Passover Brisket Southern Girl Style

Sometimes it's just time to try something new.  This year, I wanted to make a brisket with a new recipe.  I found a great recipe here: Deep South Dish, and wanted to put my own spin on it.  I thought I could make it a little more easy, by not marinating it, but instead searing the meat first before prepping it for the oven.  I also took a closer look at the ingredients on the always popular you-know-who instant onion soup mix, and was dismayed to see hydrogenated oils, and even corn products in the way-more-expensive "Kosher for Passover" labelled box!  Ugh.  Not to mention that the "Kosher for Passover" version had less product at a much greater price!  Here's the breakdown:

 

Same brand.  Same aisle in my local grocery store.  The box on the left has 2.0 ounces and the Kosher for Passover box has 1.9 ounces.  The box on the left was marked $1.79 and the Kosher for Passover box was marked $2.79.  The Kosher for Passover box had corn flour listed in the ingredients, as well as hydrogenated oil!  Both versions were full of things you can't pronounce that you probably shouldn't ingest...

But I digress.  Mah nishtanah! Ha.

Back to the brisket y'all.

3 pound brisket

1 Tablespoon + a separate measurement of 1/4 cup dried minced onion

1 Tablespoon + a separate measurement of 1/4 cup organic no salt seasoning (I used the Kirkland brand from Costco)

1 - 10 ounce jar of chili sauce (if you are concerned about Kashrut, make sure you choose something with no corn syrup)

1 - 12 ounce can of Coca-Cola

1 teaspoon of liquid smoke

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Heat up a pan on medium-high heat, adding about 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, the 1 Tablespoon measurement of dried minced onion, and the 1 Tablespoon of organic no salt seasoning.

When the pan is hot and you start to smell the onions and seasonings, put the meat in the pan.  Put the meat in fat side down first.  I didn't notice that this particular cut had a pretty thick fat layer until it was too late; we'll see how that works out.  Sprinkle a little more dried minced onion and no salt seasoning on the lean side while the fat side is browning.  Brown it for about 5 minutes and then flip it to brown the other side for 5 minutes.

While you're browning the meat, you can line a roasting pan with heavy duty aluminum foil with enough hanging over the side to wrap around the brisket.

After browning, transfer the brisket into the roasting pan, fat side up.  Make a few knife slits into the fat layer.  Cover the brisket with the one can of Coca-Cola, one bottle of chili sauce, and then the 1/4 cup dried minced onion.  Sprinkle the one teaspoon of liquid smoke on top.  Loosely wrap the foil into a pouch around the brisket.

Roast the brisket for 3 hours (approximately one hour per pound).

Let brisket rest for 30 minutes before slicing on the bias, against the grain.