Chef Paula Shoyer’s Best Brisket Recipes 

Brisket Osso Buco

Serves 8

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours 45 minutes

Advance prep: may be made 3 days in advance; add gremolata after brisket is reheated

Equipment

Cutting board

Knives, including a good carving knife

Vegetable peeler

Measuring cups and spoons

Zester

Garlic press

Large frying pan with 2-inch (5-cm) sides or Dutch oven

Wooden spoon or silicone spatula

Small bowl

Ingredients

Brisket

1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup (35g) matzoh cake meal or potato starch (40g)

1 (5-pound/2.26-kg) brisket, can also make with 7 pounds

2 large onions, cut in half and sliced

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup (120ml) white wine

1 (28-ounce/795-g) can whole peeled or diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste, or 1/2 cup (120ml) tomato sauce

salt and black pepper

Gremolata

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

Heat the oil in a large frying pan with 2-inch (5-cm) sides or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the matzoh cake meal or potato starch on both sides of the meat, shaking off any excess, and brown both sides of the meat until crispy parts develop. Remove to a plate. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and bay leaf to the pan and cook over medium heat, using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to scrape up any pieces of meat that are stuck on the bottom of the pan. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the wine and cook until most of it has boiled off and there is only a little liquid left around the vegetables. Add the canned tomatoes, including their juices, and tomato paste to the pan and bring to a boil. If you used a Dutch oven, return the meat to the pan. If you used a frying pan, transfer the vegetables and sauce to a baking pan and place the meat on top. Add salt and a generous amount of pepper. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the gremolata. Combine the parsley, garlic, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve. Gremolata may be made 1 day in advance.

Remove the pan from the oven, place the meat on a cutting board, and slice against the grain into 1/3-inch-thick (8-mm) slices. Return the slices to the pan, cover, and bake for another 1 hour 15 minutes. Sprinkle the gremolata over the meat in the pan, stirring some into the sauce. Serve in pan or transfer to a serving dish.

Tip: Browning Meat

During Passover, in the absence of flour, you can use either matzoh cake meal or potato starch to dredge meat or chicken before browning. Both flour substitutes work well, but the cake meal coating encourages better browning. To brown meat or chicken, place enough oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat to cover the bottom. Add the dredged meat or chicken to the pan and cook until the pieces release from the pan on their own and there are several crispy parts. Turn over and repeat.

Brisket Bourgonion

serves 10 people

1 3-lb brisket, rinsed and dried very well with paper towels

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup olive oil

4 slices pastrami

2 carrots, sliced

2 onions, sliced

3 cups red wine

1 cup beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 cloves crushed garlic

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

Pearl onions

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon margarine

8 ounces button mushrooms

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Heat olive oil in a large frying pan or Dutch oven over medium/high heat.  Add the pastrami slices and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring often.  Remove the slices to a plate; do not worry if some pieces stick.  Sprinkle flour on both sides of the meat, shaking off excess, and brown in pan until you see crispy parts on the meat.  Remove to a large roasting pan.

Add the carrots and onions to the frying pan and cook for 4 minutes on medium heat. If the pans is dry, add 1 tablespoon of oil.  Add the cooked pastrami slices, wine, stock, tomato paste, garlic, thyme and bay leaf and stir.  Bring to a boil.  Pour on top of the meat.  Add salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.  Cover tightly and bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.

While the meat is cooking, prepare the pearl onions and mushrooms. You can place the onions in boiling water for 2 minutes, drain and peel when cool or just do you best to peel off the skins with a small paring knife.  Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Sauté the onions until browned on all sides

and remove to a medium bowl.  Add another tablespoon of oil and cook the mushrooms over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, or until browned.  Add a little salt to taste.  Add to the bowl with the onions.

Remove pan from oven, place meat on a cutting board and slice against the grain into thin slices.  Return the slices to the pot.  Add the mushrooms and onions and press into the sauce.  Cover and return to the oven.  Bake another hour.  Reduce heat to 350ºF and bake another half hour.  Remove from oven.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Spinach Pesto Brisket

Note: recipe was developed  for the instant pot, but this version includes traditional preparation was well.

GLUTEN-FREE, MEAT, PASSOVER

HANDS-ON TIME: 28 Minutes, best made the day before for neater slices

TIME TO PRESSURE: 9 Minutes

COOKING TIME: 70 Minutes

BUTTONS TO USE: Saute and Pressure Cook

RELEASE TYPE: Natural Release for 5 Minutes

ADVANCE PREP: May be made 2 days in advance or frozen

Serves 8

1 ( 5-pound [2.2kg]) second-cut brisket, cut in half

3 cloves garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons almonds

24 large basil leaves, about 1-ounce (28g)

1 cup (30g) loosely packed spinach leaves

6 tablespoons (90ml) extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste

2 tablespoons oil

2 large onions, halved and sliced

1/2 cup (118ml) water

kosher salt to taste

Press Sauté and make sure the device shows 30 minutes. When the display reads “Hot,” add half of the meat to the inner pot and brown for about 3 to 4 minutes per side, until you see some crispy parts. Remove to a plate. Repeat for the other brisket half. Remove to the plate.

