Hanukkah Recipe: Brisket & Tzimmes

Hanukkah is coming up and no Jewish holiday meal is complete without a brisket! Brisket is the most popular cut of meat cooked by Ashkenazim (Jews of Eastern Europe). According to an article in the JWeekly, "Brisket is a beef cut taken from the breast section beneath the first five ribs, behind the foreshank. It is an inexpensive boneless cut that requires long, slow cooking to break down the collagen in the connective muscle tissues and achieve tenderness. Poor Eastern European Jews favored this cut because it was low in cost and high in taste and volume." 

I have to admit, growing up, for what ever reason, brisket was not popular in my Ashkenazi home. I believe it's probably because my family is from Latvia and we favored more chicken and fish in the North. Nonetheless, in my own home I cook a lot of beef and brisket is definitely one of my favorite cuts.

One of my favorite recipes for brisket combines meat with another popular traditional Jewish dish: tzimmes. Tzimmes is a sweet stew made with carrots, sweet potatoes and prunes. There are numerous regional varieties of the dish, but this recipe is the one most often made in my family. Also, because I try to avoid nightshades, I substituted the tomatoes in the original recipe with leftover Thanksgiving Savory Cranberry Sauce.

This recipe is adapted from Williams Sonoma: New York Cookbook

Brisket & Tzimmes
Ingredients
1 brisket 4-5 lbs
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
2 tsp salt 
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp red palm oil or duck fat 
3 yellow onions
4 cloves garlic
2 cups Thanksgiving Savory Cranberry Sauce
2 cups Bone Broth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp Spice House Lemon Thyme
1 tsp Spice House Bavarian Seasoning
1 tsp Spice House Baharat Seasoning
2 lb sweet potatoes or yams
6-8 carrots
2 cups prunes

Process:

1. Rub meat on all sides with salt, pepper and paprika

2. In a dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp oil on medium heat and sear brisket on all sides (4 minutes on each side). Remove meat from dutch oven and rest on a plate

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. In the dutch oven, add 1 tbsp oil and saute onions until brown and tender.

5. Add garlic and spices, saute for 2-3 minutes.

6. Put brisket back into the pot and add bone broth and cranberry sauce.

7. Cover and place in oven and cook for 3 hours.

8. Remove from oven and add sweet potatoes, carrots and prunes

 9. Cover and cook for another hour

10. Remove from oven, let meat rest and refrigerate overnight before serving

11. To serve, reheat in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

12. Serve and Enjoy!