Yes! It’s ok if your family prefers to have meat for a Chanukah get together, instead of the traditional dairy. We are sharing some well-documented-to-be-successful brisket recipes for your Chanukah party or Shabbat dinner. Enjoy with a side dish of latkes.

Sybil Kaplan Shares Her Late Mother’s Recipe

• 4-pound brisket
• ⅔ package of onion soup mix
• paprika
• parsley flakes
• dill
• 6 carrots
• 8 potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the brisket in a foil-lined baking pan. Sprinkle onion soup mix, paprika, parsley flakes and dill on top. Add carrots and potatoes. Seal with foil. Bake for one hour per pound.

Ruth’s Brisket

• 4 pound brisket
• vegetable or olive oil for browning meat
• 4 sliced onions
• ¾ cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• paprika
• 1 cup boiled water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat oil in a frying pan. Sear meat in oil on both sides. Add all ingredients and cook for 15-30 minutes. Transfer to a baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for three hours until tender.

Coca-Cola Brisket

• 3-4 pound brisket
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 4 cups Coca-Cola

Dry rub:

• 1 tablespoon each of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dry mustard and kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoons sugar

Mix together all dry ingredients. Rub the entire brisket with the spice mixture and place in a gallon-sized plastic bag. Seal and refrigerate for at least one hour, up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Unwrap and place seasoned beef in a roasting pan or dutch oven uncovered and cook for one hour. Add tomato sauce and Coca-Cola. Cover pan tightly and cook for 3 to 3 1/2 hrs until fork tender.

Remove from oven, cover with foil and let stand 15-20 minutes.

Trim fat and slice meat thinly across the grain. Pour sauce over as it is served.

Nina’s Brisket

(Actually from Maria, my grandmother’s cook in Berlin)

• 3-4 pound brisket (my mother called it brust deckel)
• 2 onions
• ½ cup boiling water
• package of mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ cup water

Paprika

Slice onions and layer on the bottom of roasting pan. Place brisket directly on top of onions and cover meat with paprika. Cover and cook on stove on very low flame. Gradually the juices from the meat will form a liquid around the meat, and as it happens, add ½ cup boiling water. Let it cook slowly for 1 ½ hours. Always make sure it is not burning and the flame is not too high. Add tomato sauce mixed with water and sugar and pour over meat. At the same time, add the mushrooms. Let cook on low flame for another hour.

Advisory for this and all other recipes: Meat slices better when it is cold. Cook meat the day before your gathering and slice before reheating.

The following is an easy-shmeezy, yummy alternative to brisket:

Beery Roast

• (from Second Helpings by Norene Gilletz)
• 3 ½-4 pound top rib
• 1 ½ cups of beer
• 1 ½ cups of ketchup

Place meat in pan with no seasoning or water. Roast uncovered for 1 ½ hours. Discard pan juices. Add ketchup mixed with beer (I use one bottle of beer) and roast about another 1 ½ hours. Approximately 8 servings.