Make Ahead

Ruth's Brisket

by:
February 11, 2017
4
11 Ratings
Ruth's Brisket
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This is my mother Ruth's recipe. She didn't write any of it down, but I tried to for my family and friends. I think my mom may have adapted it from a recipe that required vinegar, substituting pickle brine since she always had pickles in the refrigerator. My mom served the brisket with green peas, fresh rye bread (easily available in NYC in the 50s and 60s), butter, and sliced kosher pickles. While my sister and I waited for our Dad to come home from work, we set the table. As we got hungrier, we made little sandwiches with pickles and the end pieces (the "heels") of the rye bread. Of course, if Dad was delayed, the sandwiches got bigger as we delved further into the loaf of rye!

This brisket is perfect for a traditional Jewish holiday dinner, but it's great for any occasion. I had a "brisket cook-off" for 12 people, where I made Ruth's Brisket, Oven Barbecued Brisket (adapted from Mark Bittman), Sweet & Sour Brisket (Food52), and Lemon Brisket (Melissa Clark). We compared them and while we loved them all, when we finished, everyone agreed Ruth's Brisket was our favorite. We'd eat it anytime!
—Marian

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 3 to 3 1/2 pounds brisket, first cut
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 8 medium white mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/4 cup dry red wine
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons brine from kosher pickles, strained
  • 8 ounces tomato sauce
  • 6 to 10 ounces cold water (more or less as needed)
  • 1 1/2 pounds baking potatoes (about 4 medium)
Directions
  1. Mix together salt, pepper, paprika, and dried herbs in a small bowl.
  2. Dry brisket with paper towels and place meat on a plate with fatty side top up.
  3. Season fatty side with about half of the herb mixture.
  4. Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat and add oil to slick bottom.
  5. Lower heat and add onions, garlic, and mushrooms to pot.
  6. Sauté until onions are transparent (but do not let garlic burn), then remove mixture to a plate.
  7. Turn up heat under pot to medium-high and put meat, fatty side down, in the now empty pot.
  8. Sear bottom of meat until nicely browned, about 5 minutes.
  9. Season top side of meat with remaining herb mixture.
  10. Turn meat to sear second side, an additional 5 minutes.
  11. When meat is browned and there is a crust of brown bits on the bottom of the pot, remove meat to plate with onion mixture.
  12. Add wine to the now-empty pot to de-glaze, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan.
  13. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, pickle brine, and tomato sauce.
  14. Return onion mixture and the meat to the pot, with fatty side of meat up.
  15. Add water as needed to come halfway up the sides of the meat so that the meat will braise.
  16. Stir liquids in pot together to make a sauce and use a large spoon to transfer a little of sauce over the top of the meat.
  17. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 2 hours.
  18. Peel and cut the potatoes into quarters; nestle them in the pot around the meat.
  19. Cover the pot and continue to cook over low heat for 1 more hour.
  20. Remove the meat to a carving board and cut thinly across the grain.
  21. Return the meat to the pot and cook until the meat is tender and the potatoes are done (but not falling apart), about 1 hour more.
  22. Serve immediately, either from the pot or from a serving dish.
  23. Note: The brisket tastes even better the next day! Allow brisket to cool then transfer all to an oven-proof serving dish or a large pot. After refrigerating, scrape off the fat from the top if there's a lot. Warm brisket, potatoes, and sauce in serving dish in 325° F oven for 1 hour or in pot on stove-top.
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33 Reviews

DeniseGG
DeniseGG November 22, 2021
This has become my new family brisket recipe!!! I would recommend it without reservation, but you have to follow all of the instructions (go ahead and read it twice just before starting). The first 20 minutes is pretty involved, but once it's settled your house will start smelling delicious and dinner will be well worth it. Make sure to cut as thinly across the grain as you can, and make the potatoes as uniform as possible.
 
Marian
Marian November 22, 2021
I'm so glad you enjoyed Ruth's Brisket! I've been thinking about the comments, and I think one important element that is missing from the recipe is the actual size of the pot. "A large pot" is so subjective and imprecise! So... I use a 7.25-quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven (a Le Creuset #28). A 3 lb. piece of meat can usually fit in a 5.5 quart pot too. My friends use Staub and Lodge Dutch ovens and say they work well too. I think these enameled cast-iron pots help the meat to braise.
 
FoodieYogi
FoodieYogi October 19, 2021
I love this brisket & the secret ingredient of pickle brine! It's important to have a dutch oven where the meat and everything else stays covered & to cut against the grain as the recipe says. Putting it back into the yummy sauce after slicing made it tender & delicious.
 
Jan G.
Jan G. October 17, 2021
Huge disappointment! Meat was tough and tasteless. Can't figure out why it was so taseless. Family member suggested we get take out instead.
 
Sea C.
Sea C. September 24, 2020
I have to say, I love how tender and delicious Ruth's Brisket turns out! If the directions are followed, it won't disappoint!
 
FoodieYogi
FoodieYogi September 21, 2020
I've made this a few times, and every time I get really positive feedback. It's heart & soul food. The brisket is so tasty & there is never any of the gravy left as everyone sops it up. I think the pickle juice is the secret ingredient, plus the obvious love from the creator's recipe!
 
