“Ever since I was a little boy, I loved spending time in the kitchen with my mom,” says chef Todd Kalkstein. “I learned how to make lox, eggs and onions, chopped liver, matzah ball soup, brisket, mushroom barley and many other Jewish recipes that she passed down to me.”
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Kalkstein is now the director of dining services at Atrium Village, a senior living community in Owings Mills.
“I’m a great cook/chef because of the cooking foundation that my mother gave me,” he says.
Here is one of his mother’s recipes you can try for yourself at home.
Momma Kalkstein’s Brisket
5-6 pounds trimmed brisket
3-4 large yellow onions
2 each red and green peppers
1 32-ounce can tomato juice
11/2 cups ketchup
Salt
Fresh pepper
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Paprika
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Water as needed
Season both sides of the brisket with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika.
In a large pot, add oil, and then sear brisket on both sides.
Remove brisket from pot, and sauté onions and peppers until translucent.
Return brisket to pot and add tomato juice, ketchup and enough water until brisket is covered.
Bring to a simmer, then cover with lid or aluminum foil.
Cook in preheated 350° oven for a minimum of two hours or until knife can be inserted with zero resistance.
Remove pot from oven, and put brisket on a cutting board.
Purée all other ingredients left in the pot.
Slice brisket as desired, and cover with the puréed gravy. Let sit overnight.
Freeze or reheat as desired.
