Onion-Braised Beef Brisket
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Prepare a memorable dinner with this incredibly simple, make-ahead beef brisket recipe. It’s a foolproof crowd-pleaser, complete with a French onion soup-like gravy.
This celebrated beef brisket recipe comes from the late Nach Waxman, owner of the beloved New York City cookbook shop Kitchen Arts & Letters. First published in The Silver Palette New Basics Cookbook in 1989, it is apparently the world’s most Googled brisket recipe. The recipe is surprisingly simple. Unlike all other briskets I’ve made, there’s no wine, stock, or bottled sauces added. Instead, the brisket is cooked on top of a massive heap of onions, which slowly caramelize and release their natural juices, making a rich French onion soup-like braising liquid and gravy.
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“This brisket is AMAZING! It turns out perfect each time. Cutting it, then rearranging the slices back in the pan works great! Such beautiful flavor, delicious gravy, and juicy tender meat. Highly recommended!”
I have made some modifications to the recipe over the years, though the original can still be found here. This dish is ideal for preparing ahead of time, as the flavors deepen when served the following day. For me, it’s a Jewish holiday staple, alongside classics like matzo ball soup, challah, latkes and more. For those observing Passover, the flour in this recipe can easily be substituted with matzo meal to keep it compliant with Passover dietary guidelines.
What You’ll Need To Make Onion-Braised Beef Brisket
Butchers typically sell two types of brisket: flat cut and point cut. These two pieces together make up a full brisket, a large slab of muscle from the cow’s chest. The point cut has more marbling, while the flat cut (also called first cut or center cut) is lean but topped with a thick fat cap. This recipe calls for a first-cut/flat-cut brisket. Don’t let your butcher trim all the fat off! A small fat cap bastes the meat, adding flavor and keeping it from getting dry and tough.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by seasoning the meat with lots of kosher salt and pepper.
Dust both sides with flour.
Heat the oil in a heavy flameproof roasting pan or ovenproof enameled cast iron pot until shimmering, then sear the brisket on both sides until brown and crusty in spots.
Transfer the meat to a platter, then add the onions to the pan.
Cook, stirring and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until softened and golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Place the brisket back in the pan on top of the onions and spread the tomato paste on top. Scatter the carrots and garlic around the edges.
Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil or a lid, and bake for 1-1/2 hours.
Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the brisket to a cutting board. Using an electric or sharp knife, slice the beef into 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick slices against the grain. It’s much easier to cut at this point than it is at the end.
Place the slices back in the pan on an angle, so that the top edge of each slice is showing. Baste the meat with the pan juices.
Cook for a few more hours, until the meat is tender.
You can serve it right away, but it’s better to refrigerate it overnight and reheat it the next day. It also freezes well.
“This is a 5-star, easily repeatable main dish that is now my go-to special occasion meal for larger groups. Do yourself a favor and make it ahead of time as suggested; enjoy that the cooking is already DONE the day of your dinner, and impress yourself with how truly flavorful and delicious this meal is.”
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Onion-Braised Beef Brisket
Prepare a memorable dinner with this incredibly simple, make-ahead beef brisket recipe. It’s a foolproof crowd-pleaser, complete with a French onion soup-like gravy.
Ingredients
- 1 5 to 6 pound first-cut (or flat-cut) beef brisket, trimmed so a thin layer of fat remains in some spots (do not over trim!)
- 1½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (okay to substitute matzo cake meal for Passover)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 8 medium yellow onions, peeled and sliced ½-inch thick
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 6 carrots, peeled and sliced into large chunks on a diagonal
- Handful fresh chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Set an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Season the brisket on both sides with the salt and pepper. Lightly dust the brisket with the flour, then shake and turn to coat evenly. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy flameproof roasting pan or ovenproof enameled cast-iron pot just large enough to hold the brisket and carrots snugly. Add the brisket to the pan and sear on both sides until crusty brown areas appear on the surface, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
- Transfer the brisket to a platter, then add the onions to the pan and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the onions are softened and golden brown, about 15 minutes. (If browned bits stick to the bottom of the pan and start to burn, add a few tablespoons of water and scrape with a wooden spoon to release them.)
- Turn off the heat and place the brisket, fatty side up, and any accumulated juices on top of the onions. Spread the tomato paste evenly over the brisket, then scatter the garlic and carrots around the edges of the pan. Cover the pan very tightly with aluminum foil (preferably heavy-duty or two layers) or a lid, then transfer to the oven and cook for 1½ hours.
- Transfer the brisket to a cutting board and, using an electric or very sharp knife, slice the meat across the grain into approximately ⅛ to ¼-inch-thick slices. Return the slices to the pan, 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. Cover the pan tightly and return to the oven.
- Lower the heat to 325°F and cook the brisket until it is fork-tender, 1¾ to 2½ hours, or longer if necessary. The brisket is ready to serve with its juices, but it is even better the second day. (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.)
- Note: Nutritional information was calculated for a 5-pound brisket.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly 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. The brisket also freezes well for up to 2 months; defrost in the refrigerator 2 days ahead of time.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 726
- Fat: 55 g
- Saturated fat: 21 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Sugar: 6 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 42 g
- Sodium: 844 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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Hi Jen!
