Spice-Rubbed Braised Brisket
- Total Time
- 5 hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 to 10 servings
- 2tablespoons finely ground coffee
- 1tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1teaspoon ground coriander
- 1teaspoon garlic powder
- ½teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- 2½teaspoons kosher salt
- 1(4- to 5-pound) first-cut brisket
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1large onion, sliced
- 6garlic cloves, peeled
- ½cup dry red wine
- 1½cups pomegranate juice
- 1cup chicken stock or water
- 1½pounds cipollini onions or small shallots, peeled
- 1cup lightly packed Italian parsley leaves with tender stems
- 1teaspoon lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 2teaspoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- ½cup pomegranate seeds
- Mashed potatoes, for serving
For the Brisket
For Serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
710 calories; 50 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 22 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 39 grams protein; 950 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Make the brisket: Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the coffee, smoked paprika, coriander, garlic powder, cinnamon, pepper and 2 teaspoons salt. Mix well and rub all over the brisket.
- Step 2
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium. Add the oil and brown the brisket, taking care not to burn the spices, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
- Step 3
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add sliced onion, garlic and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Step 4
Add the red wine, scrape up any brown bits and reduce the liquid by half. Add the pomegranate juice and stock. Bring to a simmer and return the brisket to the pot with the fatty-side up. Cover with the lid, place in the center of the oven, and braise until fork-tender, about 3½ hours, basting every hour or so.
- Step 5
Uncover and nestle the cipollini onions in the liquid. Cover and braise in the oven for another 45 minutes. The meat should be very tender. Uncover and carefully transfer the meat to a cutting board. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
- Step 6
Meanwhile, scoop the cipollini onions into a bowl with a slotted spoon. Pour the sauce into a fat separator or a tall container and remove as much fat as you can. Pour the sauce back into the pot, slice the meat and return it to the pot along with the onions, using a brush or spoon to encourage the sauce between the slices. Heat the broiler with the rack 8 inches from the heat source.
- Step 7
Partly cover the Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to simmer until the meat is completely warmed through. Remove the lid and transfer the Dutch oven to the broiler. Broil, basting a few times, until the sauce thickens and the top is glazed, about 8 minutes.
- Step 8
To serve, dress the parsley with the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and sprinkle over top along with the pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately with mashed potatoes.
Tip
- You can make the brisket up to three days before serving. After it braises, let cool to room temperature in the Dutch oven. If you have the space, refrigerate the Dutch oven. Otherwise, remove the meat and onions to one container and the sauce to another. When ready to serve, slice the meat across the grain. Remove the hardened fat from the sauce and discard. Return the sauce to the Dutch oven. Place the sliced meat and onions in the sauce, using a brush or spoon to encourage the sauce between the slices. Proceed as above from Step 6.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
golden hills
Trader Joe's has pomegranate juice much cheaper than PomWonderful. Buy your pistachios at TJ as well. Google Lynda Resnick or Stewart Resnick to see how much water their trees use (more than all LA homes) or how they got control of a water bank the CA tax payers spent millions on. They also own a bunch of other brands. I know this isn't the place to get political but please read a little about them before you give them your money.
Evan
Absolutely the place to get political if there's something relevant of concern! Thanks for letting us know. P.S. Avoiding problematic companies isn't political, really. It's just being a responsible consumer!
Prakash Nadkarni
Brisket is ideally suited for Instant-Pot cooking: just combine ingredients, turn cooker off when done. (Browning meat is nice but optional.) See lemonblossoms.com/blog/instant-pot-brisket/. It takes 75 min for a 4-5 Lb cut, less if you cheat and carve the brisket - into somewhat thicker slices - BEFORE cooking. (Use a VERY sharp knife). A little coffee (as here) and/or cocoa/chocolate adds pleasant complexity when combined with acid sources (tomato, vinegar, red wine): try it with chili.
Prakash Nadkarni
@Home Cook: It WILL work without coffee, but then you might want to use 1/2 - 3/4 cup pomegranate juice instead of 1 1/2 cups. Coffee, which is bitter, and the juice, which is acid/sour (as is the wine) sort of cancel each other out to yield a mellow, complex result. Without the coffee, the juice's sourness might dominate.
Luann
This is the only brisket I will ever make again! I had a smaller brisket and put the shallots in the dutch oven with the brisket rather than doing it 3 hours later. It came out perfect. I skipped the broiling part as well. My brisket looked just like the picture above. This was the most delicious brisket that I have ever made. The lemon juice and parsley add a nice touch. Thank you Susan Spungen and The NY Times. You always come though!
Jennie
Didn’t have pomegranate juice. Didn’t want to go to the store. Subbed juice from 1lb of sour cherries I had in the freezer plus about 2Tbsp pomegranate molasses. Rave reviews.
Claudia O'Connell
Made this for Hanukah dinner 2020 and it was the best pot roast recipe I have made. Sprinkling roasted pistachio nuts as a garnish gave such a wonderful compliment to the richness of the flavors. This will be my annual brisket recipe for the holiday.
