Brisket and onions in the slow cooker

It’s dark and cold and the snow has just started falling in Edinburgh so it’s time for some “proper stodge”. You know, the warming, comfort food that is described as “sticks to your ribs”. That’s the stuff I’m talking about.

One of our favourite comfort foods is Kate’s slow-cooked brisket. It’s gorgeous, rich, and tender beef that just falls apart and melts in your mouth, so we thought we’d share.

 Ingredients

Serves 3 – 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large/4 small Onions sliced into half moons
3 1/2 pounds beef brisket
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp garlic paste
2 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Method

Heat a deep sauté pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat with the olive oil. Add the onions and cook on medium-low to medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes or until the onions have caramelised lightly and then add them to the slow cooker.

Take the brisket out of its packaging and pat it dry. If it comes rolled and has string tied around it, get rid of the string and lay it out flat so that you can see how much fat there is on the meat. Fat is not an issue as most of it will render down in the cooking, but if there is too much or if it is dense you may want to carefully cut these pieces of fat off and discard.

Season the meat generously with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet or saute pan over medium-high and place the brisket onto the pan to sear. You want to sear each side getting it nice and brown to seal it. