Classic Jewish Brisket
Braised in an aromatic tomato-based broth, this beefy, traditional staple tastes even better the next day.
- Serves
serves 6-8
- Cook
4 hours 45 minutes

“I remember being really happy the day Melissa Hamilton (Saveur’s former food editor), and Julia Lee (then test-kitchen director) were making my grandmother’s brisket in the test kitchen,” says former Saveur staffer Kelly Alexander. “The whole staff loved it and chowed down. I was hoping for leftovers, but there were none.” The resulting recipe, and Alexander’s feature about the iconic braise that helped define her identity as a Southern Jew, appeared in our April 2004 issue. And though her grandmother Lil Patcher passed away four years later, the brisket lives on. “Every year on Jewish holidays I still get emails from Saveur subscribers about how it’s become a family staple for them too,” says Alexander, now a food anthropologist at Duke University. “When people make this recipe, they pay my mema the best kind of respect.”
Ingredients
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp. sweet paprika
- 1 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 5-lb. beef brisket, preferably a flat cut, trimmed of any large pieces of fat
- 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 3 1⁄2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 14 ½-oz. can diced tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
- 3 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tbsp.)