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Easy Passover Braised Brisket is slowly cooked in red wine, caramelized onions, garlic, fresh herbs, and date syrup.
It’s a week before Passover and I have a lot to say.
First, a pep talk. I would like to put out a PSA and remind all cooks that Passover is 8 days long. ONLY 8 days. So let’s take the stress out of Passover.
How do I do that? I don’t buy all the specialty products. No glazes and sauces and imitation products. I go pure and simple, and it saves me cabinet space, money, and shopping time every year.
The other way I don’t stress…especially for the Seder.. is I braise all my proteins, especially my brisket. A braised piece of meat can sit in the oven warming while you finish the first part of your Seder and it won’t overcook or dry out. Braising is an incredible way to always get a rich and tender brisket because it slowly infuses the meat with all the wonderful aromatics you add to the pot.
I make many different braised briskets throughout the year and they are filled with spices, tamari, and all those incredible flavors. My favorite brisket for year round enjoyment is my Perfectly Braised Brisket! This particular recipe for Passover is the simplest because I avoid imitation products and jarred sauces that have excessive sodium and sugar. I want a braise that focuses on everyday ingredients you can get from almost any grocery store. I call this my Easy Passover Braised Brisket because it’s a cinch to assemble and is so delicious you will make it all year round.
Easy Passover Braised Brisket Is SO Delicious!
What makes Easy Passover Braised Brisket so divine is the gravy/sauce. The brisket is covered with caramelized onions, garlic, and fresh herbs. It slowly cooks with deep umami from shitake mushrooms, some twist from the balsamic vinegar, and a little sweetness from the date syrup. I really recommend you get date syrup because it makes this recipe. Date syrup is a wonderful shelf stable pantry item that I use for red meats, chicken, even baking.
The braising liquid I use for this recipe is half water and half dry red wine. I recommend a shiraz or a cabernet. The alcohol cooks off so don’t worry about excessive wine during an already heavy night of wine drinking.
I kept this recipe pretty simple, but if you want, you can add 2 large carrots (cut into large chunks) and a teaspoon of imitation soy sauce to this braise and it will be amazing or you can leave this recipe exactly as is. (I did make the small amount of imitation mustard optional in this recipe because, I admit, it does add lovely flavor.)
Braising Crash Course:
Braising is a wonderful technique to have in your culinary repertoire. Braising is just a fancy word for searing your protein, deglazing the pan, and adding aromatics to the liquid that goes about 3/4 (or a little more) of the way up the protein. That’s it!
I highly recommend using a Dutch oven or braiser because they heat evenly. For this specific recipe, I love using my Le Creuset 5 qt braiser because it has 12 inches of surface area; it’s the perfect size to sauté the onions and sear this large brisket. If you do not own a Dutch oven or braiser, you can use deep roasting dish or pan and tightly cover the top with parchment paper topped with aluminum foil to create a seal. Keep in mind that the size of the cooking vessel for a braise matters! You want a pan or pot that nicely hugs the meat so its nicely nestled into the pot. If the pot is too big, you’ll need to add too much liquid to get the liquid level up the sides of the meat.
Try my other Passover friendly entrees like Roasted Balsamic Chicken Thighs with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes , Chestnut and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken , and cozy Cottage Pie.
Wishing you all a delicious and stress-free Passover! Check back soon for more Passover recipes!
Easy Passover Braised Brisket
Ingredients
- 4 lb 11 oz brisket lightly trimmed of excess fat
- ¾ tablepsoon smoked paprika
- ½ tablepsoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 4 tabslepoons olive oil or neutral oil divided
- 3 large onions thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar divided
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 tablespoon silan/date syrup
- ½ tablespoon dijon mustard (optional) imitation mustard for Passover use
- 8 oz shitake mushrooms stems removed, mushrooms sliced into thirds
- 1 head garlic cloves smashed flat with a knife, skins removed
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 8 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 large dried bay leaves
- 2 cups dry red wine (shiraz, cabernet, etc)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 340 °F
- Rub the brisket with smoked paprika, garlic powder, and a ½ teaspoon of the kosher salt. Set the brisket aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a 5 quart braiser or Dutch oven over medium heat. (See notes for an alternative cooking vessel method)
- Add the sliced onions and remaining ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and sauté for about 8-9 minutes, until the onions are translucent and begin to brown. Add 1 tablespoon of the balsamic vinegar over the onions and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes until golden. Remove the onions from the pot into a bowl and set them aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil into the pot and raise to medium-high heat.
- Add the brisket, fatty side down (important!), into the pot and sear for 2-3 minutes until nicely browned. Proceed to brown all sides of the brisket. Remove the brisket from the skillet and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium low then immediately add the water and tomato paste. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up all the lovely browned bits that clung to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the silan and Dijon mustard and stir.
- Add half of the onions into the pot along with half of the sliced mushrooms. Place the brisket, fat side up, (important!) on top. Add the remaining onions and mushrooms over the brisket and nestled alongside it.
- Add the smashed garlic, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves.
- Pour the wine over the brisket. At this point, the liquid level should be a little over 3/4 of the way up the brisket. If it's not, add more wine.
- Bring the contents of the pot to a strong simmer then cover the pot with the lid, turn off the heat and gently place the pot into the oven.
- Cook the brisket for 4- 4½hours or until very fork tender.
- Uncover the brisket, baste it well, and allow it to cook in the oven an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the oven, remove the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Cover the pot and allow the brisket to rest 10 minutes before slicing.
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