Christine
If you are in the United States you can find “Pom Wonderful” brand juice in the refrigerated juice cabinet in most supermarkets
Prakash Nadkarni
@Jenn: You can certainly slow-cook. See recipetineats.com/slow-cooker-beef-brisket-with-bbq-sauce/ and dinneratthezoo.com/slow-cooker-brisket/. For the present recipe, follow steps 1-3; substitute slow-cooker for oven in Step 4,cook for 8-10 hours. Then follow the remaining steps of the recipe. The reason for cooking cipollini separately is that they would turn to mush if cooked with the meat.
Tasha
Is separating out the fat necessary? It seems fiddly. Happy Hanukkah to everyone making this on the first night.
Gina Ruben
They also have a very bad reputation for how they treat their employees.
Susan
Very good but still prefer the coffee brisket recipe in Zahav. Don’t need to put under broiler. Reheated on top of stove, removed brisket, and reduced liquid a bit.
Cooking in SF
My mom made this yesterday and it was delicious that it was on the saltier side. Having grown up in a household that uses less salt, we are also a bit more sensitive to the taste. Take that as you will! But overall delicious meal
Misha
I didn't have many things in this recipe, and it still came out delicious! my first time making brisket too. i used all red wine, because i did not have pomegranate juice; and i didn't have parsley or lemon to add at the end...and i didn't want to remedy that because - covid. I would like to make it again sometime with the pomegranate, to see how that is different. But even without it the brisket was delicious!
Kathy
I made this for New Year's Eve. Fabulous! My first time ever making brisket. The 5 lb cut was too big for my dutch oven, but I just folded it in to brown and made it work. I made it a day ahead, refrigerated the whole pot, removed the fat the next day and sliced it. I reheated on stovetop and did a 5" broil. It was exceptional; the flavors complex and the meat tender. The parsley adds a fresh note and the presentation is very festive with the pomegranate seeds. I wouldn't change a thing.
Angela Levy
I cooked the brisket till 205F added the shallots for 45 mins. I took the brisket out, wrapped it in tin foil. I removed shallots. I used cleaned paper towel at the surface to soak up what ever I could and then cooked down the sauce on the stove top. It wasn't really thickening up so I added 1 tbsp of corn starch with 1 tbsp of water mixture. I poured it in and put it on simmer. It thickened up beautifully. I cut the brisket. I coved it in the sauce and put in broil for 5 mins. Delicious.
july 30, 2021
Made it in the Instant Pot, on the “Meat Stew” setting, for 40 min. Amazing. Was as good as when I braised it in the oven.
Scott
Absolutely the best braised brisket in my long life. Context: I grew up on briskets from my mother and grandmother that had tasty meat, but no seasoning so it required when I was younger ketchup, and later, with a more sophisticated palle horseradish to fully enjoy the meat. But not with this brisket, it is absolutely delicious and moist, but not greasy as the seasoning of the rub come through loud and clear.
emma b
Delicious recipe which I make for the holidays the past 3 years. For an even more festive flair - I added sliced star fruit when serving. Beautiful!
Andrea
With regard to "pomegranate juice," should one use sweetened or unsweetened? Thanks!
Becky
Can someone advise on how to reheat the second day, as suggested by the note?
Ben
Flavor is absolutely delicious. But I did this with a flat brisket a bit under 3 lbs and it came out somewhat tough. Anyone have ideas why it might turn out that way?
Catherine R
Made according to the recipe but didn’t have wine so used more pomegranate juice. When the brisket was tender, removed it and cooked the sauce down to be somewhat thicker. Didn’t have fresh pomegranates or small onions so it was just meat and sauce. Huge hit! Definitely a keeper.
rachael
This is one of my go-to crowd pleasers. Always make a double recipe - you’re going to need it! I also double the onions because they are spectacular!
Wendy
Would this work with lamb? Has anyone tried it?
ADM
I have made this on several occasions and this has become our "Go To Brisket Dish" for several Family members. A couple of tweaks (in addition to those previously mentioned) is that I: -Use WHOLE Prime vacuum Brisket (Costco--its $4 per lb vs. $8 for Flat trimmed vs. $12 for Prime trim) -up the dry wine from 8->12oz -Shallots & Chipopolini -initially roast for slightly less than 3 hrs. Let rest refrigerated overnight intact before removing the fat & then let soak sliced in fridge in juice MMM!
Valerie
Has anyone seasoned the brisket the day before?
Olivia
Am I the only one that got a mouthful of coffee grinds with every bite? Don't get me wrong, the taste and texture of the brisket was EXCEPTIONAL, but I found the grinds off-putting. Any advice? I used finely ground. Also potentially a very silly question but is the coffee still caffeinated after such a long time in the oven? Can I feel this to my toddler? Thanks!
CSN
Fabulous. Followed directions including chilling in fridge for a while, up until broiling step. I just put it back in oven to warm back up,no broiling. Meat was perfectly tender. Used small shallots. What a fabulous flavor. Will add this to special occasion repertoire!
Clara
WARNING: this brisket is highly caffeinated. My fiancé and I were awake half the night after eating this (delicious) brisket. I used espresso in the rub and, what do you know, after 4 hours braising in espresso-saturated liquid, this beef had us wired. Consequently, I recommend either using decaf or enjoying this dish as part of a decadent Sunday lunch. Note: eating this brisket for lunch at the office the next day and was very productive in the afternoon.
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