Admittedly, a Coca-Cola might not be the first thing you think of when creating a sweet and sour sauce for your Passover brisket, but that's why Levana Kirschenbaum is here. Levana, who wrote the cookbook, The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen told Tonia's Kitchen about her Sweet and Sour Brisket. She told Tonia she uses Coca-Cola, plus red wine and onion, vinegar and brown sugar. Blend it all in a food processor and pour over the brisket. Then just cook it as you normally would. Tonia asked Levana why Coke? Levana said essentially, why not try it! Good news, it worked!
Recipe-reposted from the New York Times
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 two-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
- 6 large cloves garlic
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 ½ cups Coca-Cola or ginger ale
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper or to taste
- 1 six- to seven-pound first-cut brisket, rinsed and patted thoroughly dry
Preparation
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place everything but the brisket into a food processor, and process with steel blade until smooth.
- Place brisket, fat side up, into a heavy baking pan just large enough to hold it, and pour sauce over it. Cover tightly and bake for 2 hours. Turn brisket over and bake uncovered for one more hour or until fork-tender. Cool, cover brisket and refrigerate overnight in cooking pan.
- The next day, transfer brisket to a cutting board, cut off fat and cut with a sharp knife against grain, to desired thickness. Remove any congealed fat from sauce and bring to a boil on top of stove.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Taste sauce to see if it needs reducing. If so, boil it down for a few minutes or as needed. Return meat to sauce and warm in oven for 20 minutes. Serve warm.
