Oven-Braised Holiday Brisket with Onions

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C) with a rack in the lower third.
   325°F
2. Pat the brisket dry. Mix the salt, pepper and paprika and rub it over both sides. If the brisket is too long for your largest pot, cut it in half across the grain.
3. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
4. Brown (how to brown)

   Brown Cook food in a hot pan until its surface turns brown, which adds rich, roasted flavor. 1. Pat the food dry; for ground meat, let the pan get hot first.2. Add a little oil and spread the food in one layer.3. Leave it alone for a few minutes so the bottom browns, then turn or break it up.4. Work in batches if it won't fit in one layer.5. Pour off extra fat if the recipe says to. Done when: Most surfaces are brown, not gray, and the bottom of the pan has browned bits (they are flavor, not burn). Safety: Hot oil spatters: dry the food first, lay it in the pan moving away from you, and keep a lid nearby. Never put water on an oil fire; slide the lid over it and turn off the heat. Browned outside doesn't mean cooked inside: ground beef needs 160°F, poultry 165°F.How to brown meat and vegetables: mistakes to avoid

   the brisket well on the first side without moving it.
   ⏱ Sear side 1: 6 min
5. Turn it and brown the second side, then move it to a platter. Wash your hands and anything the raw meat touched.
   ⏱ Sear side 2: 6 min
6. Lower the heat to medium, add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom, until soft and starting to brown.
   ⏱ Cook onions: 15 min
7. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until the paste turns a shade darker.
   ⏱ Tomato paste: 2 min
8. Pour in the wine and

   scrape up the browned bits (how to deglaze)

   Deglaze Pour liquid into a hot pan and scrape up the browned bits stuck to the bottom, which hold a lot of flavor. 1. After browning, pour off all but a spoonful of fat.2. With the pan still hot, pour in wine, broth or water; it will sizzle and steam.3. Scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon or flat spatula until the brown layer dissolves.4. Let it bubble down, as the recipe says, into the base of a sauce. Done when: The bottom of the pan is clean and the liquid has turned brown and tasty. Safety: Take the pan off the flame before pouring in wine or spirits, and turn your face away from the steam.How to deglaze a pan: mistakes to avoid

   .

   Simmer (how to simmer)

   Simmer Cook liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles breaking the surface now and then. 1. Bring the liquid up over medium-high heat.2. As soon as bubbles rise steadily, turn the heat down.3. Adjust until only a few small bubbles break the surface every second or two.4. Stir now and then and check that it hasn't crept back to a boil. Done when: You see lazy, small bubbles, not a rolling boil. A "bare" simmer has just a bubble here and there. Safety: Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to simmer: mistakes to avoid

   until it

   reduces (how to reduce)

   Reduce Simmer a liquid uncovered so water steams off and the flavor and body get stronger. 1. Use a wide pan; more surface means faster reducing.2. Bring the liquid to a lively simmer, uncovered.3. Stir now and then and scrape the sides back in.4. Look at the level against the pan, or dip a spoon to check thickness.5. Salt at the end, since salt gets stronger as it reduces. Done when: The level has dropped by the amount the recipe says, and it is glossy and coats a spoon. How to reduce a sauce: mistakes to avoid

   by about half.
   ⏱ Reduce wine: 3 min
9. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, brown sugar, vinegar, bay leaves and thyme.
10. Nestle the brisket fat side up into the onions (overlap the pieces if you cut it), spoon some onions over the top, tuck the carrots around it and bring the liquid to a simmer.
11. Cover tightly and

    braise (how to braise)

    Braise Brown food, then cook it slowly, covered, partly submerged in liquid until it is very tender. 1. Brown the meat well in a heavy pot and set it aside.2. Soften the onions and vegetables in the same pot.3. Pour in the liquid and scrape up the browned bits.4. Return the meat; the liquid should come about halfway up it.5. Cover and cook at a bare simmer on the stove or in a 300 to 325°F oven for hours. Done when: A fork slides in and twists with no resistance, and the meat pulls apart. Safety: Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to braise meat and vegetables: mistakes to avoid

    in the oven.
    325°F⏱ Braise: 3 hr
12. Test with a fork in the thickest part: it should slide in with little resistance. By then the beef is far past the safe 145°F (63°C), usually near 200°F. If it still feels tight, cover and keep braising, checking every 30 minutes.
    325°F⏱ Check again: 30 min
13. Lift the brisket onto a cutting board and let it

    rest (how to rest)

    Rest Leave cooked meat, baked goods or dough alone for a while before you cut, slice or shape it. 1. Move meat to a board or plate as soon as it is done (a few degrees shy of target for big roasts; it keeps rising).2. Tent it loosely with foil if the kitchen is cool.3. Rest steaks and chops 5 minutes, roasts 15 to 20, a turkey 30.4. For dough, cover it so it doesn't dry out while it relaxes. Done when: Meat juices stay in when you slice; dough rolls out without springing back. Safety: Rest at room temperature for under an hour, then refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking.How to rest meat and dough: mistakes to avoid

    .
    ⏱ Rest: 20 min
14. Meanwhile, fish out the bay leaves and thyme stems, spoon the fat off the sauce and simmer it on the stove to thicken if it looks thin.
    ⏱ Reduce sauce: 10 min
15. Slice (how to slice)

    Slice Cut food into flat pieces of the same thickness. 1. Give round food a flat side to sit on.2. Hold it with your fingertips curled under.3. Cut with long strokes, pushing the knife forward and down rather than straight down.4. Move your guiding hand back the same distance each time so every slice matches. Done when: The slices are even. For meat, slicing across the grain (across the lines of muscle) gives the tenderest bite. Safety: Keep the fingertips of your guiding hand curled under, knuckles toward the blade, and set the board on a damp towel so it can't slide. Slice hot roasts on a board with a groove for the juices.How to slice evenly: mistakes to avoid

    the brisket against the grain about 1/4 inch thick, lay the slices in the sauce and serve with the onions and carrots.

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Tips

• Ask for the flat, or first, cut. It slices neatly; the fattier point cut is better shredded.
• The grain on a brisket flat runs the long way, so slice across the short side.
• Keeping kosher? There's no dairy here; use kosher beef and wine.
• Use a separate board for raw meat, and wash hands, boards and knives in hot soapy water after handling it.

Storage

Refrigerate in its sauce within 2 hours, up to 4 days; freeze sliced in sauce up to 3 months. Reheat leftovers until they reach 165°F.

Make ahead

Brisket is best made a day ahead: cool it in the sauce, cover and refrigerate overnight. Lift off the hardened fat, slice the cold meat against the grain, lay it back in the sauce and reheat covered in a 350°F oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the center reaches 165°F.

Cook once, eat twice: Double it (16 servings instead of 8), eat half and freeze the other half. It keeps 3 months frozen, by the storage note above. Print a freezer label · More freezer meals

How long leftovers keep, and freezing and reheating: leftovers and storage. In season: carrots (September to March).