Here is a decidedly different take on your usual holiday brisket. Pomegranates are eaten at Rosh Hashanah as part of the “new fruit” blessing because of their layered symbolism and meaning in the Jewish religion. This Pomegranate Molasses Brisket is a tasty way to integrate pomegranates into your Rosh Hashanah menu. The marinated meat is slowly cooked to a tender, flaky texture. The slow cooking process infuses the brisket with the rich flavor of pomegranate molasses, garlic, and spice.
I recommend using my recipe for homemade pomegranate molasses in this recipe. Bottled pomegranate molasses can vary greatly in terms of sweetness/tartness and flavor. My recipe is simple, and it produces a beautiful molasses with the perfect ratio of sweet to tart. It works fabulous as a marinade for this brisket, and it won’t take you long to whip up a batch. If you prefer to use bottled, taste the marinade before you use it on the meat… if it tastes too tart, add a little brown sugar to counteract the tartness. The marinade shouldn’t be super sweet, but it shouldn’t be unbearably tart either.
Serve the brisket over freshly cooked saffron rice garnished with pomegranate seeds and fresh mint for a pretty presentation. This is a colorful, beautiful and exotic option for your Rosh Hashanah menu, or for any special occasion. Enjoy!
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Pomegranate Molasses Brisket
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds beef brisket
- 1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 large sweet onions, sliced
- Fresh mint leaves (optional, for garnish)
- Pomegranate seeds (optional, for garnish)
NOTES
Instructions
- Rinse the brisket and pat dry, then place in a ceramic or glass oven-safe roasting dish. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together pomegranate molasses, ¼ cup olive oil, minced garlic cloves, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne pepper.
- Pour half of the marinade over the top of the brisket, making sure the entire surface is covered in an even layer. Turn the brisket over and pour the other half of the marinade over the brisket so both sides are evenly coated.Cover the dish with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator overnight, or up to two days.
- When ready to cook, preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Take the brisket out of the marinade, scraping any excess marinade back into the roasting dish. Place the brisket into the skillet. Brown the brisket on both sides (about 5 minutes per side).
- While brisket is browning, stir ¼ cup of water into the marinade at the bottom of the roasting dish to make it more liquid.
- Transfer brisket back to the roasting dish on top of the liquid marinade, making sure the fatty layer is on top. Place sliced onions into the hot skillet. Saute the onions for 10-15 minutes, scraping up the brown bits as the onions cook.
- When onions are nicely browned and caramelized, pour them over the top of the brisket along with the brown bits and oil from the skillet. Use a spoon to scoop up some of the marinade from the bottom of the dish; spoon marinade over the top of the onions.
- Cover the roasting dish with foil. Place brisket in the oven and let it slowly roast for 4-5 hours. It will take about 1 hour per pound of meat (leaner cuts of meat may take longer—test for doneness). If your cut of brisket is very lean, you may need a little more water to keep it moist while it cooks. Check halfway through cooking and add more water to the bottom of the dish, if needed. The brisket will shrink by about 1/3 in size as it cooks. Brisket is ready when it flakes tenderly. You can let it cook even longer if you like a soft, shredded texture.
- Scrape the cooked onions off the top of the brisket. Reserve.
- Remove brisket from the pan and place it on a cutting board.Cover the brisket with foil to keep it warm. Let it rest for 20-30 minutes before slicing; this will allow the juices to distribute through the meat.
- Strain pan drippings from the roasting pan into a saucepan and allow to cool.
- Once the pan drippings have cooled slightly, you will see the clear fat rise to the surface of the liquid. Skim as much of this fat off of the surface as you can.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the reserved onions into the cooking liquid. This will thicken the sauce and add flavor. If you'd like a stronger, more pronounced pomegranate flavor, you can also blend in an additional 1 tbsp of pomegranate molasses (optional). Warm the sauce in a small saucepan on the stovetop. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cut fat cap off the brisket, then cut the brisket in thin slices against the grain.
- Place brisket slices into a serving dish. Pour the warmed sauce over the brisket slices.
- My favorite way to serve this brisket is sliced over freshly cooked saffron rice. I like to garnish it with fresh pomegranate seeds (arils) and fresh mint for a colorful and aromatic presentation.
Nutrition
I am so upset with myself! I screwed this up with old pomegranate molasses! 🤦🏻♀️ If I had tasted it, I would’ve realized it had turned to vinegar! In any case, I semi-fixed it with a ton of extra brown sugar and honey. But this recipe is incredible and I will definitely be making it again! I love the flavour from the onions and how blending them makes the gravy so thick! I’m not a fan of jus or thin gravy, so this is perfect for me!
Love this recipe … and so does everyone I serve it to. Just made it for the third or fourth time with a 12lb brisket with homemade pomegranate molasses. Cooked it in a 275 degree oven for hours and meat is lovely but unfortunately all the molasses burned into a sticky mess. I was left with nothing but grease in the bottom of the pan. Any ideas why that happened? I’m not worried, I will sauté more onions and use the last of the pomegranate molasses to make a sauce. Thanks.
