The Festival of Lights is upon us, and we are celebrating with traditional fare including latkes, sufganiyot and the holiday table pièce de résistance, brisket.

Joshua Resnick, Lead Chef & Operations Manager for ICE New York, is no stranger to brisket — he’s done brisket three ways throughout his lifetime.

“The most recent was smoked in my dad's smoker,” he says. “In terms of braised brisket, I started with my mom and dad's recipe, but then I was doing research on different types of Jewish cuisine and came across a Roman-Jewish recipe and I really liked the look of it. I gave it a shot and started to tweak it before ending up where I did.”

Chef Joshua braises his brisket in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, red wine, rosemary, sage, honey and chicken stock.

“I really like this recipe,” he says. “It's familiar in style to classic braises but has a unique flavor from the herbs, vinegar and honey. I think it all plays together nicely in a unique way that works whether it's Passover in the spring or Hanukkah in the winter.”

For first-time brisket-teers, Chef Joshua encourages you to make brisket ahead of time, as cooling it in the juices overnight makes it easier to slice. And don’t forget to trim the fat so you don't end up with a greasy sauce.

“Finally, buy more than you think,” he says. “It makes great leftovers and it'll go quick at the table.”

The recipe below is now a Resnick family staple for the holidays.

“[It] will always hold a place in my heart because it was one of the first solid proteins my daughter really enjoyed,” he says, recalling making it shortly after her first birthday in November of 2021. “She housed it.”

“It made me feel like it was her way of telling me, ‘Don't worry, Dad, you’re doing a good job at this Dad thing.’ I'll never forget that.”

Happy Hanukkah, y’all!

Ingredients

3-4 pounds brisket, trimmed of large pieces of fat
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Vegetable or canola oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, sliced
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cup red wine, divided
Sachet of 2 sprigs rosemary and 2 sprigs sage
1/4 cup honey
1-2 cups chicken stock

Directions

Preheat oven to 300˚F.
Season the brisket liberally with salt and pepper on all sides.
In a straight-sided pan set over medium-high to high heat, sear the brisket on all sides until golden brown. Set aside and reserve.
Degrease the pan, add in fresh fat and lower the heat. Sweat the onions and garlic until soft.
Deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and 1/2 cup of red wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove all the fond, and add the sachet and reduce the liquid by half.
Return the brisket to the pan before adding in the remaining wine and enough stock to come 2/3-3/4 of the way up the side of the brisket. Bring the liquid to a boil.
Cover the pan and place into the oven for 4 to 4 1/2 hours. The brisket should be fork-tender and the liquid should be reduced.
Remove from oven and cool overnight. The next day, remove any hardened fat from the top of the pan. Carefully remove the brisket and slice against the grain into 1/2-inch thick pieces. Rewarm with the sauce and serve.

Related Recipe: DIY Jelly Doughnuts for Hanukkah

Abbe Lewis

Abbe Lewis is a writer, editor, Emmy nominee and extreme nacho enthusiast with over a decade of experience in food and beverage media. Always on the move, Abbe can be found running long distances on the weekends to new restaurants or her favorite hangouts.