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.
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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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Amazing! Thank you so much! You’ve won me “good wife” points— so appreciated!
I made it in the slow cooker and it was super tender and my family ate it up.
Made this brisket tonight with plan to serve it for dinner two days from now. The brisket looks & smells great. I have lots of juice & I’m wondering if you thicken the juice to make a gravy; if so, could you please provide some guidance for turning the juice into a thick gravy?
You can thicken up the sauce if you’d like — just put it in a saucepan and simmer it over low heat until it thickens to the level you’d like. Hope you enjoy!
I love the Moroccan aromas in the house! My question… after finding a gorgeous brisket from my local ‘craft’ butcher here in Denver, I was disappointed that the texture was not soft (fork cut-able). My guests assured me that the outcome was not too tough but I disagreed. Followed the recipe to a T .. the brisket was roughly 6 lbs and too large for my cast iron pot so I cut it in half and made ‘two’ – one was in a larger pot that left about 5″ above the meat, the second was in a more shallow cast iron that left less room around the brisket. Both have heavy lids. Is a ‘roasting’ pan very different from cast iron? Could that be the issue? (Thank you, Jenn, for all the wonderful recipes, I could not cook without you).
Hi Jill, The roasting pan and the cast iron pan should not impact the texture of the meat. And while brisket gets somewhat tender while it cooks, I’ve never had one that was fork cut-able. It definitely still has some “chew.” So, it really doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong!
Would a Dutch oven work to cook it in?
Sure, Assuming it’s large enough to hold everything, it would work. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Best beef brisket I have ever had. I made it the day before and let it sit in the refrigerator and then heated it up today, phenomenal
Would adding one cup of white wine be good instead of cup cup of water?
Hi Emily, I think wine would work here but would suggest using 1/2 a cup of water and 1/2 a cup of wine. Hope you enjoy!
Shana tovah! I served this brisket on the holiday and the entire platter was gone in no time…(even the kids loved it) thank you for another keeper!
P.S. I froze it and it reheated beautifully
For a lighter meal I made your meatloaf and it was a hit as well.
( I did your bbq turkey recipe (subbed chicken) and your meat recipe and did a 2 tone. Thank you
Shana tovah! Jenn, this was delicious! It’s now my favorite brisket recipe, and I’m not a huge fan of brisket. I loved it! The brisket got a little dried out after refrigerating it, but I added a cup of water before warming it up and serving it. It was perfect! Many thanks!
Hi I’m making this brisket now for rosh hashana…should I freeze it with the veggies and sauce or separate?
Hi Chaya, You can freeze it all together. Hope you enjoy and happy new year!
I was looking for a new brisket recipe for the holidays and this Moroccan Brisket did not disappoint. It was the perfect combination of spice, sweet and salt. It was a big hit with my guests and I will be putting this into my repertoire of holiday dishes. Thanks Jenn for another
fabulous recipe!
Delicious. I add extra carrots. After day 3, we make sandwiches with the meat. Seems like a lot of meat, but it gets gobbled up. Another wonderful recipe.