Brisket

It’s been a long time since I’ve had brisket on Rosh Hashannah. I got tired of waiting for invitations to Rosh Hashanna dinners that never came (not to mention hungry), so this year I decided to make my own brisket. I had two recipes to choose from, my mother’s and my brother-in-law’s, so I made both.

My mother’s brisket recipe

• 1 brisket 3 or 4 lbs trimmed
• 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup original
• 1 can Campbell Golden Mushroom soup
• 3 carrots, peeled, cut in thirds, and quartered
• 3 or 4 potatoes, peeled, quartered
• 1 Reynolds Baking Bag, medium size

The day before you serve the brisket:

Mix soups. Place meat in bag. Cover with the mix, then add the vegetables. Place the whole thing in a roasting pan. Tie the bag according to directions, and carefully with the point of a knife cut six slits. Place in oven 325 degrees for about 2:30 hrs.

Separate meat from gravy. Wrap meat in foil and refrigerate all night. Save the gravy in a container and refrigerate.

The following day:

The following day, slice the meat thin and place it in a baking dish. Skim the fat off the gravy, then pour it over the meat. Heat the meat and the vegetables at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

My brother-in-law’s recipe:

In a large roasting pan marinate the brisket with 1 cup of dry sherry and 1 cup soy sauce. I add a sliced onion and a handful of garlic cloves, salt and pepper. The soy sauce has a lot of sodium, so go easy on the salt. You can add any other vegetable that float your boat. Marinate overnight. Cook at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes a pound.

I got two briskets, about 3 lbs each. On Thursday I cooked both in oven bags. Since I was cooking two briskets at once, I decided to cook them at 325 degrees for about 3 hours the night before. Then on Friday night I took them out, sliced the briskets, and put them back in the oven for about half an hour to heat up.

My brother-in-law’s recipe had a pronounced soy sauce tang. My mother’s recipe – well, it was the recipe I grew up with, so it was familiar. They were both pretty good though. There was more than enough brisket for the my girlfriend, my son, and my niece and for leftovers as well.