Jewish Brisket Recipe

This Jewish Brisket Recipe is based on my family recipe and is a Passover favorite! We tweaked the recipe – it’s gluten-free, paleo and Whole30 compatible!

When it comes to Passover dinner, you must, must, must have brisket.

My Jewish brisket recipe is everything — it’s tender, falls apart, it’s loaded with flavor, and free of junk ingredients (have you seen those recipes where people put ketchup on brisket? Gag!!).

Plus, this recipe is based on my Mom’s old school traditional brisket recipe!

Every Passover that I can remember, my Mom makes her traditional, drool-worthy Jewish brisket. Everyone loves it, raves about it, and looks forward to it like crazy.

It must be noted that she was willing to let me riff off of her brisket!

Every time I get my mom to agree to let me share one of her recipes, it’s nothing short of a miracle. For all kinds of reasons, she is not a fan of sharing her most secret recipes.

This gluten-free Passover version is based on her famous brisket recipe but tweaked just slightly to be gluten-free, Paleo and even Whole30 friendly!

It’s absolutely fantastic served over Creamy Mashed Cauliflower and alongside a fresh Arugula Salad with Lemon Balsamic Dressing — just in case you are looking for a complete meal plan 😉

Let’s dig deeper.

HOW TO COOK BEEF BRISKET

1. Season the meat with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Brown each side for a few minutes. Remove meat to a platter.
3. Saute the vegetables.
4. Begin the gravy with broth and some type of starch.
5. Return meat to pot and cover about 3/4 of the way with liquid.
6. Cover tightly, pop into the oven and let the magic happen!

There are essentially three main ways to cook brisket: braised (as noted above), brined (think corned beef), and barbequed (yum!).

A well-cooked braised Jewish brisket will be incredibly tender, literally falling apart when cut with a fork. The vegetables will be soft and the gravy will rich and loaded with flavor!

HOW TO PICK OUT A GOOD BRISKET

• A butcher usually cuts a whole brisket from the breast section of the cow and divides the meat into two “briskets”; the first cut and the second cut.
• The first cut is known as the “thin cut” or leaner cut and is usually flatter. The second cut or “point cut” has a larger fat cap and is considered more flavorful.
• Whichever piece you buy (they are both good!), you want to make sure that there is at least a 1/4 inch fat cap left intact. Ideally, that fat is spread out across the meat and the meat has good marbling overall. If the fat cap is extra thick, you may want to have it trimmed or trim it your self or it will be too greasy.
• I recommend you seek out pastured or grass-fed brisket to avoid the antibiotics and chemicals that are in cheap feed. Remember, you are what you eats EATS and a lot of toxins are stored in the fat of an animal.

RECIPE TIPS

• Ready for a secret? This brisket recipe is actually BETTER when prepared a day or two in advance. My Mom will sometimes make it a few weeks in advance, cool and then freeze until the holiday.
• If you prepare this in advance, you can easily skim excess fat off the top (best to freeze and scrape off before defrosting!)
• Make sure you slice the brisket against the grain or it will be tough and you will not have the tender, falling apart goodness that you want. The “grain” is which way the muscle fibers are aligned. So, when I say slice “against or across the grain”, I mean perpendicular to how the fibers are aligned and not with them.
• If you don’t have fresh thyme, you can use 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.
• If you plan to cook a much larger brisket than called for in the recipe, make sure you use a dutch oven large enough to accommodate it. Alternately, you could brown the meat and cook the vegetables in a large skillet and transfer everything to a lasagna style Pyrex dish covered with tin foil.
• If you make this ahead of serving and plan to freeze, I recommend slicing BEFORE freezing.
• If you mix dairy and beef, I highly recommend using Ghee instead of avocado oil.
• To Reheat: Defrost 24 to 48 hours before serving. Transfer to an oven-safe baking dish or pot and slowly reheat until warmed through (325F is good).

Do you have more questions about how to cook brisket? If so, leave me a comment and I will make sure that they get answered!

Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!

Jewish Brisket Recipe

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 3 hrs 15 mins

Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins

 

This Jewish Brisket Recipe is based on my family recipe and is a Passover favorite! We tweaked the recipe - it's gluten-free, paleo and Whole30 compatible!

Course: Holiday, Mains

Cuisine: Jewish

Keyword: gluten free passover recipes, How to cook beef brisket, passover brisket recipe

Servings: 8

Calories: 293 kcal

Author: Alyssa Brantley

5 from 13 votes

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Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons avocado oil or other high heat oil, divided
• 3 pounds Brisket sprinkled with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 extra large yellow onion roughly chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic pressed
• 2 large carrots peeled and roughly chopped
• 1.5 pounds white button mushrooms stems trimmed and quartered
• 2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1.5 cups organic mushroom broth can substitute beef broth
• 3 sprig thyme
• kosher salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

   Generously salt and pepper each side of the brisket.

   Place a large oven-safe dutch-oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 Tablespoon of the avocado oil and then brisket.
   

   Brown 3 to 4 min per side until every side is seared. Remove from pot and set aside.

   
2. Reduce heat to medium, add remaining 1 Tablespoon of avocado oil. 

   Once hot, add chopped onion, mushroom, carrot and garlic plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 10 to 12 turns of freshly ground black pepper. 

   
3. Cook, uncovered, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and continue cooking vegetables another 5 minutes.

4. Remove lid and sprinkle arrowroot over vegetables and stir until well mixed and starting to thicken. 

   

5. Return brisket to pot and bury under vegetables. 

   Add 1.5 cups mushroom broth (or enough so that meat and vegetables are immersed 3/4 of the way) and a few sprigs of thyme to pot. 

   Bring to a boil.

6. Once boiling, cover and place in oven on center rack. 
   
7. Cook for 3 hours, checking once about halfway through cooking. 

   If too much liquid has evaporated, add 1/2 cup additional broth and mix before returning lid and continuing cook time.
   

8. Remove from oven, allow to cool completely and thinly slice the meat against the grain. Taste sauce and adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Return sliced meat to gravy and vegetables and warm before serving. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Jewish Brisket Recipe

Amount Per Serving (0.125 finished dish)

Calories 293 Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Fat 14g22%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Cholesterol 87mg29%

Sodium 211mg9%

Potassium 905mg26%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 33g66%

Vitamin A 3025IU61%

Vitamin C 4.7mg6%

Calcium 22mg2%

Iron 3.3mg18%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.

UPDATE NOTES: Please note that this recipe was originally published in March 2015, but was updated in March 2019 with nutritional information, updated photos, recipe tips, and more helpful information.