely had the money to buy better cuts of meat. They learned to make do with cheaper kosher cuts, like brisket, oft overlooked for its toughness. Cooking the brisket low and slow breaks it down, resulting in a tender piece of meat.
This Jewish tradition continues today, and brisket is often served for special holidays and occasions. On Shabbat, it is added to a pot with vegetables and potatoes to make a slow-cooked meaty stew known as cholent. At Rosh Hashanah, it is added to root vegetables with sweet dried fruits and slow cooked into tzimmes.
When Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants came to the United States, they brought their love of brisket with them. Jewish deli owners pickled the brisket to make corned beef or pastrami. But for the holidays, nothing could replace the comforting, hearty flavor of an oven-roasted brisket.
How to make brisket tender
The secret to a cooking brisket is twofold– brisket fat and time are key for tender and delicious results. Choose a cut with nice marbling; the more fat you can see, the more tender the meat will be. If buying grass fed (which tends to be leaner), make sure there is a fat layer and don’t let the butcher trim it. And of course, allow yourself plenty of time to cook your brisket. If you can, make it a day or two ahead– the flavor will improve with time. More tips here: How to Cook Brisket – Tips and Recipes
My Holiday Brisket slow cooks for hours, so the final product flakes tenderly and simply melts in your mouth. The sauce is rich and flavorful, and the slow cooked vegetables are soft, like butter. The flavor is perfect for any special celebration, but particularly suited to the Jewish holidays. Enjoy!
What is traditionally served with Brisket?
Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary
Roasted Rosemary Balsamic Tzimmes
Butternut Squash and Crispy Kale Bake
Green Beans with Balsamic Date Reduction Feta and Pine Nuts
Kale and Roasted Beet Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing
Throwback Recording: In this radio interview with Joan Hamburg, we talked about this very brisket recipe, as well as Passover cooking. You can listen by clicking the triangle “play” button below.
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Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
Holiday Brisket
Ingredients
- 5-7 pounds brisket, first or second cut (do not trim fat - especially if it's grass fed)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 large brown onions, peeled and sliced
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 pound celery, peeled and sliced
- 28 ounces tomatoes - whole, diced, or crushed (1 large can)
- 10 peeled whole garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup vinegar (I like apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar works too)
- 2 cups beef or chicken broth, divided
- Salt and pepper
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Rinse the brisket and pat dry. Rub both sides of the meat with black pepper and salt. Heat a large skillet over a medium flame on the stovetop. Drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil into the pan. Brown the brisket on both sides—it will take 4-5 minutes per side. A large brisket may overlap the edges of the skillet; you can brown it in stages, letting half the brisket overlap the edge, then adjusting it to brown the other half.
- While brisket is browning, pour canned tomatoes, garlic, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and 1 ½ cups broth into a blender or food processor. Add 2 tsp of salt (or 1 tsp if using a salted kosher cut of brisket) and ¼ tsp of black pepper. Pulse till garlic is chopped small and all ingredients are combined.
- Remove the browned brisket from the skillet.
- Drizzle 2 tbsp more olive oil in the pan and add the sliced onions. Saute them over medium high for a few minutes until they begin to soften and shrink in size.
- Add the carrot and celery slices. Sauté for another 5-6 minutes until the onions are soft and browning and the vegetables are fragrant.
- Pour the vegetables out of the skillet and onto a plate, reserve. Add 1/2 cup beef stock or chicken stock into the skillet and let it heat up. Use a spatula to gently scrape up any brown bits and pan juices that are clinging to the skillet. Turn off heat.
- Pour half of the tomato mixture into a large roasting pan.
- Place brisket on top of the tomato sauce, fat cap facing up.
- Pour the sauteed vegetables across the top of the brisket, along with the broth and brown bits.
- Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the top of the vegetables and brisket.
- Cover the roasting pan tightly with a layer of parchment paper followed by a layer of foil. The parchment forms a protective layer between the meat and sauce (which is acidic) and the foil.
- Place brisket in the oven. Let it roast undisturbed for 5 to 7 hours. It will take about 1 hour per pound of meat (leaner cuts of meat like grass fed may take longer—test for doneness). Brisket is ready when it flakes tenderly when pierced with a fork. You can let it cook even longer for a soft, shredded texture if that’s what you prefer. When fully cooked, the brisket will have shrunk in size.I recommend making this brisket ahead; allowing it to sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 nights will improve the flavor. If you would like to do this, skip ahead to where it says “Make Ahead Directions.” If you are not making ahead, continue reading.
- Remove brisket from the pan and let it rest on the cutting board fat-side up for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the sauce and vegetables from the roasting pan into a smaller saucepan. Skim fat from the surface of the cooking sauce, then reheat the sauce till hot (not boiling).Cut fat cap off the brisket, then cut the brisket in thin slices against the grain. Serve topped with hot tomato sauce and softened veggies.
- Make Ahead Directions: Open the foil to vent and let the brisket slowly return to room temperature. Switch the brisket and sauce to a ceramic or glass dish (metal from the roasting pan can react with the acid in the sauce, which can cause an off taste if left to sit). Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Let the brisket chill overnight, or up to two days. You can also freeze the brisket if you prefer.
- 1-2 hours before serving, remove the brisket from the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. The fat in the sauce will have risen to the top, turned white, and solidified. Use a spoon to scoop the fat bits out of the sauce and discard.
