Brisket is often the star of a traditional Passover meal. This crowd-pleasing rendition is oven-braised low and slow with red wine and aromatics. Root vegetables like carrots and parsnips cook in the same roasting pan, making this a one-pot meal. For step-by-step photos, see our Brisket 101 How-To.
Ingredients
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1 first cut of beef brisket (5 pounds)
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Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
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3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
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1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
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2 garlic cloves, minced, plus 1 head, halved horizontally
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2 tablespoons tomato paste
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1 ½ cups dry red wine
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4 ½ cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
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2 fresh or dried bay leaves, plus more fresh for garnish if desired
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1 pound parsnips, peeled and halved
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20 baby carrots (about 8 ounces), peeled and stems trimmed to ½ inch
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10 ounces red pearl onions, peeled (about 2 ½ cups)
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1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Directions
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Season both sides of brisket with salt and pepper. Place a roasting pan across 2 burners on medium-high. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in pan. Add brisket; sear until browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
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Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and minced garlic to pan; cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, about 4 minutes. (Add more oil to pan if needed.) Stir in tomato paste, and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in wine, and cook, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pan.
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Add stock and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Add the brisket to the pan, and cover with foil. Transfer to oven, and roast until meat is very tender, about 2 hours. Flip meat over. Add head of garlic. Cover, and roast for 30 minutes more.
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Add remaining vegetables to brisket, cover, and roast until meat and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. Transfer vegetables and garlic to a platter and meat to a cutting board, reserving pan sauce. Tent meat with foil; let rest.
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Let sauce stand in pan for 15 minutes, then skim fat from top. Place pan across 2 burners over medium-high heat; cook until sauce is reduced by slightly more than half, about 20 minutes. (You should have about 2 cups.) Stir in vinegar.
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Thinly slice brisket against the grain. Arrange slices on a platter with the vegetables. Season with pepper, and drizzle with some sauce. Serve immediately with remaining sauce.
Cook's Notes
This brisket can be cooked a day in advance; let the meat and vegetables cool in the pan in their juices, and then cover and refrigerate. Reheat, covered, in a 350-degree oven until warmed through, about 30 minutes, and then proceed with the sauce.