1 beef brisket (6 to 8 lbs.)
2 large onions, sliced
2 large lemons, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups port
1/2 cup brown sugar or brown sugar substitute
3 tablespoons mixed herbs (optional - rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme)
4 large cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
1-1/2 teaspoonful coarsely ground pepper 1
Trim excess fat from brisket. In a roasting pan, place onion slices, lemon slices and garlic. Lay brisket on top of vegetables.
Mix together port, brown sugar, and herbs; stir until sugar dissolves, then pour evenly over brisket. Sprinkle brisket with pepper and cover roasting pan tightly with foil. Bake in a 300 oven until brisket is very tender when pierced, about four hours. 2
When brisket is tender, uncover pan and return it to the oven (raise temperature to 450 ) to brown the meat slightly, about 20 minutes. Remove brisket from pan.
Skim off fat from pan juices and put in sauce pan. Boil juices and vegetables, uncovered, stirring often. As mixture thickens, reduce heat to medium and stir constantly; cook until thick and shiny, and reduced to about 1-3/4 cups (20-30 minutes). Add salt to taste. To serve, slice across the grain. Spoon marmalade over brisket. Garnish with lemon "bows" and chopped parsley if desired.
1 Important: At this point, do not add salt to the pan or sauce. It would dry out and toughen the meat while baking; especially if meat has been produced according to kosher guidelines.
2 At this point, brisket may be refrigerated until the final cooking.