Bellisima Brisket in Wine and Coffee Sauce

I love the taste and mouthfeel of brisket. It is a classic for Rosh Hashana, holidays in general and Shabbat. It is an impressive main course to present to family, friends and pretty much anyone. This particular recipe also works beautifully for Passover, so you really can’t go wrong.

I have played around with a million or more (at least that’s how it feels) ways to prepare it. Brisket is a trickier cut of meat than some since it has a ton of connective tissue which if you don’t cook it “low and slow” will give you a tough piece of meat akin to meat flavored chewing gum (I’ve had that result, trust me).

I’ve tried cooking it in tons of liquid, rubs, a slow cooker and my last effort was sous vide but that was a weird experience and I confess – it was my bad. I’ll have to try it again except it takes 3 days, OMG 😲 – with sous vide which might explain my hesitation to redo this.

After myriad experimentation, I found to my surprise that cooking it in the oven, first at 350 degrees for an hour and then lowering the temp to 300 degrees for 2 hours produced the most luscious and succulent brisket E V E R.

The ease of prep here is crazy simple and it makes up for the fact that it takes a long time to cook. You just time the brisket and wander off to do all your other stuff in the kitchen or, (there is no bad time in my opinion) have a nice cuppa coffee and read a little more of your book. Okay, or a cuppa tea. With milk. If you’re English. Or even if you’re not 😆.

Bellisima Brisket in Wine and Coffee Sauce

5 1/2 pound (2.5 kilo) Brisket, rinsed and patted dry – remember, there is some shrinkage so this is not a crazy amount plus trust me if it’s not all gobbled up makes awesome leftovers as well as sandwiches

1 large onion peeled and sliced into rings

1/4-1/3 cup wine (I use the wine I have on hand, and only had white which worked beautifully but red is equally good)

1 cup brewed coffee

1/4 cup ketchup

4 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Take a pan deep enough to hold the brisket and the liquids, preferably one with a heavy top. I have a great pan with a pyrex cover. If not, you will need to cover the pan tightly with tin foil.

Take the sliced onion rings and layer them on the bottom of the pan. (After the cooking, you will see that they caramelize and taste amazing). Place the washed and patted dry brisket and lay on top of the onion. Pour the wine and brewed coffee over the brisket. take the brown sugar and ketchup and mix together right on the brisket and coat the top and sides (till the liquid mark). Cover with a cover or a few layers of tin foil. Put the brisket into the preheated oven and time for exactly one hour. Set a timer because this is truly important. As soon as the timer goes off, lower the heat on the oven to 300 degrees – don’t open the oven to peek, just keep it closed. Set the timer again for 2 hours exactly. When timer goes off, pull the pan out with mitts and place on a hot spot. Gently poke the meat with a skewer and it should go in easily but with a bit of resistance. The brisket should be perfectly cooked.

Let it rest till cold before slicing so the juices don’t pour out of it and dry it out. Serve hot, cold or in between with the sauce it makes over the sliced meat. It’s fabulous! I have reheated this on a plata for Shabbat and it still stays moist and delicious. Enjoy.