I promised a number of people that I would post my standard goto brisket recipe. I have cooked many different brisket recipes and although many of them are very good, I often find myself coming back to this one. It is simple, fairly quick and always tastes great. I have to warn everyone in advance though, there are no measurements in this recipe. I based it on a recipe I found somewhere that did not have amounts, and although I have made a few changes to it, I choose to leave it without amounts and leave that up to the cook.
For those interested in learning about brisket (if you do not want to, skip to the recipe), the brisket is the cut of meat that comes from breast (lower chest) of a cow. Because cows do not have collar bones, these muscles support about 60% of the weight of the cow. This means that there are significant amounts of connective tissue in the meat. For a long time, the brisket was a very cheap cut of meat because no one wanted to take the time needed to cook it properly. Brisket became a very common Jewish food for special occasions because it was affordable. Of course today, that is not the case. Brisket needs to cook at a low tempreture for long periods of time in order to break down that connective tissue. What this does is make a very tough cut of meat extremely tender. Aside from being a traditional Jewish cut of meat, brisket is also the standard meat for southern or Texas barbeque.
The most important thing is to get a quality brisket. It should have a layer of fat on one side. Do not trim the fat! Cut up some vegetables (onions, celery, carrots, etc) and place in roasting pan with brisket (fat side up!). Cover the brisket with tomato sauce. Sprinkle on some onion soup mix and brown sugar. Cover and place in oven for a long time (until the meat is tender).
That’s it! It is so easy anyone can do it. I am promise you that it will be one of the bets briskets you have ever tasted.