To make in the oven, preheat to 375F. Heat the oil in a large frying pan with 2-inch (5-cm) sides or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown both sides of the meat, and repeat if cooking more than 1 piece,  until crispy parts develop. Remove to a plate.

While the meat is browning, place the garlic and almonds into the bowl of the food processor and process until finely ground and they stick to the sides of the bowl. Scrape down the sides. Add the basil leaves and spinach and process until they are in very tiny pieces. Scrape down the bowl again and process for a few more seconds. Leave the machine on and pour the olive oil in slowly until it is all mixed in. Add the salt and pepper and pulse a few times.

When all of the meat has been browned and removed to a plate, add the oil and onions to the pot or pan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are browned. Add the water, let boil, and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot clean. Press Cancel or turn off heat under the pan.

Use a silicone spatula to spread 2 tablespoons of the pesto on top of each of the pieces of browned meat. If you have more than two pieces, divide the ¼ cup (59ml) of pesto among them. Return the meat to the pot or a roasting pan, pesto side-up, overlapping. Cover the remaining pesto with plastic and store in the fridge.

For the instant pot, secure the lid, ensuring that the steam release handle is in the Sealing position. Press the Pressure Cook button and set the cooking time for 70 minutes. When the cooking time is complete, let sit for 5 minutes to naturally release the pressure. Turn the steam release handle to the Venting position to release any remaining pressure. Press Cancel and remove the lid.

Remove the meat to a pan you can use to rewarm the brisket.

Press Sauté and when the mixture bubbles, add the reserved pesto, reserving 1 ½ tablespoons to add just before serving. Stir and cook for 4 minutes. Ladle some of the sauce on top of the meat so that at least half of the meat is submerged. Add some pepper on top and a generous pinch of kosher salt. Cover the meat and refrigerate until serving. Place the remaining sauce into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until reheating.

Remove the fat from the meat and the sauce. Slice against the grain into 1⁄3-inch (8mm) slices, and if you are freezing the brisket, pour the remaining sauce and pesto on top and stir in. Cover tightly and freeze.

To cook in the oven, cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven, reduce the heat to 350F. Remove the meat to a cutting board and slice into 1/2 to 1/3-inch slices and return to the sauce. Bake for another hour.

To serve the next day, cover the pan with foil and heat at 325°F (162°C) for 30 minutes, or until warm. Remove the foil, and add the remaining pesto by spooning some on top of the meat and stir some into the sauce. Reheat the remaining sauce and serve alongside.

Ratataouille Brisket

Recipe created for kosher.com and sponsored by Tuscanini Foods. See post here: https://www.kosher.com/recipe/ratatouille-brisket-8516

• 4 to 5 pounds second cut brisket, rinsed and dried very well with paper towels
• 3 tablespoons Manischewitz Potato Starch
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 onions, halved and chopped into 1/4 -inch slices
• 1 large eggplant, about 1 pound, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup Tuscanini Tomato Paste
• 1 cup Tuscanini Crushed Tomatoes

• 2 cups water, or more as needed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 basil leaves, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Italian flat parsley leaves, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large pan with sides over medium-high heat. Sprinkle potato starch on both sides of the meat, shaking off excess, and brown in pan in batches if necessary, until you see crispy parts on the meat, about two to three minutes per side.  Remove to a roasting pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Add another two tablespoons oil and the onions to the pan and cook for three minutes, until they start to brown, scraping any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add another tablespoon of oil and add the eggplant and zucchini, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute, stirring often.

Add the tomato paste and press into the pan and stir to distribute. Add the thyme, salt and pepper and stir. Cook for one minute. Scoop up half of the vegetables and place into a bowl. Set aside until cooled and then refrigerate. Add the crushed tomatoes and water to the pan and bring to a boil.

Pour the vegetables and sauce on top of the meat. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for one and a half hours.   

While the meat is cooking, place the basil, parsley and garlic into a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

When the brisket is cooked, remove pan from oven, place meat on a cutting board and slice against the grain into thin slices.  Return the slices to the pot. Take the reserved ratatouille and spread on top of the slices. If the pan seems dry, add 1/2 cup boiling water and mix in. Add more pepper if desired. Cover and return to the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake for another 45 minutes to an hour, until the meat is tender when a fork is inserted. Remove from oven and sprinkle the basil, parsley and garlic mixture on top, pressing the garlic into the tomato sauce.