If you were to peek inside my cabinet, there are a few 1950s-era convenience foods that you might be surprised to find, and one of those stalwarts is a box of Lipton Onion Soup Mix. This umami-packed powder is one of my tried and true pantry heroes.
Dubbed “Lipton Recipe Secrets,” this not-so-secret ingredient can transform a tub of sour cream into a potluck-worthy dip, bring a wallop of je ne sais quois to hamburgers, and—most importantly—is one of the pillars of flavor in my family’s special holiday brisket recipe.
My 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Better Brisket
For holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, and even Friday night shabbat, my family loves digging into a tender, savory brisket. And despite its rising popularity, brisket is still a relatively affordable cut of meat that can be counted on to feed a crowd without a ton of effort from me, so I’m always happy to oblige.
I first tried my hand at cooking brisket in culinary school, in my braising and stewing class, braising the slab of marbled beef in a Dutch oven with red wine and aromatics until it was tender and juicy. It was a good, classic recipe—so good, in fact, that I didn’t even realize something was missing until years later when I ate an even more satisfyingly savory brisket at a friend’s house. When I asked my friend’s mom to tell me her secret, she pointed to a box of Lipton Onion Soup Mix and winked.
I’ve been using Lipton Onion Soup Mix in my own family brisket recipe ever since. I still include some fresh onions and garlic for texture and depth of flavor, but I add the mix and a splash of balsamic vinegar to amp up the beefiness. It’s an easy one-pan recipe that’s even better (thinly sliced, on a crusty roll with creamy horseradish sauce) the next day.
Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
A Brief History of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Lipton debuted its Onion Soup Mix in 1952, and American cooks (especially Jewish ones like my grandmother) immediately began using it for pretty much everything but soup—kugel, chicken, stuffed cabbage, and of course, brisket. Many Bubbe-style brisket recipes also include some combination of other prepared foods like ketchup and instant coffee—a bafflingly flavorful hallmark of the times.
As Emily Goldsmith points out in a 2017 Lucky Peach (RIP) article about Lipton Onion Soup Mix, onions are ubiquitous in Ashkenazi Jewish cooking. They flavor bialys and bagels, add depth to noodle dishes like kasha varnishkes, and provide extra savoriness to roast chicken in just about any Jewish cookbook you can find. It’s the de facto flavoring in dozens of classic dishes.
But Lipton’s soup mix is more than just onions. It’s very much onions-plus, thanks to the inclusion of umami-forward ingredients like soy sauce and yeast extract. Those flavor enhancers make the onion seem onion-ier, which, in turn, makes the flavor pop in slow-cooked recipes like brisket.
More Brisket Intel and Recipes
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