Back to Brisket Basics

As Passover approached this year we decided that, yet again, we were not going to go out of town. Last year we didn’t, when E was still only eight months old, and I spent the better part of an afternoon making homemade lamb meatballs, baby-led-weaning-friendly charoset, perfectly boiled vegetables, and chopped egg…which he then proceeded to throw in painstakingly intentional drops to the floor. This year has found us in a bit of an anti-travel-with-toddler phase. Yes, it’s possible… and everyone should do what brings them joy. But since he started walking I will admit I’ve not found joy in wrestling a toddler through airports or desperately entertaining him through a long drive. So for Passover this year, we stayed put, rounding up a few same-age friends and extending the invite to join us for, if not a seder, a tasty meal that would include a seder plate. 

As the date approached I flipped through brisket after brisket recipe, entertaining retro braises featuring Coca-Cola or sophisticated briskets cooked in red wine. At the end of the day, none of the recipes generated a spark though and I found myself drawn back to a well-worn copy of "Fun in the Kitchen," a binder of recipes compiled by my Grandma (my Gigi), and her classic barbecue brisket. This is not the first time I’ve written about my Gigi’s cookbook in a public venue (in fact, the cover photo/photo below was taken in an apartment on St. Marks about a decade ago). I’m not re-inventing any wheel here. But this year, that sort of felt like the point. 

Another brisket, another decade (same look, same taste)

This recipe couldn't be easier; ketchup, spices, onions. Nothing sauteed, nothing seared. We ate it with another family favorite, a spinach casserole that combines onions browned in butter, frozen spinach squeezed dry and good ole' cream of mushroom soup. The combination of these two foods might be the peak bite for me of nostalgia and comfort; a pairing that has featured at countless Thanksgivings, December holidays, Passovers and High Holidays throughout my lifetime. There was a sweetness to the idea of incorporating these recipes into the traditions that we’re carving out for E (even if he took one bite and opted for the matzah pizza instead).

Matzah pizza, manischewitz and all

Requisite "matzah crack"

So this year, we stayed home. We ate and drank and chased the kids around outside and told them to share their toys (they didn't) and cleaned up countless matzah crumbs when it was all over. Over the course of a full weekend we eventually went through a rousing rendition of “Let My Babies Go (A Rugrats Passover)" start-to-finish.

In this phase, sometimes the wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented. In this phase sometimes it doesn't take much. Dayenu.

Gigi's Bar B Q Brisket

Serves many, or in this case three picky toddlers and six hungry adults with leftovers to spare

1 brisket (5-7 lbs.)*

4 yellow or white onions, sliced

2 cups boiling water

2 cups ketchup

4 T Worcestershire sauce

4 T brown sugar

2 T chili powder

4 T white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix onions, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and chili powder in a large bowl.

3. Pour half of the mixture into the bottom of a large roasting pan or dutch oven.

4. Simply lay the brisket on top, no sear required, and pour the rest of the mixture on top.

5. Cover and bake for 4 hours, uncovering to baste at least once halfway through.

6. Pull it out of the sauce to slice and then put it back in the sauce to serve; tastes even better the next day!

   
   

   *The original recipe calls for a flat, but I admit to having become a convert to the point over the years. I'm sorry, but it's a better cut of meat!

   
   

Aunt Lynn's Spinach Casserole

4 pkgs. frozen chopped spinach

2 T Worcestershire sauce

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2 large yellow or white onions, chopped

2 sticks unsalted butter

Salt, pepper and garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Thaw the spinach - I usually stick it in a strainer in the sink and run water over it. Squeeze it out as dry as you can get when it thaws!

3. Melt butter in a large skillet (yes, both sticks) - add onions when hot and caramelize them to a deep brown. The key is patience, and not stirring them too much. Transfer them from the pan to a bowl as soon as they are done, if you leave them in the hot pan they'll burn. Expect this to take about 20 minutes.

4. Mix together spinach, Worcestershire sauce, cream of mushroom, salt, pepper and garlic in a casserole dish or 9 x 9 baking pan. Adding browned onions, scraping all of that good butter in.

5. Bake for one hour. This also freezes well and tastes fantastic the next day.