Slow-Roasted Aromatic Beef Brisket
by Alex Hollywood
My grandmother Vanda often cooked brisket which if it is cooked very, very slowly – I’m talking about 4–5 hours – becomes super-tender and really delicious. Leftover brisket is great to mince and use as meatballs or stuffed into veg with rice – it’s very useful and very Cypriot.
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 1 x 2kg piece of beef brisket, boned and rolled (don’t trim off any fat)
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ready-chopped ginger
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 large onions, cut into thick rings
- 500ml beef stock
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- a good glug of red wine
- 1 tbsp clear honey (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6.
- Mix together the spices on a plate. Rub the beef with a little of the oil and then roll in the spice mix.
- Place the onion rings in the bottom of a roasting tray, drizzle with the remaining oil then sit the beef on top.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the beef from the oven and reduce the heat to 140°C/Gas mark Add 100ml of stock then cover the beef and tray with foil.
- Return to the low oven and slow-roast for 4-5 hours.
- Check halfway through and if the onions have started to burn, add a quarter of the remaining stock.
- Once cooked and the meat is tender remove from the oven. Remove the meat from the tray and leave to rest, covered with foil.
- Push the onions to one side of the tray. Add the tomato purée to the tray and stir well, then pour in a good glug of red wine.
- Simmer before pouring in the remaining stock and sweetening it with honey if needed. Simmer for 2 minutes and then strain the sauce.
- Serve slices of the beef with a little of the sauce and your favourite potatoes