Recipe

Mommy Elly's Brisket

Mommy Elly's Brisket

Photo 1 of 2
by melissav

Mommy Elly's Brisket

Photo 2 of 2
by melissav

  • This recipe was entered in the contest for The Best Recipe or Technique Your Mother Taught You
  • Chef

    melissav's Notes: My mom, Ellyn, wasn't a very adventurous cook when we were growing up; however, there are a few dishes from my childhood that stand out and which I still cook today. She makes a yummy flank...

    Expand

Serves 6-8

  1. Preheat the oven to 325

    Ask a question about this step
  2. Rub the onion soup mix into the brisket. Place the brisket in a 13x9 pan

    Ask a question about this step
  3. Mix the brown sugar, ketchup, garlic cloves, tomato sauce, honey in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.

    Ask a question about this step
  4. Pour the ketchup mixture over the brisket and cover the pan tightly with foil.

    Ask a question about this step
  5. Roast for about 3 hours until it is tender when you poke it with a fork.

    Ask a question about this step
  6. Remove from oven and slice against the grain. Return to pan.

    Ask a question about this step
  7. If you make this the day ahead (which my mom and grandmas typically do), refrigerate overnight. The next day, continue with Step 8 after you let the brisket come to room temperature.

    Ask a question about this step
  8. If you are not making this ahead, add the onions, carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms and cover tightly again.

    Ask a question about this step
  9. Return to the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour until really tender and the veggies are cooked through.

    Ask a question about this step
  10. Enjoy with family and friends!

    Ask a question about this step
  11. PS - I have started serving this with a horseradish cream sauce (mix horseradish to taste with creme fraiche and a handful of minced chives and salt and pepper to test) and I recommend you do the same!

    Ask a question about this step

16 Comments on Mommy Elly's Brisket

Reply

do you refrigerate it after you slice it? my grandma said it will fall apart if you do...

Wedding_pictures_162 Reply

Hi Melissa. I am making this right now. I made a few minor changes. I didn't have tomato sauce so I used a can of fire roasted tomatoes. I thought the sauce was a little sweet, so I didn't add the honey. I did add some onion powder and Worcestershire sauce, making the sauce a little like the dead guy sauce that won the condiment contest. It is so good! It does feel really obnoxious to use onion soup mix and ketchup, but there's something about the combination that creates a sublime sauce. Thanks so much for posting this recipe.

Ry_400 Reply

Hi Dr. B - My mom will be thrilled to hear that you made her recipe. I like your additions. I am going to try them next time.

Reply

made this yesterday in place of my go-to recipe & it was AWESOME! Thanks so much for sharing!

Reply

this is what my mom made, too, and I'm probably from your mother's generation. i love it, but have to say that i've found other brisket recipes that i really enjoy, i.e. ruth reichl's from the Gourmet cookbook and jacques pepin's pot roast recipe made with a brisket.

Reply

mmm this is MY favorite dish at our famous thanksgiving dinners every year. i'm so glad you posted it so i can learn how to cook it one day. :)

Monkeys Reply

Great pictures!

Ry_400 Reply

Thank you!

N538322836_1930755_1183 Reply

My Nanny Matties is almost exactly like this! I think she added a can (!) or mushrooms.

Ry_400 Reply

I'm still trying to get my mom to use fresh potatoes instead of the canned whole potatoes. Haven't won that battle yet! At least she uses fresh carrots instead of canned. . . that's a start!

Ry_400 Reply

It is so great hearing everyone's stories and memories about this dish. Whenever we would go to someone else's house for the jewish holidays, there was always a brisket dish similar to this recipe but just "not quite" the same! I think the variations between the recipes are minimal but none is better than the one YOUR mom makes!

Reply

My mom's made brisket for as long as I can remember but like MrsWheelbarrow, used chili sauce and white vinegar but no soup mix. She used one of two recipes, my father's mother's and one from the community nursery school cookbook my brother and sister went to. I am loving all of these stories of memories of our mom's etc!

Img_1045_2 Reply

My mother's recipe is nearly identical, except she added Heinz Chili Sauce, not ketchup. I thought she might have gotten the recipe when we took our (annual) school field trip to the Heinz factory in Pittsburgh. Any other 'burgher's out there remember those tours and the tiny pickle pin?

Newliztoqueicon-2 Reply

My mother always used Heinz Chili sauce too! Amazingly, I had one of those pins as a kid...

Wedding_pictures_162 Reply

My mother's recipe is very similar. It must have been on a package of Lipton's onion soup mix at one time!

186003_1004761561_1198459_n Reply

Oh what memories...my mother made this recipe too!!!

Meet our Hotliners:

Steven Raichlen

Steven is the author of the best-selling Barbecue Bible and the host of two grilling TV shows: The Primal Grill and Barbecue University.

Steven Raichlen answered What are the best fish/wood chips to use in a stovetop smoker? 10 months ago