Mom’s Red Wine Pot Roast for Jewish American Heritage Month

We don’t have many recipes in our family that have been passed down from generation to generation. I can’t think of many dishes my mother made from her childhood. One reason might be that my maternal grandmother favored very traditional Ashkenazi recipes and had a reputation as an uneven cook. My mother, Abbey Silverman Rockmaker, was an excellent cook, adventurous and fearless in the kitchen, who preferred more contemporary and international dishes.

My family used to joke that grandma’s pot roasts or briskets only had flavor when she burnt the onions. My mom, though, was the Queen of Pot Roast and made her red wine pot roast regularly. It was a special treat when she came to visit us in California from New York. She would always make two pot roasts during her visit: one for us to eat with her and a second for the freezer that we would enjoy after she left.

Neither my two sisters nor I ever wrote down how she made her pot roast so when I first tried to replicate her recipe after she passed away, I talked to my sisters and got a bit of a shock: She made it differently for each of us! Her California version had mushrooms, her New York one didn’t. She used apple juice in some versions and not others. I’m sure the seasoning varied as well.

Below is Abbey’s Red Wine Pot Roast – the closest my sisters and I could come to re-creating it. I consider it the standard for pot roast or brisket. It is a classic meat and potatoes comfort food and the starting point for all the brisket and pot roast recipes I have created since.

Like all pot roasts and braised meat dishes, it benefits from being made at least a day in advance and cut into slices when chilled.

Abbey’s Red Wine Pot Roast
Adapted from 52 Shabbats: Friday Night Dinners Inspired by a Global Jewish Kitchen
Serves 8

1 (3-to-4 pound) boneless beef chuck roast or brisket
2 Tbsps. plus 1/2 tsp. soy sauce, divided
1 tsp. salt, divided
3/4 tsp. ground black pepper
3 Tbsps. vegetable oil, divided
2 cups chopped onion
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, optional
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 1/2 cups red wine
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
3 cups (1-inch slices) carrots
3 cups (1-inch chunks) new or red potatoes
2 cups sliced cremini or white button mushrooms

Trim the chuck roast of excess surface fat and place on a rimmed plate. (If using brisket, leave a 1/4-inch layer of fat on top.) Brush 2 Tbsps. of soy sauce on all sides of the meat and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.

In a Dutch oven or a large heavy soup pot, heat 2 Tbsps. of oil over medium-high heat. Add the meat and cook until browned, 5 to 7 minutes per side. (Cut the meat in half against the grain if it’s too large for the pot and brown in batches). Transfer the meat to the rimmed plate.

Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil to the Dutch oven. Add the onion and sauté, stirring up any browned bits with a spoon, until softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tsp. of salt, remaining 1/4 tsp. of black pepper, the cayenne (if using), oregano and rosemary and sauté for 1 minute. Add the wine and apple juice and bring to a simmer.

Return the meat to the pan (if brisket, place fat side up) along with any juices (stack the meat if it was cut in half) and bring to a simmer. Add the carrots, cover, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, spooning the liquid over the meat every 30 minutes and turning the meat in the liquid every 60 minutes. (If the meat is stacked, switch the top and bottom pieces.)

If the liquid evaporates, add more water. After 60 minutes, add the potatoes, cover and simmer for another 60 minutes. Add the mushrooms, cover and simmer until a dinner fork glides through the meat –about 1 to 2 more hours. (Cook until tender, not by time.)

Transfer the vegetables and meat to a freshly rimmed plate (or large bowl). Add the remaining 1/2 tsp. of soy sauce to the Dutch oven and simmer over medium heat until the liquid is reduced to the consistency of thin pasta sauce, 10 to 20 minutes. Taste and add more salt and black pepper, if desired.

Let the meat rest for at least 20 minutes before cutting across the grain into slices or shredding. To serve, place the meat and vegetables on a serving platter and top with some of the sauce. Serve extra sauce on the side.

If making in advance (recommended), wrap the meat and place the sauce with vegetables in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To serve, cut the chilled meat against the grain into slices or shred. Remove the fat from the top of the chilled sauce, if desired. Bring the sauce and vegetables to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add the meat and cook until heated through.

VARIATION: To Make Pot Roast or Brisket in an Oven: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Choose a heavy roasting pan or Dutch oven that is both stovetop and oven safe. Prepare as directed on the stovetop until the meat is in the pot and the liquid is simmering. Bake, covered (use aluminum foil if the pot does not have an oven-safe lid), for 3 to 4 1/2 hours, following the recipe instructions.

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Faith Kramer is a member of the Hadassah Writers’ Circle, a dynamic and diverse writing group for leaders and members to express their thoughts and feelings about all the things Hadassah does to make the world a better place. It’s where they celebrate their personal Hadassah journeys and share their Jewish values, family traditions and interpretations of Jewish texts. Hadassah members are proud of their Zionist mission and their role as keepers of the flame of Jewish values, traditions and beliefs as well as advocating for women’s empowerment and health equity for all. Since 2019, the Hadassah Writers’ Circle has published nearly 800 columns in The Times of Israel Blogs and other Jewish media outlets. Interested in writing? Please contact hwc@hadassah.org