Lunch: Temple Emanu-El Brisket

Recipe by Stephanie Pierson Quivering cranberry slices that melt into the meat and slowly caramelize give this brisket its lovely character. Even better, it takes so little effort for this sweet alchemy to work. Roberta Greenberg, the long-time assistant

Ingredients

1 (4- to 5-pound) beef brisket
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large onions, peeled and cut into eighths
2 (14-ounce) cans jellied cranberry sauce, sliced

Instructions

Sprinkle both sides of the brisket with the garlic powder, paprika, and salt and pepper. Tightly cover the brisket with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 days.
When you're ready to finish the dish, preheat the oven to 500 °F.
Unwrap the brisket, place it in a roasting pan, and roast for 20 minutes on each side. Remove the pan from the oven and decrease the temperature to 350 °F. Place the onions under and around the brisket, then cover the top of the meat with the cranberry sauce slices. Tightly cover the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil and cook until fork-tender, about 3 hours.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow the brisket to cool. Transfer the brisket to a cutting board, trim the fat, then slice the meat against the grain to the desired thickness. Return the slices to the pot, overlapping them at an angle so that you can see a bit of the top edge of each slice, cover the pan with foil, and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, remove any congealed fat from the top of the sauce. Heat the brisket, covered, at 350 °F for 20 minutes, then, uncovered, for another 20 to 30 minutes, until hot and the sauce has reduced a bit. Serve with the sauce.

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