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Stovetop Brisket for Passover and Easter, or: Why My Daughter is Not a Vegetarian

April 17, 2011 By Marge Perry

My daughter went through that phase that has nearly become a rite of passage for teenage girls: she flirted with becoming a vegetarian. It was just after a dreary winter; tiny round buds had formed at the ends of tree branches and bright green shoots peaked up from the ground. Ever the naturalist, perhaps it was the pleasure Rachel was taking in all things growing and thriving that made her want to shy away from eating foods that had to be killed. She says now she just didn’t like the taste of meat, but I remember conversations filled with conscientious objecting. I also remember a lot of the cool girls were “going vegetarian”.

About a week after she stopped eating all ‘foods with faces’, I began my Passover and Easter preparations. As Rachel sat in her bedroom doing her homework, the house filled with the aroma of my slow cooking brisket. And that, to paraphrase Gladys Knight, proved to be too much for the girl.

I am grateful that the bad economy brought Rachel back home after college. (That, and being accepted into a very competitive graduate school program. Oh, did that just happen to slip into this conversation?) I have an extra year or two with her—years I consider a gift. I am trying to put the time to good use in many ways, including in the kitchen. When she is interested (thankfully often), I show her how to make the kinds of dishes a daughter should learn from her mother: family food and holiday traditions. She knows how to cook and she has seen me make certain dishes hundreds of times, but now she pays attention to the details that make this brisket, this chicken soup, this carrot cake, ours. Mine and hers.

 

Trudy’s Mother’s Brisket

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (4-5 pound) center cut brisket, trimmed

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1/2 cup water

1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1. Combine the paprika, oregano, salt and pepper on a large plate. Sprinkle evenly over the entire surface of the meat.

2. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the brisket and cook until browned, about 8 minutes, turning once. Add the celery and onion and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the water, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 3 hours.

3. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and cook until tender, 1 hour longer. Transfer the brisket to a cutting board and let stand 5-10 minutes. Cut the brisket across the grain into 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick slices. Return the sliced meat to the Dutch oven and gently simmer, uncovered, over medium heat until the brisket is very tender and the sauce has thickened a bit, about 1 hour longer. (Do not skip this last step)

Makes 8 servings

 

Filed Under: Beef, Pork and Lamb, Great for Gatherings, Recipes

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Comments

  1. Alexia Bregman says

    April 19, 2011 at 3:22 pm

    For me, it’s not “next year in Israel”. Nope, next year, I’m coming to Marge’s house…yum.

  2. David Bonom says

    April 20, 2011 at 6:55 pm

    You mean “Marge and David’s”….. What am I? Chopped liver.

  3. Peggy says

    September 28, 2011 at 10:42 am

    Do you make the chopped liver? Hey – I’m coming too!

    • Marge says

      September 28, 2011 at 10:46 am

      Peggy, As much as I love chopped liver, too many people in the family thought it was vile, so we stopped making it. But now that you mention it– well, you’ve got me yearning. Might have to make it again VERY soon!
      As for coming too– we’d love to have you! The more the merrier on any holiday, at any party, and at any meal!

      • Peggy says

        September 28, 2011 at 12:16 pm

        Merci! If only I wasn’t 3000 miles away…but so grateful for the hospitality.

  4. Amy says

    April 3, 2012 at 8:54 am

    I get to be at Passover!!!! Hooray..and Thank You !!!!

    • Marge says

      April 3, 2012 at 8:59 am

      We’re so happy you’ll be at our Seder!

  5. Caitlin says

    September 14, 2012 at 10:16 am

    Thank you so much for posting this recipe! My husband is Jewish and I am not, and we are preparing for our first Rosh Hashanah since we got married in May. I have a family recipe that is very similar to yours, but didn’t have very detailed instructions. Having never cooked brisket before, and not owning a Dutch oven until yesterday, I was really starting to get nervous! Thank you for filling in the gaps for me, and helping me get excited about my first holiday meal! 🙂

    • Marge says

      September 14, 2012 at 10:20 am

      This is a perfect dish for making your first holiday meal! Simple green beans, roast potatoes and an apple dessert and you are ready to go! Let me know how it all turns out (I love pictures!) L’Shanah Tovah!

  6. Janet says

    April 12, 2017 at 12:36 pm

    Smiling hard because I literally five minutes ago took the meat out of the fridge to make a brisket dinner, then glanced at my email. Will make it thinking of you and Trudy and your son and the connections forward, backward and sideways that connect generations and families and strangers and traditions and everything else under the sun. Best kind of recipe!

    • Marge Perry says

      April 12, 2017 at 12:48 pm

      And former strangers, the way we once were, until food and words drew us together. Someday, Janet, I believe we will meet in person.

Trackbacks

  1. A Do-Ahead Passover Menu: Kugel, Brisket, Roast Spring Vegetables, Matzo Ball Soup and Pomegranate Poached Pears says:
    April 5, 2012 at 2:42 pm

    […] Stovetop Brisket This incredibly easy brisket may even be made several days ahead– or longer and frozen. It re-heats beautifully…but even more importantly, it is, quite simply, delicious. (I don’t just make it on Passover!) […]

  2. Gift Guide for Food Lovers: Pots and Pans says:
    September 7, 2013 at 6:59 pm

    […] pavlovian response to his pan: when I take it out, my daughter will say, “Oh! Are you making brisket?!”) It is very heavy, which is a plus or minus depending on your point of view. The enamel […]

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I make my living writing, teaching and speaking about food and travel. In the name of work, I (have to!) eat a lot, meet interesting people (many of whom, like me, are passionate about their work) and travel near and far to see where and how food is made, grown or raised. I am saved from a life of extreme obesity by the fact that I truly love to exercise, but I am always one forkful away from not being able to button my jeans. Mine is a sweet and savory life.

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