Brisket (Jewish dish) facts for kids
Brisket served for Pesach
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| Alternative names | Jewish brisket, beef brisket, Shabbat brisket |
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| Type | Jewish cuisine |
| Place of origin | The United States, Israel |
| Created by | Ashkenazi Jewish community of Central and Eastern Europe |
| Serving temperature | Hot, traditionally served with potato kugel or other non-dairy kugel, latkes, matzo ball soup |
Brisket is a yummy dish made from a special cut of beef, also called brisket. It's cooked slowly until it's super tender. This dish is very popular in Jewish cuisine, especially among Ashkenazi Jews.
People often enjoy brisket during special times like Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Passover, and Hanukkah. It's a favorite meal for many Jewish holidays. You can find brisket in Jewish communities all over the world, including North America, Israel, Europe, South Africa, and Australia.
Since the early 1900s, brisket has been one of the most important and well-known main dishes in the Jewish community in North America.
What is Brisket?
In traditional Jewish cuisine, brisket is usually cooked very slowly in an oven. It cooks for many hours at a low temperature. This long, slow cooking helps make the meat very soft and easy to chew, because brisket can be a tough cut of meat.
Brisket is especially popular as a main dish for holidays. It's often served at Rosh Hashanah, Passover, and Hanukkah, as well as on Shabbat. Long ago, brisket was a popular choice for Ashkenazi Jews because it was affordable and fit with kashrut rules. Kashrut means following Jewish dietary laws.
Brisket's History
Brisket has been a part of special meals for Ashkenazi Jews in Europe, like Passover, since at least the 1700s.
Julia Moskin, a reporter for The New York Times, once said:
Brisket is implicitly kosher since it is from the front of the animal, and it was cheap because anything that takes a long time to cook and that cannot be grilled has challenges, especially in a restaurant
Brisket is a tough cut of meat, but it was also cheap. When cooked for many hours at a low temperature, it becomes very tender. Farmers would sell the more expensive cuts of meat and keep the cheaper ones, which made brisket popular among Ashkenazi Jews.
When Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe came to America, they brought their traditional cooking styles, including brisket. This helped introduce brisket to more people in America.
Over time, brisket became a very important food in Jewish cuisine and Jewish culture, especially in America.
How Brisket is Made
Ashkenazi Jews prepare brisket in many different ways. The main idea is to cook it for several hours at a low temperature. It's usually cooked with a tasty sauce and root vegetables.
Often, brisket is seasoned or cooked with a sauce. Some common sauces include chili sauce or ketchup. Sometimes, people even use Coca-Cola! Vegetables like onions, garlic, potatoes, and carrots are often added. The brisket then cooks for many hours in an oven. Today, many people also use a slow cooker, which is a special pot that cooks food slowly.
One popular way to make brisket in American Jewish cooking is called "sweet-and-sour brisket." This recipe uses a sauce with crushed tomatoes, seasonings, brown sugar, vinegar, and beef or chicken broth. Another way to prepare brisket is to marinate it and cook it with a sauce that includes brewed coffee.
Ways to Enjoy Brisket
Brisket is often eaten by itself, or with side dishes like pareve kugel (which can be potato or noodle kugel). It's also commonly served with matzah ball soup.
Leftover brisket is great for making other meals! People traditionally use it in dishes like cholent (a slow-cooked stew) and other soups or stews. It's also delicious in sandwiches.
See also
In Spanish: Brisket para niños
