Effortnesslessly: Beef Brisket with Matzo Balls

On a wave of Jewish cooking, let's cook beef brisket! And what can be better side to our brisket than matzo balls, tenderly comforting, in a flavorful, rich brisket sauce. Here is "hit, no miss" recipe for all these goodness.

Blog's Category: Holidays, International, Jewish

In a Few Words ...

- Beef Brisket is a Jewish cuisine staple. The must at many holiday celebrations, especially on Passover. Don't be intimidated by the size and seriousness of this dish - it's actually simple and easy to make a good brisket, it just takes time, about 6 hours, to sweat and get great in your oven, so start in a morning ;)

- The perfect side to our brisket, matzo balls, can be prepared and cooked in advance. Then, they can be kept in a shallow container, in a little or even no broth, covered, in a fridge for up to two days. Don't worry they won't stick together. Before serving, warm them up in a microwave and serve on a same plate as your beef brisket, drizzled with a brisket sauce from a pan. Recipe for a best matzo balls (IMHO) is here: Matzo Balls recipe.

Beef Brisket

about 3-pound beef brisket
1 tbs olive oil (or other oil) for frying
2 large onions
10 garlic cloves, minced or grated
2 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs sugar
2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups of water

- Preheat an oven to 280F.

- Cut off any access of fat from brisket, but make sure to leave layer of about 1/3" of fat on.

- Heat large skillet, add oil and sear your beef brisket on both sides until golden brown.

- Place brisket in an oven-proof pan, fatty side up. Don't cover, set aside.

- Add sliced onion to the same skillet and cook until soft. Add garlic, cook on a medium heat for about one minute, then add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, on a low heat, for about 5 minutes.

- Pour sauce over brisket, cover pot with a lid (or cover tightly with a foil) and cook at 280F for about 5 hours.

- Turn heat to 370F, remove the lid, and cook for about 30 minutes until caramelized on top. Watch carefully not to burn, in your oven it may take faster :)

- When done, remove from the oven, cover with a lid and let it stand for about 20 minutes before slicing and serving. Don't forget to pour plenty of that sauce over sliced beef and matzo balls. Enjoy!

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