The Best Passover Brisket Recipe (for any Jewish Holiday!) (2024)

FAQs

What cut of brisket is best for Passover? ›

If you're braising your brisket, which is what I recommend for Passover, I personally prefer to go the leaner route by using first cut brisket. If you are a fat lover, go for it and use the point cut, but try to make it the day before you want to serve it so you can remove the fat from the surface of the sauce easily.

First off, you'd smoke or bake the brisket at 225 degrees for 3 hours; then you'd wrap it in foil and keep cooking it for 2 hours. Finally, uncovered and cook for 1 more hour before letting it rest for a few minutes prior serving.

If you really want to know how much brisket to serve per person, **account for one pound of raw brisket (or half a pound of cooked brisket) per adult and half a pound of uncooked brisket (or a quarter pound of cooked brisket) for your little ones.

Slow Roasting: Cover with foil and cook in a 350-degree oven for 3-4 hours, flipping halfway for even cooking. The fork test will confirm when it's perfectly tender.

All brisket, no matter which cut you choose, is a tough cut of meat that needs to be cooked low and slow: think oven, slow cooker or indirect heat on a grill.

You have to sear off the brisket to caramelize the meat before letting it slow-cook in the oven at 275°, so it goes from stove to oven.

Most of the smoke flavor gets into the meat in those first few hours of cooking. The benefits of wrapping -- faster cooking time, control of the bark, and juicier meat -- outweigh the slight loss of smoke flavor.

While smoking meat, you should pay special attention to the temperature danger zone because there is a higher chance of bacteria growth in the meat. Therefore, you need to find the optimum temperature for meat. As mentioned above, the temperature danger zone is 46°F -140°F (8°C-60°C).

Trim excess fat, leaving a 1/8″ – 1/4″ fat cap, and apply a favorite rub. Barbecue at 225-250°F to 170°F internal temperature. Wrap in foil and cook in a 300°F cooker or oven to 205°F internal temperature. Let the meat rest for at least 30 minutes before serving, or hold in an empty cooler for 2-4 hours.

Brisket is a popular Ashkenazi Jewish dish of braised beef brisket, served hot and traditionally accompanied by potato or other non-dairy kugel, latkes, and often preceded by matzo ball soup. It is commonly served for Jewish holidays such as Hanukkah, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Shabbat.

How to season a brisket? ›

Season the brisket liberally with your favorite beef rub or give my homemade beef rub a try. Kosher salt, coarse black pepper, and granulated garlic are also a great option. Cover the meat and apply the rub generously. Don't be shy with it.

Brisket was and is still used as a special cut of meat on Jewish holidays such as Hannukah, Shabbat, and Passover. The cut of beef was decided to be celebratory and important due to its location. Brisket is found in the cow's front breast, making it kosher for Jews to consume.

Add Moisture

After two or four hours of cooking, you can lightly spray your brisket with water, hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, or apple juice. You can do this every 30 minutes or every hour, based on preference.

Pour apple cider vinegar over the brisket. The vinegar will help tenderize the meat and will add sweetness to it. Proper brisket should be cooked low and slow in a smoker, using wood or charcoal.

The day before you plan to cook the brisket, apply a generous amount of brisket rub on all sides of meat and refrigerate overnight. The rub will not only enhance the flavor of the meat, but tenderize it as well. Similar to rubs, the meat should soak overnight in the marinade for maximum flavor absorption.

The Flat: This is the main part of the brisket that lies toward the inside of the cow against the ribs. The meat is lean and low in fat content and tends to be more expensive than other cuts as more dishes require it. In Jewish tradition, the first half of the steer is kosher; the back half is not.

The point has extremely tender meat, to the point it falls apart, and it's also bursting with incredible flavor. The only difference is that the fat content is a lot, which means you'll have less meat to work with.

First cut is a very lean piece of meat and if you make it right, it slices nicely, and it's a beautiful piece of meat on the table. It's bakavodike (respectable). Second cut is much juicier, and it's harder to cut, because once it gets soft, it falls apart when you slice it.

Although the two brisket cuts can often be used interchangeably, the flat cut is most often used in braises that are sliced, like those popular on Jewish holidays and for corned beef. The fattier point cut, meanwhile, is preferred for pulled beef, beef sandwiches and smoked barbecued brisket.