This is the best tasting dish of pot roast—aka braised beef—from a repertoire of various methods in which to cook tougher cuts of meat.  Here a brisket is dredged lightly in seasoned flour, browned in a Dutch oven, onions are then sautéed in the pot with a few cloves of crushed garlic and braised in liquid such as beef or chicken stock.  It’s cooked slowly either on top of the stove or the oven. This is the basic method for braised beef.

Brisket with sweet and sour raisin sauce

Brisket with sweet and sour raisin sauce

In this version I add a sweet and sour element: dark raisins are soaked in Sherry and added to the pot in the final hour of cooking with a sweet-sour mix of brown sugar and vinegar.  What emerges is one of the most delicious dishes for braised brisket.  It can be the traditional centerpiece at a Passover table or made any time of year for a hearty meal.  Accompany with mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes and a green vegetable such as broccoli and you’ve got a perfect meal.