Slow Beef Brisket

 I LOVE this recipe. Super succulent, fall apart beef brisket, deliciously moreish umami flavours, and leftovers that can be easily frozen and added to chillis and pies at a later date - if you have any leftover, of course! I prefer to make it with two smaller pieces of unrolled brisket that take slightly less time to cook (bigger pieces can take hours and hours for really tender results), which is equally delicious shredded and loaded into buns, or served with chips and coleslaw, as it is sliced and served on creamy, buttery mash. 

Ingredients 

2 x 750g OR 1 x 1kg piece(s) of unrolled brisket 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes 

750ml boiling water 

1 beef OR chicken stock cube 

2 tbsp tatlı biber salçası (sweet / mild Turkish red pepper paste) tomato purée 

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses 

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

1 very large onion, peeled and finely diced 

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and bashed

2-3 large sprigs of rosemary 

3 bay leaves 

1 cinnamon stick

2 level tbsp plain flour (GF is fine too) 

3/4 tsp coarse black pepper

Method 

Take the brisket out of the fridge 30 mins before cooking and preheat your oven to 170c / 150c fan. Mix together the boiling water with the beef stock cube, sweet red pepper paste, tomato purée, pomegranate molasses and Worcestershire sauce. 

Rub each brisket with a tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle over a good pinch of sea salt flakes. Heat up a large non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat and then add the well-seasoned brisket (one at a time), fattiest side down, to the pan until browned on the underside, then flip over to sear the other side, as well as the edges. Place the seared brisket in a large casserole dish and repeat with the remaining piece. In the pan you used to sear the brisket, add a little more olive oil if necessary, then add the finely chopped onion, cook for 5-6 minutes until softened then add the bashed garlic cloves, sprigs of rosemary, bay leaves and cinnamon stick, sprinkle over the flour, then pour in the stock mixture, stirring well. Let it come to boiling point then pour the sauce over the brisket in the casserole dish, season with a generous pinch of cracked black pepper, cover with baking paper then put the lid on the casserole dish (or cover very tightly with foil, sealing all the edges for no steam or liquid to escape if you don’t have a casserole dish - you may need slightly more liquid and a little longer cooking time if doing it this way rather than using a casserole dish with a lid) and cook in the oven on the bottom shelf for around 4-5 hours (it should easily pull apart with a fork once cooked so could take even a little longer). Once ready, take it out of the oven, and let it rest for at least 30 mins (or up to an hour), pouring the thick gravy all over the brisket before serving. 

Note: if using 1 x larger 1kg piece of brisket, cook for 5 - 6 hours.