And now a little break from the usual politics, as I contribute a recipe diary. If you're vegetarian, please don't be offended; many of us are carnivores, and carnivory is a major part of Jewish tradition. The rules for making meat kosher are supposed to show respect for the animals; kosher chickens, for instance, are not supposed to be raised in close confinement. (That's why they taste better -- they're free range.) Kosher beef is a bit more controversial... But let's set all that aside and assume that you eat beef and want to know the best way to cook it.
Because this is the best beef dish in the world.
And it's a Passover tradition to serve it at seder.
And it's easy to cook.
Mine is an old family recipe. It is supposedly inspired by the cuisine of Galicia, an ancient part of Eastern Europe more respected for its food than its intellectual prowess. It's on the sweet side. Most Americans only know brisket in its salty forms, corned beef and pastrami. Those are wonderful foods too, but this is something special, and totally different.
One brisket of beef (2-3 pounds)
Half an onion
A tomato
A quarter cup of raisins
A teaspoon of minced garlic
Seasonings
The trick is to have the right cooking implement. This dish is cooked on a stove top in a Dutch oven. If you're not familiar with it, that's a heavy glazed cast-iron pot with a heavy lid. The lid keeps the moisture in as it cooks. If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can use a pressure cooker with the safety valve set to the highest setting, to retain moisture.
Ideally, you begin with a fresh flat-cut brisket. Point cut works too, but flat cut is better for this recipe. It should fit flat into the bottom of the Dutch oven. If it doesn't , you can cut it in two to make the rest later. But if it's just a little too big, it's okay, since it shrinks. A typical brisket is 2-3 pounds. They come bigger, but I can't fit them into the pot.
If it's a kosher brisket and has been pre-salted, wash any residual salt off, or even soak it a bit, since you don't want extra salt.
So what you do:
Take about half a medium-sized onion and slice it. Heat the Dutch oven on the stovetop on medium heat and grease the bottom with a little olive oil. Toss in the onion and a teaspoon of minced garlic. Cover and cook for a couple of minutes until the onion begins to soften up.
Now put the brisket into the pot, fatty side down. Brown (covered) for a minute or two. (This is where the Maillard reaction comes in; browning adds a lot of flavor.) Then flip it over and brown the leaner side for a couple of minutes. Flip it again; you're going to cook it fat-side down at first.
Now take a tomato. One full-sized fruit, or a couple of Romas (best, actually), or a big handful of cherry tomatoes. All cut up into chunks. Toss into the pot. Add a handfull of raisins. Yes, raisins. Maybe one kid-sized box, or a scant quarter-cup. Sprinkle in a little paprika, maybe a little black pepper, maybe a little garlic powder. Maybe a dash of salt. A bit of ginger might add an exotic touch.
Lower the heat. Cover and let the whole thing cook for half an hour. Then flip the meat and stir. This is the hard part -- all the waiting takes patience! Total cooking time is around 3 hours, and you flip it at least a couple of times over the first couple of hours.
After about two and a half hours, the pot should have a lot of liquid in it, with the shrunken piece of meat basically covered. It isn't done yet, but it's close. Raw brisket is very tough; this dish is only done when it's "so tender that you can cut it with a fork". (Literally true in this case, but it's a heavily-used trope from radio restaurant review shows, who use it as a way to describe good prime rib. This dish is much tastier than prime rib.)
So at this point, you open the lid just a little to let the liquid reduce by maybe half. That only takes a little while. Then take out the meat and put it on your carving board. This is a good time to slice off the extra fat. And if you are fat-averse, you might want to turn off the flame and skim some fat from the surface of the sauce.
Slice the meat against the grain -- you should end up with strips about a quarter-inch thick, maybe a bit thicker. Put the cut meat back into the pot, stir so it all has sauce on it, cover, and simmer for another 15-30 minutes. Then you might want to open the lid a bit to reduce the sauce just a bit more, so it is thick and sweet, but still has a little liquid.
Then it's ready to serve! And if you only have a few people and by some chance there are leftovers, it makes great leftovers. Some people even think it's better on the second day.