Nach Waxman's Brisket of Beef
Nach Waxman’s legendary slow-roasted beef brisket with a mountain of caramelized onions and a smear of tomato paste. Four hours in the oven, no liquid added, just pure beefy flavor.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
4 hrsREADY
4 hrsThis is the brisket recipe that launched a thousand dinner parties. Nach Waxman, the legendary owner of Kitchen Arts & Letters bookstore in New York, created a brisket so simple and so outrageously good that it became one of the most passed-around recipes in American home cooking.
The secret? No braising liquid. Just a thick bed of sliced onions, a coat of tomato paste spread over the top like frosting, a few cloves of garlic, and one lonely carrot. That’s it.
The brisket goes into a 375-degree oven, covered tight, and the onions release their moisture while the meat creates its own rich, concentrated jus. Halfway through, you slice it and return the pieces to the pot to finish cooking until fork-tender and deeply browned.
Pro Tips
- Don’t be tempted to add water or broth. The onions provide all the liquid this needs
- Slice the brisket against the grain halfway through cooking for tender results
- Use 8 onions as written. It seems like a lot, but they cook down dramatically and form the sauce
- Let the brisket rest before the final slice for serving so the juices redistribute
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃) Trim the brisket of most of its fat, and dust it very lightly with the flour.
Sprinkle with pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy flameproof casserole.
Add the brisket, and brown on both sides over medium-high heat until some crisp spots appear on the surface. Transfer the brisket to a dish.
Keeping the heat medium high, add the onions to the casserole and stir, scraping up the brown particles left from the meat.
Cook until the onions have softened and developed a handsome brown color, 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove the casserole from the heat, and place the brisket, along with any juices that have accumulated, on top of the onions.
Spread the tomato paste over the brisket as if you were icing a cake. Sprinkle with pepper and the coarse salt. Add the garlic and carrot, and cover tightly.
Place the casserole on the middle rack in the oven, and bake for 1½ hours. Remove the casserole from the oven, and transfer the meat to a carving board. Cut it into ⅛ to ¼ inch-thick slices. Return the slices to the pot, overlapping them at an angle so that you can see a bit of the top edge of each slice (in effect ressembling the brisket, slightly slanted).
Correct the seasoning if necessary, and if absolutely necessary add 2 or 3 teaspoons of water to the casserole. Cover, and return the casserole to the oven. Cook until the meat is brown and fork-tender, 1¾ to 2 hours longer.
Slice the carrot, and transfer the roast, onions and carrot slices to a heated platter. Serve at once.
Comments
My first brisket, and this recipe is a definite keeper. So tender and juicy w/ the tomato paste. Yea!
I've made this many times and it has never failed to astound. Sometimes, though, a little more liquid is necessary, maybe due to inconsistent oven temperature. Excellent recipe.