The Hirshon Passover Brisket

My Citizens, the Jewish holiday of Passover begins tomorrow, so I would very much like to share a recipe redolent of TFD magic – my version of the usually dreaded, sometimes feared and occasionally terrifying Passover Brisket!

As cogently noted on foodandwine.com:

People eat brisket all around the world, from Korea to Vietnam to Pakistan to Italy. It’s cooked differently everywere, but in the United States, brisket gained fame as the largest jewel in the crown of Texas barbecue, while continuing on as the staple for many Jewish families’ yearly Seders. Why does this cut’s popularity endure in these two contexts? The simple answer is it used to be the cheapest option.

Ashkenazi jews have eaten brisket during Passover for a very long time and for pretty sensible reasons. Per Jewish custom, the hindquarters of the beef are not kosher, meaning that Jews have always had fewer cuts to choose from. In addition, brisket has historically been one of the more affordable cuts since it comes from a heavily worked muscle that requires a lot of time to cook. As a result, many Central and Eastern European jews ate brisket as far back as the 1700s, especially during food-centric gatherings like Passover that require a lot of food.

During the mid to late 1800s, waves of Germans and Czechs, including many jews, emigrated to the United States, many of whom made their way to the new state of Texas. According to Daniel Vaughn, the barbecue editor at Texas Monthly and self-described barbecue obsessive, immigrants and local ranchers started exchanging ideas during the late 1800s and early 1900s for how to smoke brisket.

Since brisket was still one of the cheapest beef cuts available in Texas at the time, the largest beef-producing state in the country, there was a lot of brisket available. Long story short, Texas had the space for the cattle. From the cattle came a ton of beef and from that huge amount of beef came brisket’s popularity, since ranchers and immigrants often couldn’t afford the pricier other cuts.

That’s how how brisket became commonplace in Texas, but it doesn’t explain how its cooking methods changed. Traditional Passover brisket is cooked low and slow with a mix of root vegetables and some kind of assertive sauce (ketchup or soy sauce, usually). If you’re careful and lucky, the brisket comes out moist and fork tender. If you’re not, it comes out dry and overcooked.

My version of Pesach (Hebrew for Passover) brisket came about several years when I literally used nearly every leftover ingredient in my fridge, my spice rack and my liquor cabinet – miraculously, it was supremely delicious! There’s several unusual ingredients in this recipe – leave them out or substitute as you see fit, but the whole recipe as outlined is a symphonic flavor masterpiece that I truly hope you decide to sample! 😀

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Passover Brisket

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• A 3 lb. Brisket, fat cap still on
• Olive Oil
• ***
• Brisket Rub made from:
• 1 Tbsp. Dried Thyme
• 2 Tbsp. Jane's Krazy Seasoning Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered Bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered Sumac
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice
• 1/4 teaspoon File powder
• Use 2 1/2 Tbsp. approximately for the Brisket, save the rest for other uses
• ***
• For the brisket ‘bed’:
• 2 large onions
• 1 lb. baby potatoes
• 1 bunch chopped thin carrots
• 2 small sliced parsnips
• 1 sliced leek
• ***
• For the braising liquid:
• 2 tbs. tomato paste
• 1 tbs. Chili Paste with Garlic
• 4 Peppadew peppers
• 2 tbsp. liquid from the jar of peppadew peppers
• 3 tbsp. Absinthe
• 1 bottle Pinot Noir
• 1/2 cup demiglace
• 4 or 5 cups of combined chicken and beef stock
• 3 tbsp. roasted garlic and onion jam
• 4 heaping Tbsp. chutney
• 1 branch fresh Bay leaves (4-5)
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 1 branch rosemary
• 2 cups of Charoset, preferably TFD’s Ashkenazi recipe

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Instructions

1. Rub the Brisket rub into both sides of the brisket equally. Heat a large cast-iron Dutch Oven with olive oil over high heat to cover the bottom. Sear the Brisket on both sides, remove to a separate plate. Add more oil to cover bottom of dutch oven.
2. Slice 2 large onions thickly into rings, add to the Dutch oven, sauté for 10-15 minutes over medium high heat until dark golden brown.
3. Add baby potatoes, carrots, parsnips and leek into the pot.
4. Put the brisket on top of the vegetables.
5. Combine tomato paste, Chili Paste with Garlic, Peppadew peppers + specified amount of liquid from the jar of peppadew peppers, Absinthe, Pinot Noir, demiglace, chicken and beef stock, roasted garlic and onion jam and chutney and add to Dutch oven
6. The liquid should come up to ½ way up the brisket (add more stock if needed). Cover and put the Dutch oven into a preheated 350 degree oven.
7. Cook for 5 hours, basting every hour.
8. At hour 3, add:
9. 1 branch fresh Bay leaves (4-5)
10. 1 bunch fresh thyme
11. 1 branch rosemary
12. After 5 hours, should be fork tender. Remove brisket and take most of the potatoes and all the herbs from hour 3 out, slice the brisket crosswise against the grain.
13. Boil the remaining gravy till reduced by ⅓ or so. Add 2 cups of Charoset. Yes – Charoset. Take an immersion blender and make a good thick gravy.
14. Eat and ENJOY!