Hanukkah

Brisket with Saba, Apricots, and Figs

by:
December 12, 2017
2 Ratings
Brisket with Saba, Apricots, and Figs
Photo by Mark Weinberg
Author Notes

My dad always served this brisket front and center at Hanukkah. It's a crowd pleaser and feeds many. The juices are also a great dipping sauce for latkes. Saba can be hard to find, so while it lends the meat a characteristic sweetness, balsamic vinegar is a welcome substitute. —Valerio Farris

  • Serves 10
Ingredients
  • 1 brisket (5-6 pounds)
  • 6 shallots, quartered
  • 2 large onions, 1/2 inch slices
  • 3 large carrots, 1 inch pieces
  • 5 celery stalks, 1 inch pieces
  • 1/2 bunch herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage
  • peel of 1 orange, julienned
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 9 oz. jar of saba
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups dry red wine
  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • sea salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 12 dried apricots
  • 12 dried figs
  • 2 ounces whole almonds
In This Recipe
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Directions
  1. Place the brisket in a large baking dish. Add vegetables, herbs, orange peel and cinnamon. Coat evenly with the saba. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large roasting pan. Add vegetables from the marinade; cook for 5 minutes. Place the brisket in the roasting pan and sear over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the marinade (including cinnamon, orange peel and herbs). Deglaze with red wine.
  3. Add half of the chicken stock and salt & pepper. Place in the oven at 300° for 3 hours. Check after every hour and add more stock if needed until the brisket is fork tender. Add dried fruit and almonds, cover with aluminum foil and cook for 1 hour longer.
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Valerio Farris

Recipe by: Valerio Farris

Valerio is a freelance food writer, editor, researcher and cook. He grew up in his parent's Italian restaurants covered in pizza flour and drinking a Shirley Temple a day. Since, he's worked as a cheesemonger in New York City and a paella instructor in Barcelona. He now lives in Berlin, Germany where he's most likely to be found eating shawarma.

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