← Back to the recipe

Print: Oven-Braised Holiday Brisket with Onions

Press Ctrl+P (⌘P on a Mac) to print.

Prints on one page of US Letter or A4, with a QR code back to the recipe.

Braised Brisket · Oven-Braised with Onions

Oven-Braised Holiday Brisket with Onions

A flat-cut brisket seared, then braised low and slow on sweet onions, garlic, tomato and red wine until fork-tender. Made the day before, it slices neatly and reheats in its own sauce for Hanukkah or any holiday table.

Scan for the recipe
Prep
25 min
Cook
4 hr 5 min
Total
4 hr 50 min
Serves
8 · One 4- to 5-lb brisket
Level
Medium

Ingredients

Brisket

  • 1 beef brisket, flat (first) cut, 4 to 5 lb, fat trimmed to about 1/4 inch
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Braise

  • 3 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 6 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup dry red wine, or more broth
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 lb carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces

Cook to 145°F inside (check with a thermometer).

Steps

  1. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C) with a rack in the lower third.
  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 the brisket well on the first side without moving it.
  5. Turn it and brown the second side, then move it to a platter. Wash your hands and anything the raw meat touched.
  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.
  7. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until the paste turns a shade darker.
  8. Pour in the wine and scrape up the browned bits. Simmer until it reduces by about half.
  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 in the oven.
  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.
  13. Lift the brisket onto a cutting board and let it rest.
  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.
  15. Slice the brisket against the grain about 1/4 inch thick, lay the slices in the sauce and serve with the onions and carrots.

Tip: Ask for the flat, or first, cut. It slices neatly; the fattier point cut is better shredded.

Tip: The grain on a brisket flat runs the long way, so slice across the short side.

Tip: Keeping kosher? There's no dairy here; use kosher beef and wine.

Tip: 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.

Estimated nutrition per serving: 840 calories · protein 49 g · carbohydrates 19 g · fiber 4 g · sugars 11 g · fat 61 g (saturated 24 g) · sodium 1,130 mg. Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 16 of 16 ingredients.