Brisket -- it's not just for Pesach

Passover will soon be upon us, and for many Passover means brisket, think what ham is to Easter. Brisket is one of the cornerstones of Jewish cooking — right up there with matzoh ball soup and whitefish.

It also happens to be a delicious, easy meal that anyone can include in their repertoire. The brisket is a wide, flat cut of beef from the breast or chest.

Ingredients:

One brisket (get a big one so you’ll have leftovers — it just gets more and more tender)
Onion or two
Garlic clove
Tomato paste
Beef stock or water
Spoonful of cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste
Butter and olive oil
Your choice of veg: carrots, peas, string beans, potatoes, parsnips

Now I recommend starting your brisket at least the day if not two or three days before. This is a cut of meat that just gets more and more tender the longer it stews.

First, trim any major fat off the brisket. In a large Dutch oven, heat some olive oil and brown both sides of the beef. If the oil is hot enough this should take about 8 minutes each side.

Take brisket out, put it on a plate and let Dutch oven cool a bit. Add butter or whatever fat you want and add the chopped onions. Stir scraping up all the meat bits and saute for about 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and spices. Add about 2 Tb tomato paste (you can use ketchup in a pinch). Add the water or broth and the brisket with all its juices. Bring to a boil, cover and then simmer on very low heat on the stove or in the oven at a temp between 250-300. The idea is a low simmer, not a boil!

Turn the brisket every hour or two.

If you have to run to the store, or pick up the kids, just turn off the heat and leave the Dutch oven where it is. When you get back, just bring the whole thing to a boil again and then turn it down to simmer again. Make sure to turn it off to cool several hours before bed so you can put it in the fridge, although I admit I have left stews out overnight. The next day just resume the process. If you are trying to save energy you can “hot pot” it by bringing it to a boil and then popping it in the oven with no heat, and then in few hours, repeating the process as need be.

After a day or two, your brisket will be ready. When you cut it, it will want to fall apart into loverly strings of meat or what my daughter calls “sticks” as in “Can I have sticks for dinner?”

Now is the time to add julienned carrots or string beans. Simmer the veggies about 20 minutes until tender. In my past life, I served this with wide egg noodles. No more. I now serve it with either polenta, or if I’m going grain-free then I use mashed swede or potatoes.

If you want to add peas, toss a handful of frozen green ones in each individual serving. If you add them to the pot they will overcook too quickly and become that awful green color.

This will just get better and better throughout the week.