Brisket is exactly the sort of cut that rewards patience. Give it Guinness, black treacle and a few hours of gentle cooking, and what starts as a relatively inexpensive piece of beef becomes meltingly tender, dark and ridiculously rich. The Guinness and treacle mellow into a deep, glossy sauce, while the oven does most of the work. Chris Sherville’s recipe is proper autumn and winter comfort food, best served with buttery mashed potato and seasonal greens.
Preheat the oven to 150°C, or turn on your slow cooker to high. Chop the onion, carrot and celery and fry in oil over a medium-low heat until soft in a large cast-iron pot or frying pan, if you are using the slow cooker.
Turn up the heat and add the beef to the pot/pan. Sear until browned all over. Deglaze the pan with a 100ml or so of the stock to lift all the caramelized bits (the fond) stuck to the bottom.
Add the tomato purée, bay leaves, Guinness, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, black treacle and seasoning. Cook for 3 minutes, then put a lid on the pot and cook in the oven for approximately 4 hours. Check halfway through and add more liquid (water or Guinness) if it is getting too dry, unlikely in the slow cooker.
At this point you can remove the meat to a tray, covered in foil and reduce the sauce until silky. Check the seasoning.
Serve cut into Flintstone sized chunks with buttery mashed potato (250g butter to 1kg of potato) and your favourite vegetable…Cavolo Nero for me.
0 servings
6