Tis the season for barbecue brisket

As the weather in the northeast finally begins to resemble autumn, it now feels right to prepare fall fare. Squash, pumpkin, hearty soups, and savory braised beef soon will appear on my family’s dinner table.

But one of our family’s favorite fall menu items – Barbecue Brisket – actually originated in the springtime at our Passover Seder. We fell in love with this dish several years ago when my mother-in-law bought the Kosher by Design (Susie Fishbein/Mes’sorah Publications, Ltd.) cookbook for us, after it took Squirrel Hill – my husband’s hometown – by storm.

After savoring the dish numerous times at Passover, we realized it proved the perfect hearty fall meal. Something about a large cut of meat, flanked with onions, celery, and garlic, simmering in chili sauce for four hours that soothes the soul and takes away the chill. Combine it with crusty warm bread, roasted vegetables, and a deep red wine and enjoy it in front of an early fall fire.

But if tossing a five-pound hunk of meat into your shopping cart gives you pause, just remember that nothing freezes better than brisket. We find it actually tastes better when thawed and warmed up and make it a number of times as the temperature drops so we have it ready and waiting whenever we want comfort food.

Best of all, it makes an amazingly impressive company dish – with little effort beyond the time it takes. Chop a few ingredients, heave it in the oven, and that’s it. Several years ago, my husband prepared it – along with potato latkes – for my family’s Christmas Eve dinner. They still talk about it to this day.

Barbecue Brisket

Yield: 10 servings

From Kosher by Design by Susie Fishbein

Ingredients:

• 1 (5-pound) brisket
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chili sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 (10-ounce) bottle of beer
• Fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Wash and dry the brisket, cutting away most of visible fat.
3. Sprinkle the brisket with salt, pepper and paprika.
4. Place the brisket, fat side up, in a heavy baking pan.
5. Surround with the onions, celery and garlic.
6. Pour chili sauce on top of the brisket.
7. Slowly pour the water into the pan around the brisket. Sprinkle with the parsley.
8. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.
9. Remove from oven and pour the beer over the brisket. Do this slowly so it doesn’t wash off the chili sauce.
10. Cover the brisket and cook 3 hours longer or until tender.
11. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Place in refrigerator.
12. Remove any accumulated fat from the top.
13. Slice and reheat in the sauce, and garnish with a sprinkling of fresh minced parsley.

Stephanie Kaufman, director of Corporate Communications for Mom Central Consulting, can be found on weekends scouring her local Farmer’s Market and grocery stores for fabulous fall fare.

Stephanie Kaufman

Feeling for much of her life that she couldn't sit still long enough to thread a needle and that all in all, she'd rather be reading, Stephanie Kaufman discovered crafting in her late 40s and now loves knitting, sewing, and household decorative arts.