With a brisket that size (very large) you need a very long time to cook it to tenderness (as you said hours) – the sauce recipe is written for a smaller brisket. You’ll need to add more liquid next time you cook one so large, to avoid it from drying out/burning on the bottom. Glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
Can you shorten the marinade?
The longer the marinade the more flavorful it will be – but yes, you can shorten it if you like.
Hi-
My trial brisket is reheating. Upon my initial tasting, it was definitely missing salt. I know you mention salting it before serving. Will that be enough even if I didn’t use kosher meat (sorry)? I was hoping to make this for the holiday.
Thanks,
Daphne
The salt flavor should come from the sauce you’re making on stovetop… adjust the saltiness of the sauce to taste before pouring over the meat and serving.
Thanks! Happy and healthy new year!
L’shana tova!
Can this be made in an instant pot?
Hi Yana, Tori’s assitant Ashley here. We have not used an Instant Pot for any of Tori’s recipes, and unfortunately cannot advise.
I made this for the first time this year for Rosh Hashanah. My family and our guests absolutely loved it! Thank you, Tori.
Hi! What type of brisket did you use ? First or second cut?
Nicole I usually use first cut, but I ask them NOT to trim the excess fat.
Just made Brisket ‘& it looks & smells incredible thank you!! What’s the best way to freeze? In or out of the sauce?
In sauce works great! Glad you like how it turned out! 🙂
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What are your thoughts about putting this in the crock pot, skipping the browning portion? I’ve made it exactly as written several times and love it but was thinking about a little less prep :)! Thanks!
Hi Suzanne, Toris’ assistant Ashley here! We have not made this particular recipe in the crock pot, so I’m afraid I cannot say how it would turn out. Let us know if you give it a try!
How’d it turn out in the crock pot? I plan to do it as well!
Hi Tori
Can I use an iron Dutch Oven for this recipe? With thanks!
Karen
Yes that will work find Karen. Enjoy!
Hi Tori
I can’t wait to try your pomegranate molasses brisket for the first night of Hannukah. Is it OK to use an iron Dutch Oven, instead of glass or ceramic? Thanks so much, Tori!
Karen
Absolutely Karen. Enjoy!
Hi 2 years later and have been making this brisket to everyone’s satisfaction. Actually everyone’s rave reviews. Have a dilemma-
I bought 3 2nd cut briskets 2 about 4 pounds and 1 about 2 pounds
I put them in separate 9×13 pyrex baking dishes and my oven only fits 2 on one rack. Can I put all of them in an All-Clad roaster and one on top of the other?
I browned all 3 with onions and put one in the fridge until the other 2 are done. Any other suggestions?
Phyllis I think they will be fine in the roaster, but always better to lay them side-by-side rather than piling them up. Maybe give yourself some extra cook time in case the crowded pan doesn’t cook as quickly. Another option is a slow cooker, do you have one? If yes you can cook one of the briskets in it on low for 8-10 hours.
can’t wait to try it! sounds amazing!
Update: just to let people know that also shoulder the recipd comes out really good! Thanks for this amazing recipe. A keeper!
Fabulous Joana! Thanks for reporting back 🙂
Hi Tori,
Can I do this recipe with shoulder instead of brisket? would the cooking method be different?
Thanks!
Hi Joana, I don’t cook with shoulder very often but from what I gather the method should be similar– it needs a long, slow cook in liquid to become tender. The only modification might be a longer cook time, but I can’t offer an exact suggestion as I don’t generally use that cut. Good luck!
do you think this would be good with chicken pieces, ie breasts, thighs and legs? Thank you in advance for your response.
Hi Tammy– it might be good, but the directions and cook time would be completely different.
I did this recipe already and it came out really good! I want to try in a crock pot. Should I add water?
This recipe looks great! Do you think I can make it with a brick roast rather then a brisket?
Hi Chaya– I am not familiar with brick roast, but from what I can gather online it is similar to a pot roast. If that is the case, it should work just fine. Enjoy!
Hi Tori, I made my own molasses as per your recepie, then tried it for your recepie for pomegranate glazed salmon a few times- it got “the best salmon I ever ate” reward from the kids. When molasses were about 4 weeks old, I tried them- they were fine (same batch), I followed your pomegranate brisket recepie but accidentally used 2 lbs of brisket to a full stated amount of marinade (which i did overnight)- it came out too sour-tart and with no hint of the delicious flavor that the salmon had. I also kept it in for 3 hrs. Where do you think I went wrong? Thank you!
Hi Julia– next time, follow the recommended amounts of marinade to brisket weight. Using too much marinade will result in a sauce that is too tart, like you experienced.
Hi Tori-
I would like to make this the night before serving. Would you suggest preparing the entire dish and sticking in the fridge or save the last steps for the following day? Any advice on best way to reheat?
Thanks!
Hi Erin! Here are my brisket reheating instructions for this recipe:
When the whole brisket is cooked to fork tender, 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 if it isn’t already in one (aluminum 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 up to a week ahead 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. Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce together with the onions (you can do this directly in the roasting dish or pour it out and do it in a separate mixing bowl if that’s easier). 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 foil and place it in the oven. Let the brisket roast for 45-60 minutes till heated through. You can cook it even longer to let it become more tender, if you wish. Season with salt and pepper to taste.