Traditions

There is not a lot of variation in my menu for the Jewish High Holidays. Chicken soup and matzoh balls - always. Potato kugel - yes, unless my mother makes knishes, and, since my son has become a major carnivore, brisket.

Brisket has a long tradition as a comfort food in Jewish cooking. A long, slow cooking turns a flat brisket into a fork tender, moist and delicious entree. There are endless ways to season a brisket, but all recipes call for slow cooking at a temperature of 300 to 325 degrees.

Brisket for Rosh Hashana 5769

6 lb. flat cut brisket
2 large onions - sliced thin
3 - 4 Tbsps. brown sugar
1 package lipton powdered onion soup
1 can crushed tomatoes
kosher salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Place a large roasting pan over one or two stove top burners. Add onions and spray lightly with olive oil. Saute on medium high heat until onions start to sweat.

Salt and pepper both sides of the brisket. Place fat side-up on top of the onions. Cover with brown sugar, onion soup, and crushed tomatoes. Cover and seal tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place in the oven and bake for 4 hours. Remove from oven and check brisket with a fork to see if tender. If not, recover tightly with foil, and return to the oven for an additional hour.

Let cool covered overnight in the refrigerator. Remove congealed fat and slice brisket thinly across the grain. Return brisket to the pan, cover, and re-heat in a 325 degree oven. Alternatively, after slicing the brisket can be covered with plastic wrap and foil, then frozen.

Enjoy!

P.S. - the chicken soup was delicious.