I’m trying this recipe this week but I only have a 2.5 pound roast. How would you change the cooking times??
Many thanks!
Jen
Hi Jennifer, It’s hard to say. I would probably roast for 1 hour before slicing, then for the second portion of the roasting time I would check it for tenderness after about 1-1/4 hours, then every 15 minutes after that. Please let me know how it turns out!
Hi Jen
Thanks for your reply. I ended up cooking it in a slow cooker. The taste was amazing but I was unsure if it was undercooked or overcooked. It was a bit chewy and tough. I cooked it for over 6 hours.
Jen, could I use an easier cut of meat for this recipes still using the crockpot? The flavours are wonderful but I’m just not confident with cooking big cuts of meat and that was my first time trying brisket.
Sorry you found it to be tough! While I would think six hours would be long enough for this to cook in a slow cooker, toughness is usually a sign that it’s undercooked. Regarding a different cut of meat, chuck roast should work well in a slow cooker.
I made this recipe a few weeks ago and it was AMAZING! I would like to make it for when my family comes to visit however my mom has an allergy to carrots. Is there anything I can sub in its place or can the carrots be omitted altogether? Thank you!
Hi Amanda, you can just omit the carrots or use parsnips instead. And glad you like it! 😊
Hi Jenn,
I’ve made your onion-braised brisket one other time and it was amazing. However, this time around I had to purchase two 3+ lb Briskets that I wanted to put in one pan side by side. Since I didn’t have a roasting pan large enough, I purchased a 19 1/2″ x 11 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ foil pasta pan. Do you think a foil pan is okay for preparing two briskets together?
Thank you!
Hi Mary, Glad you like it! while you can roast the brisket in the disposable aluminum pan, you do need to use something more substantial (like a roasting pan or an enameled cast iron pot) for the searing of the beef and cooking of the onions.
Perfect! Thank you for your reply.
Update: Once again your brisket recipe was a crowd-pleaser! All of our dinner guests commented how tender and delicious it was. I love that I can do all the prep, cleanup, put it back in the oven after slicing and then simply wait while the house fills with the delicious smells. Thank you!
This brisket recipe is easy and came out great. I was wondering though, for next time – would it make a difference if I omitted the flour? I always end up burning the flour on meats that require browning with flour for some reason, which results in having to clean out the pan before continuing and therefore perhaps losing some flavor.
Hi Sara, Glad you liked it! You could get away with omitting it here but it is okay for there to be a fair amount of browning on the bottom of the pan after searing the meat.
Hi do you have a video of the brisket done in oven with onions and carrots ? If so can you please e mail it to me.
Thankyou.
Louise
Hi Louise, I don’t have a video for the brisket, but do have multiple pictures in the step-by-step directions that should be helpful.
I loved this recipe. The first time I made it I expected more broth out of the meat and veggies. I added some broth when I reheated the dish the next day.
The second time I added about a cup of beef broth and that made the broth I expected the first time.
Do you add any additional liquids?
Thank you.
Glad you’ve liked it! I don’t add any additional liquid, but it’s fine to if you feel like it’s necessary and like the way the finished gravy tastes.
What are the instructions for day #2? Assume oven again but what temp and how long? My house smells wonderful!
Linda
Hi Linda, I may be weighing in too late to help, but I’d reheat the brisket in a 300°F oven until hot, about 45 minutes.
I was really in the mood for brisket and saw this. I made it exactly as written. It was just meh. Nothing special at all
The next day I put leftovers into corn tortillas, fried up these brisket/carmelized onion/smoked Gouda Tacos!!
Sooooo gooood!!
Made brisket this morning, and ate most of it this evening. Used 2 2lb center cut briskets, and seared about 4 minutes on each side. Used a small dutch oven and there was plenty of braising liquid, sliced halfway through cooking…but… brisket turned out tough. Wonder whether it would be more tender if not seared. What might I be doing wrong/
Hi Richard, Searing shouldn’t make a difference in terms of tenderness. How long did you cook the brisket? Did you cook it in the oven or on the stovetop?
Two 1.75 lb briskets
An hour or so at 350, sliced, then an hour and a half more.
Did I over cook?
Would 3-4 hrs at 250 be better?
Thanks
Hi Richard, it’s hard to overcook these — how did they turn out?
The recipe states to lower the temperature to 325 for the second half of the baking. I’ve forgotten to lower the temp in the past and ended up with tougher brisket and much less liquid.
Hi Jenn, I just made the brisket. I had to use all my willpower not to eat it tonight. My house smells like heaven and I know this because pedestrians are suddenly passing MUCH slower and I can see them linger. Tomorrow, do I serve it on a platter with the vegetables? The dish released about 2 cups of liquid. What do I do with it? Is gravy on brisket common? This is my first time making the dish so sorry for the elementary questions. Thank you.
Joanna, your comment about pedestrians slowing down made me laugh! Yes, I’d serve the brisket on a platter with the vegetables around it. Use your judgment with the gravy; maybe pour half of it on the meat and see how it looks. If you think pouring all of it on will be too much, you can serve the rest on the side (and, yes, gravy with brisket is common). Hope everyone enjoys!
Oh thank you so much, Jenn. The gravy reduced a bit when I reheated the meat. Goodness, this is a magical meal.