Jane
Jane September 21, 2020
I just made this recipe this weekend for at least the 10th time - it was wonderful! I find that as you cook it down the sauce thickens and the meat becomes so tender and flavorful that knives are not necessary - a fork is all you need! Guests even bring their own containers to take leftovers home with them, leaving very little for us!
 
Beth
Beth September 20, 2020
I’ve been making brisket for years and years and this was a very bland and chewy recipe. I cooked the next day for two more hours. I think oven cooking versus braising is a better result.
 
Marian
Marian September 21, 2020
Hi Beth, I'm sorry this recipe didn't work for you. The meat will be chewy until it is sliced and returned to the pot to cook further. That's when the transformation happens. There are many ways to make a brisket!
 
Marian
Marian September 5, 2018
Hi Lululand, Just saw your comment. The meat is sliced when it is halfway cooked, but then returning it to the pot to braise some more makes the meat very, very tender. It's not like it is being over-cooked. I think it's something to do with the science of braising!
 
LULULAND
LULULAND September 5, 2018
Ok thanks!
 
LULULAND
LULULAND July 15, 2018
Why is it sliced and then returned to cook again? Couldn't it be sliced after its cooked? Seems like it would dry out more if its all sliced.
 
S P.
S P. October 1, 2017
This sounds great! I wrote The Brisket Book: A Love Story With Recipes. And out of dozens of amazing briskets and a few years of research to find them (they include super-stars like Nach Waxman, Joan Nathan, Daniel Rose) and gifted home cooks like Roberta Greenberg of NY's Temple Emanuel, you have the only pickle brine recipe I have ever seen! It makes perfect sense and I plan to make it. You can't have too many briskets! So bravo and a Happy New Year to all of us Brisketeers!
 
Marian
Marian November 18, 2018
Hi SP! I read your book this weekend and look forward to making some of the recipes. What an amazing work of love! I am proud to call myself a Brisketeer.
 
S P.
S P. October 1, 2017
This sounds great! I wrote The Brisket Book: A Love Story With Recipes. And out of dozens of amazing briskets and a few years of research to find them (they include super-stars like Nach Waxman, Joan Nathan, Daniel Rose) and gifted home cooks like Roberta Greenberg of NY's Temple Emanuel, you have the only pickle brine recipe I have ever seen! It makes perfect sense and I plan to make it. You can't have too many briskets! So bravo and a Happy New Year to all of us Brisketeers!
 
Mary J.
Mary J. April 12, 2017
What timing would you suggest for braising the meat without potatoes? We have potato kugel with brisket at Passover.
 
Marian
Marian April 13, 2017
I think less time, but I'm not sure how much--the time is for tenderizing the meat as much as cooking the potatoes. Perhaps you could make the brisket with the potatoes anyway, just to help thicken the sauce? Someone might like the potatoes instead of or in addition to the kugel. And the kugel may be finished, but the potatoes would be good with the leftover brisket...
 
Ali W.
Ali W. April 5, 2017
Can this be made in the oven?
 
Baywife
Baywife April 5, 2017
I did it in the oven -- 275 for 3 hours, took it out and sliced it, added the potatoes, returned it to the pot and oven and roasted an additional hour. That's 4 hours total. It was very tender, the potatoes were done, but not disintegrating. Will do again.
 
LULULAND
LULULAND July 15, 2018
Sounds like a great idea!
 
joan
joan March 31, 2017
Is there a cookbook with this recipe?
 
Marian
Marian April 3, 2017
I like the idea of a cookbook! I have more recipes from my mom that I can submit to Food52. My mother didn't write down her own recipes, so it will take me some time to quantify the ingredients. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
catherine D.
catherine D. March 31, 2017
Could this be done in slow cooker after being seared?
 
Lee A.
Lee A. March 31, 2017
Yes, but you would want to use less water.
 
catherine D.
catherine D. March 31, 2017
Could this be done in slow cooker after being seared?
 
catherine D.
catherine D. March 31, 2017
Could this be done in slow cooker after being seared?
 
Baywife
Baywife March 22, 2017
Are the potatoes peeled or not? How do they stay intact after cooking for two hours?
 
Marian
Marian March 28, 2017
The potatoes are peeled. I think my mother chose russet potatoes because they keep their shape pretty well (or they may have been the only potatoes supermarkets had 50 years ago). If the potatoes start to fall apart, it's fine. It helps to thicken the sauce!
 
Marit G.
Marit G. March 14, 2017
Tried this today, very good indeed. looking forward to it being even better tomorrow!
 
Marit G.
Marit G. March 10, 2017
what kind of tomato sauce?
 
Marian
Marian March 10, 2017
Just a small can of plain tomato sauce. I prefer to use something low salt. Marian
 
Marion
Marion October 1, 2017
I haven't made this dinner yet, but I thought I would comment. Funny my name is Marion, I spell it with an "o" and my mom's name is Ruth. So yes, I will definitely make this for dinner. Just a coincidence but it made me totally smile and I really needed a smile today.
 
Marian
Marian September 26, 2022
Hi Marion, I am sorry that I never replied to your comment. I didn't see it when you first wrote it, because at that time Food 52 didn't send alerts that someone had written about a recipe. I am not skilled in social media and don't usually partake in conversations on the internet. Now that I've read your comment, it has struck a chord. I hope that you have had many occasions to smile since that day, and maybe one of them was while eating this brisket. Please accept this late response. My mother always said it is never too late to apologize.