- Take the brisket out of the dish and brush any excess sauce back into the dish. Place brisket on a cutting board, fat-side up. Slice the meat cold—first cut the fat cap off the brisket, then cut the brisket in thin slices against the grain.
- Return the sliced meat to the dish and spoon sauce over it, making sure to spoon a little sauce between each slice. Cover the dish with a layer of parchment paper, then with foil, and place it in the oven.
- Let the brisket roast for 45-60 minutes until heated through. You can cook the brisket even longer to let it become more tender, if you wish. Serve with hot sauce and softened veggies. If you prefer, you can use a slow cooker to reheat. Set the slow cooker to high heat and cook until heated through, about 1 hour.
Nutrition
Hi Tori……I have used your fabulous recipe for the holiday brisket with wonderful results in the past
….but this year using a flat cut. Do I need to do anything different with this cut to achieve the same results
Hi, I want to make this for 6 people so I am getting a 2.5- 3.0 lb. first cut. But when I change the servings number in the recipe it doesn’t change the cooking time calculation. It still says 7 hours. Is that correct? And, if I put it in a slow cooker instead, would it be low? And for how long? THANKS VERY MUCH!!
Hi Denise, the servings calculator is not always accurate, that’s why I have a disclaimer about it at the bottom of the post. It won’t adjust cook time or anything in the instructions, only proportions of ingredients. You likely won’t need 7 hours of cook time for this small a brisket, but it’s really something you need to check every hour or so to determine if it’s become tender enough to your liking… it’s best that I don’t give you an exact time, since people tend to prefer different levels of tenderness. Slow cooker should work great, and yes always cook on low. Brisket turns out the most tender when it’s low and slow. I would start checking after 5-6 hours in a slow cooker. One more tip — for 6 people you may want to get around 4 pounds. The brisket shrinks a lot as it cooks, and people tend to really enjoy this recipe… plus the leftovers taste even better the next day!
Hi, do you think I could substitute coconut sugar for the brown sugar and fresh lemon juice for the vinegar?
Yes, you could.
Hello! I’m making this tomorrow. I could find a large brisket so bought two smaller 3lb cuts. Can I cook them together in the same roasting pan?
Sorry I didn’t get to this comment earlier — yes, cooking two in the same pan should work just fine!
Made this once without garlic it was lovely. Ty
No chicken broth on hand now can I make with miso vegetable broth or skip broth entirely?
Vegetable broth works great, too! I’ve never tried it with miso, but have used regular veggie broth with good results. You can use water in a pinch, but flavor won’t be quite the same.
Made this for Rosh Hashanah and WOW! Perfect recipe thank you! I did everything in an 8qt Le Crueset Dutch oven. It was so delicious Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Tori. I plan to make this recipe for their holiday this year and will be using an 11-pound brisket. Should I double the recipe or use 1 and 1/2? Thanks.
I would double it.
I’ve made this several times, and it’s the best brisket I’ve ever made. But this time, the meat was tough. I cooked 1 hr per pound at 300 in a large foil pan lined with parchment paper under and over. I used brisket from Costco. Used a flat cut, trimmed very little fat off of it. What did I do wrong?
Hi Laurie, typically if it’s still tough, it needs more cooking. I’m not sure what it was about this particular cut that made it tougher than most… was it grass fed meat, perhaps? That is leaner and requires longer cooking. But you say very little fat was trimmed, so it leads me to believe that it may have just needed more time!
Hi Tori 🙂 I made this last shabbat and it was a HUGE hit. It was my first brisket ever! (it’s usually my mom’s thing). I want to make it again for pesach, but was wondering if I could use a Silver Tip Roast rather than a brisket due to cost of meat right now. Thank you!
Hi Dova! Great question. Everything is so expensive now! The trouble with silver tip is that it’s usually trimmed of most of the fat, and fat provides moisture and flavor here. It’s worth trying, but the cook time might be shorter, and the flavor/texture will be a bit different… without testing it, I can’t advise you on the actual cook time it would need.
Can I make this without the sugar? Thank you!
The brown sugar is pretty central to the flavor profile here. If you’re looking for a sugar-free option, I recommend one of the following:
Braised Beef Brisket
Savory Slow Cooker Brisket
At what point do you trim the fat if you’re making it 2 days ahead?
Thank you!
At any point it can be trimmed.
Oh my!
I’ve made a BBQ brisket every year for Chanukah for 20+ years.
I was at a Shabbat dinner where the host served this so I thought I’d try it myself!
I’ve been converted! So, so juicy and NOT dry! Hooray!
The only thing I did differently was not blend the tomatoes and all that in the blender. It was perfectly fine.
I also added a couple of parsnips to the veggies.
An added suggestion: I googled exactly how to slice the brisket and the video really helped my husband. It was so much easier slicing it cold AND preparing it the day before.
A 5- star recipe.
I tried this for Hanukkah tonight but used a slow cooker instead. I seared the meat before setting it in the crock pot. It turned out really well, very tender brisket. Thanks for posting this recipe.
Can this recipe be adapted to slow cooker method? What suggestions do you have if yes.
Hi! What size roasting pan do you use?
Made this for the first time but for the reheat there is very little sauce concerned it will dry out
You can add water or low sodium stock to the sauce to stretch it. If it seems too thin, add a touch of cold water mixed with potato starch or corn starch to thicken.