Moroccan-Style Brisket with Dried Fruit & Capers
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This Moroccan-style brisket is so abundant and impressive looking, you can keep the sides super simple.
As a special treat for Passover, I’m delighted to give you a sneak peek of one of my favorite recipes from my new cookbook, Once Upon a Chef, The Cookbook: 100 Tested, Perfected, and Family-Approved Recipes. Perfect for the Jewish holiday or any special family dinner, this Moroccan-style brisket recipe is a wonderful twist on Nach Waxman’s “most-Googled brisket recipe” that I’ve been making for years. The ingredient list looks long but don’t let that scare you off; it’s really just a lot of spices. Plus, you can make it days ahead of time — in fact, you should because the flavor improves the longer it sits.
This dish is so abundant and impressive looking, you can keep the sides simple: some cauliflower purée and a green vegetable and your holiday dinner is done.
You may also like
- Onion-Braised Beef Brisket
- Smoked Brisket
- Chicken Marbella
- Moroccan Chicken Tagine
- Roast Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
Moroccan-Style Brisket with Dried Fruit & Capers
This Moroccan-style brisket is so abundant and impressive looking, you can keep the sides super simple.
Ingredients
- One (4- to 6-lb) flat-cut brisket
- 1 heaping Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ Tbsp all-purpose flour (okay to substitute matzo cake meal)
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 5 medium yellow onions, cut into slices ½ in thick
- 2 tsp packed light brown sugar
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¾ tsp ground coriander
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 6 carrots, peeled and quartered on the diagonal
- 14 dried apricots
- 12 pitted prunes
- 2 Tbsp capers, drained
- ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Season the brisket on both sides with the salt and pepper. Lightly dust with the flour, turning to coat both sides evenly.
- In a heavy flameproof roasting pan or ovenproof enameled cast-iron pot just large enough to hold the brisket, carrots, and dried fruits snugly, heat the oil over medium‑high heat. Add the brisket to the pan, fatty-side down, and sear until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a pair of tongs and a large fork, flip the brisket over and sear the other side in the same manner.
- Transfer the brisket to a platter, and then add the onions to the pan. (If the pan seems dry, add a few tablespoons of water.) Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon and scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, until the onions are softened and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the brown sugar, paprika, cumin, ginger, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne to the onions and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more. Add 1 cup water and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from the heat and place the brisket, fatty‑side up, and any accumulated juices from the platter on top of the onions. Spread the tomato paste evenly over the brisket, and then scatter the garlic around it. Cover the pan very tightly with heavy‑duty aluminum foil or a lid, transfer to the oven, and cook for 1½ hours.
- Carefully transfer the brisket to a cutting board (leave the oven on). Using an electric or very sharp knife, cut the meat across the grain on a diagonal into thin slices (aim for 1⁄8 to ¼ in thick). 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. The end result should resemble the original unsliced brisket leaning slightly backward. Scatter the carrots, apricots, prunes, and capers around the edges of the pot and baste with the sauce; cover tightly with the foil or lid and return to the oven.
- Lower the heat to 325°F and cook the brisket until it is fork‑tender, 1¾ to 2½ hours. Transfer the brisket to a serving platter, and then sprinkle with parsley. If you’re not planning to serve the brisket right away, let it cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Note: If the sauce seems greasy, transfer the meat and vegetables to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Pour the sauce into a bowl and let sit until the fat rises to the top. Using a small ladle, spoon out the fat. Pour the skimmed gravy back over the meat.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The brisket can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and refrigerated. Reheat the brisket in a 300°F oven until hot, about 45 minutes. Brisket also freezes well for up to 2 months; just be sure to defrost in the refrigerator 2 days ahead of time.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Calories: 820
- Fat: 56 g
- Saturated fat: 21 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Sugar: 13 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 43 g
- Sodium: 901 mg
- Cholesterol: 213 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Will this be ok if I do not sear the brisket first?
Yes, it will be fine, Elisheva – that step does add flavor though.
Hi Jen,
Planning on making this for Christmas as I’ve eyed this recipe for YEARS and we just did the turkey thing a month ago! I’m excited!
Question though: you said it’s even better the next day. Should we put it in the fridge uncooked? Or do you mean to cook it the day before? And how should we heat it up if so? I’ve never made a brisket like this before!
Hi Hannah, I would cook it entirely the day before and refrigerate it overnight. You’ll find the reheating instructions at the very end of the recipe. Hope you enjoy it, and happy holidays!
My house smells heavenly with the brisket cooking in the oven. I can’t wait until dinner! My husband thinks I am a good cook, but it is because your recipes are so good. Thank you for the inspiration!
🙂 Hope the brisket tasted as good as it smelled!
Jenn, made your other brisket recipe twice and it came out perfect. Loved the flavors in this but my brisket was very dry. I cooked it for 2.5 hours after the initial 1.5 hours. Do you think I overcooked it, undercooked it or it just wasn’t a good brisket. It was a flat brisket as suggested
Hi Veronica, It’s essentially the same recipe – just different spices and add-ins — so I’m guessing it was the brisket or that it was undercooked. How many pounds was it? Was there a generous fat cap on it?
I made the Moroccan Brisket for Easter and it was simply AMAZING ! It was so complex, full of flavors. So glad I stumbled upon your site.
Thank you for the interesting seasonings in this recipes. I seem to be the lone dissenter, however. I am an experienced cook and a lover of all types of seasonings., but I found these to be overwhelming and tended to mask the delicious flavor in the meat itself.
Further, I find that if you cook the meat fully ahead of time, remove and let chill, it’s easier to slice and return to pan to pan and just reheat before serving.
Delicious day of and even better day after!!!!!
Sounds well wonderful, but I still have leftover brisket from 2 six lb flat cut pieces for Passover, and I can neither afford to buy a brisket or eat anymore for a long time.
I was wondering if you can adapt the recipe for chicken. My people don’t like the olives and capers in Chicken Marbella, but I think they would like this recipe for chicken. Any ideas?
Hi Fran, I definitely understand what brisket overload feels like around the holidays! Unfortunately, I don’t think this recipe can be adapted for chicken – sorry! I’m planning on developing a Moroccan-style chicken soon, so stay tuned. 🙂
I made this brisket on Thursday to serve on Saturday night. I have to admit that on Thursday although the house smelled incredible, the flavor hadn’t worked its way into the meat and I was upset that I didn’t increase the spices to accommodate an almost six pound brisket. You are right when you say it gets better in time. By Saturday it was absolutely delicious. Everyone loved it. I was hesitant to try a new brisket since everyone expects our old family recipe but it did not disappoint.
I just made this for Passover and realized I left out the capers! Have I done irreparable harm? Can I add them to the sauce now, let them sit overnight, and have them cook while reheating?
No worries, Sheri…go ahead and add them now. It won’t make any difference – promise!
Thanks Jen – did that and it was perfect! I didn’t think I could like something better than your onion braised brisket but this was wonderful. Everyone loved it! Happy Passover!
Yay! So happy it worked out. 🙂
Hi Jenn, I hate to mess with your recipes at all because they never fail me! However, my brisket is 7 lbs. Should I increase the seasonings, vegetables etc. a bit (maybe by 1/4)? Or, should I stick with your original quantities? Thank you!
Hi Karin, Yes I’d increase by 1/4 and you may need to increase the cook time a bit, too. I hope you enjoy it!