My Family's Passover Brisket

The starting point for corned beef and pastrami, brisket is a tough cut that could use some tough love. Because it hails from the breast of the animal, there’s lots of collagen, which takes lots of time to melt into something supple, juicy, and holiday-worthy.

Technically speaking, brisket comes in a first cut (aka flat cut) and second cut (aka point cut). The former is leaner and easier to dry out, while the latter is fattier and harder to mess up. Which probably has you thinking: Why would anyone opt for the former, particularly for a special occasion like Passover? Because it’s what’s most readily available. And many supermarkets don’t offer the option to pick and choose. Luckily for us, a good recipe means a good brisket, no matter the cut, and that’s where this Passover-favorite method from Josh Cohen, inspired by his family's matriarch Libbie Miller, comes in.

The tangy, tomatoey braise takes at least 3 hours in the oven—emphasis on at least. If the meat isn’t buttery tender at that point, keep going and don’t rush it. The ingredients themselves are more flexible: Depending on your religious observation, if you don’t want to mix meat with the anchovies in Worcestershire sauce, you can skip it. In lieu of Tabasco, swap in your go-to, Passover-friendly kicky condiment. And if you’re looking for even more heat, why not substitute hot paprika instead of sweet? But, whatever you do, don’t skip the last step: blitzing together the braising liquid and braised onions for a sauce you’ll want to slurp by the spoonful.

Now tell us, if you celebrate Passover, what are your family’s must-have dishes? We’d love to hear in the comments below.