Baked Beef Brisket

Slow cooked brisket is one of the most traditional Jewish entrees for Passover, Rosh Hashana, Hannukah and weekly Shabbats. A brisket has two parts, the point cut and the flat cut. I used a flat cut for this recipe. If you don’t want to use a cooking bag, a crockpot will work just as well. Adjust the cooking time to allow the meat to become completely tender. 

1 (4-pound) beef brisket, trimmed of excess fat

Salt and pepper, to taste

Vegetable oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

½ cup ketchup

½ cup packed brown sugar (OK-P)*

1 cup beef broth

1 large oven cooking bag

Sauteed mushrooms, optional

Fresh Italian parsley, optional

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Add vegetable oil to a hot skillet and brown the brisket on both sides. Remove brisket from skillet and add sliced onions; cook for a couple of minutes, until onions begin to soften. Place oven cooking bag on a baking sheet. (Do NOT shake inside of cooking bag with flour!) Add browned brisket to the bag. Top the brisket with cooked onions. Add tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and beef broth. Seal bag tightly with twist tie and tuck the excess bag under the brisket. Bake in preheated oven for 6 hours or until meat is fork tender. Let meat rest in the cooking bag for 30 minutes. To serve, remove brisket and onions from the cooking bag and slice or shred meat with two forks. Or, refrigerate the brisket and onions in the cooking bag overnight. Remove brisket from bag and slice on the diagonal. The meat will slice easier when it is cold. Reheat brisket in some of the cooking liquid in a baking dish. Serve with sauteed mushrooms and garnish with fresh Italian parsley. Serves 6 to 8. *Domino brown sugar and Publix brown sugar marked with an OK-P are acceptable for Passover. (Source: AKC Kosher Certification)