Beef braised with porcini and red wine is classically Italian, but here’s a Jewish twist: adding sweet, caramelized onions. Portland, Oregon chef Jenn Louis says this combo packs a flavorful umami punch for a brisket that’ll be the star of your holiday meal.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr 30 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 pounds brisket, trimmed of most fat
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 sprig rosemary, about 3 inches
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup red wine
- 4 cups chicken stock, or beef stock
Instructions
- Porcini: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place the mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until rehydrated, 10–15 minutes. Meanwhile, line a strainer with cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Gently squeeze the liquid from the rehydrated mushrooms with your hands and set the mushrooms aside. Pour soaking liquid through the cloth-lined strainer into the bowl. (The cloth will filter out any dirt and sediment from the mushrooms.) Set the soaking liquid aside.
- Vegetables: Cut onions into a large dice. Smash garlic, releasing the peel, then roughly chop; roughly chop mushrooms. Set aside.
- Brisket: In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Season brisket with salt and pepper on both sides. Sear brisket, fat side down, until golden brown, 5–10 minutes. Flip over and sear the other side, about 5 more minutes. Transfer to a roasting pan.
- Braising liquid: Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet, lower heat to medium, and add onions, garlic, mushrooms, rosemary, and bay leaves. Stir in a pinch of salt and sauté until onions are translucent, 8–10 minutes. Add tomato paste, and stir constantly until caramelized, 2–3 minutes. Add red wine and bring to a simmer; cook until the liquid has nearly evaporated, 5–6 minutes. Add reserved porcini soaking liquid and chicken stock. Raise heat to medium-high and bring back to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Pour hot liquid over brisket and cover with foil. Braise in oven for 2–2½ hours, flipping the brisket once halfway through cooking. After 2½ hours, raise heat to 350 degrees F, remove foil, and continue cooking to brown, 30 minutes. Brisket should be very tender when pierced with a skewer.
- Assembly: Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly in braising liquid. Remove to a cutting board and thinly slice across the grain. Pour braising liquid over the meat before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 20 servings |
| Calories | 327 |
| Total Fat | 24 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 7 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 18 g |
| Cholesterol | 87 mg |
| Sodium | 441 mg |
Reviews
So delicious! Brisket was tender and so flavorful…I’ll surely be making this again.
SIMPLE AND DELICIOUS
Haven’t made yet but thinking could use a coffee filter instead of a cheesecloth in the first step. Sounds like a great recipe
I just made this for the Rosh Hashanah, with some modifications. I could not locate cheesecloth and was not happy with the paper towel substitution I tried so omitted the mushroom soaking liquid.
I also used a 3 pound brisket.
The result was still amazing. I hope to see more recipes from Jenn.
So much flavor in this! This was very prefect for Valentines Day. The one thing different that I had to do, due to time constraints, was changing the mushrooms to shiitake mushrooms. And it still turned out amazing. Now it’s one of my boyfriend favorite recipes. Thank you so much for the recipe!