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Photo: Eric Wolfinger
My father made an excellent Hanukkah brisket, a recipe cribbed from a food-stained cookbook that I never learned the name of. He made latkes, too, the potato pancakes most often associated with the holiday. But it was his brisket, I think, of which he was most proud. Brisket is the type of food that unites, in good times and in bad, and maybe that’s why my father was so fond of it.
When the holidays arrive, many Jewish people in America celebrate with a dinner like the one I grew up eating. This meat, which is traditionally braised, sliced and plated in a pool of sauce upon the best china, sets the backdrop for the gathering.
It feels triumphant to shop for the larger cut this year, as opposed to the one that will feed just two or four. The reward lies in knowing that friends and family are together again, in the festive, slightly chaotic way that holidays always tend to go. And those leftovers are part of the experience.
The very idea of them, I like to think, is the consequence of having dreamed a little too big, of having made sure that, when the last candle expires, every person is fed—and fed well. When the guests have all gone, what remains is not only the stacked dishes and the wine-stained tablecloth. It’s the brisket that will carry on, a marching soldier in its culinary efficiency, to the next meal. It is enough for everyone. It is more than enough. That was always the point.
Below, you’ll find two brisket recipes—one braised and the other grill-smoked—that will make more than you’ll likely need for a single meal. Then there are four additional recipes that transform any leftovers into entirely different meals, worthy of entertaining again. It’s too much, you might think on first glance, but really, in the spirit of the holidays, it’s just enough.
01of 06Braised Brisket with Tomatoes & OnionsEric WolfingerView Recipe02of 06Grill-Smoked Barbecue BrisketEric WolfingerView Recipe03of 06Smoked Brisket & Bok Choy Noodle SoupEric WolfingerView Recipe04of 06Brisket, Potato & Leek KugelEric WolfingerView Recipe05of 06Smothered Potato LatkesEric WolfingerView Recipe06of 06Smoked Brisket TacosEric WolfingerView Recipe
01of 06Braised Brisket with Tomatoes & OnionsEric WolfingerView Recipe
01of 06
Braised Brisket with Tomatoes & Onions
Eric Wolfinger
View Recipe
02of 06Grill-Smoked Barbecue BrisketEric WolfingerView Recipe
02of 06
Grill-Smoked Barbecue Brisket
03of 06Smoked Brisket & Bok Choy Noodle SoupEric WolfingerView Recipe
03of 06
Smoked Brisket & Bok Choy Noodle Soup
04of 06Brisket, Potato & Leek KugelEric WolfingerView Recipe
04of 06
Brisket, Potato & Leek Kugel
05of 06Smothered Potato LatkesEric WolfingerView Recipe
05of 06
Smothered Potato Latkes
06of 06Smoked Brisket TacosEric WolfingerView Recipe
06of 06
Smoked Brisket Tacos
Hannah Selinger is a food and lifestyle writer based in New York. Find her on Instagram@druishamericanprincess.
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