Jewish American Pot Roast

In her accompanying article, "How to Make Great Beef Stew? Here’s a World of Wisdom.", Ms. Moskin references J. Kenji López-Alt for his "unstinting research" on beef stew. In the article she cites, Mr. López-Alt recommends using a single piece of meat (not cubed), and cooking with the lid ajar, which, he says promotes "extra browned flavor" and "tenderer meat." Elsewhere he says to cook stew either on the stovetop or "in a 200° to 250°F oven...with the lid slightly ajar."

Coming from a traditional Jewish American home, this recipe is pretty authentic except for the thyme. I doubt my European born mother even knew what thyme was let alone be tempted to add it to her beef stew. Ditto for the tomato paste-we didn’t use anything tomato (I think they weren’t readily available in Czechoslovakia where my mom was brought up). She would have used the paprika only. That said, a really nice basic recipe-simple and highlights a great piece of meat.

Don't be surprised at how much brisket shrinks during cooking...

Having made Brisket based stews. My advice is get the fattier second cut. After all it will be in the oven for almost 3 hrs. A lean piece of meat will turn into leather. Second forget the tomato paste or tomato sauce. These two ingredients will produce the deadening "Betampte fleish" translated to "tasty meat" meat--forget it--you will fall asleep at the dinner table. My suggestion white wine (never red) mushrooms and real Roma tomatoes in addition to the onions.

I agree about leaving out the tomato paste and thyme. My recipe (actually, my grandmother's and mother's recipe) has me skipping the pot-on-the-stove step. I just put the brisket in a pan, fat side up, cover it with sliced onions, then some Lawry's seasoning salt and paprika. My mother often crumbled up a few gingersnaps to flavor the juices. Add mushrooms and carrots alongside partway through cooking. The key is to cover the pan TIGHTLY with foil. Cook for about 3 hours. Wonderful!

If this is cooked a day in advance, the cooled slab of brisket can be then be thinly sliced against the grain and added to the reheated pot . It is a nicer presentation and can be eaten with a fork.

Whole brisket is broken down into a flat cut and a point cut. The point cut is fattier and, in my humble opinion, the only cut worh using when making pot roast, corned beef (easy to brine) and pastrami (cormed beef that's spiced and hot smoked). I find the flat cut to be dry when pot-roasted and lacking the flavor of the point cut in everything else.

You can throw in peas if you're not following the Ashkenazic Passover laws (no legumes). But not if you are, and not if your guests are.

OK we have…no tomato paste, no thyme but add onion soup mix, ginger ale, catsup, mustard, red wine, flat cut, point, ….has anyone actually made this as written?

I have enjoyed this type of Jewish cookery from time to time, as a gentile. Briskett is one of those things if done properly is a revelation. I'd go with the tomato paste. It not only is tomato flavor enhancer, it makes things rich. However, if you are using parsley for green garnish, why not throw in two handfuls of peas for more veggie substance?

I don't think my Jewish grandmother and mother knew from thyme, but they did know about onion soup mix, which is, I guess, the secret ingredient to my family's brisket? I know hundreds of other Jewish grandmothers and mothers for whom it was the secret, too. So, I guess it isn't so secret. Also, it didn't need to be Liptons, the store brand was just fine.

This is a stew! It was never, ever, supposed to be eaten rare. Brisket is a tough lean cut full of connective tissue. As the recipe says, cook for 3 hours or until the meat is tender.

Cook halved, peeled potatoes in the gravy for the last hour of cooking. I braise the whole piece of brisket for two hours, slice it, and put it back in the gravy with the potatoes. And no thyme or tomato paste. Just lots of garlic, onions, and paprika.

Made it as written. Except I doubled the carrots, we like carrots. Didn’t add potatoes as my husband makes the best garlic mashed potatoes ever, so that will be our starch. Definitely best if left to sit til the next day. Will probably cook some peas, too.

Whatever ingredients you use, refrigerate the cooked brisket overnight and slice it when cold. It’s so much easier that way than trying to slice the meat when hot. And as another commenter noted: brisket shrinks considerably when cooked!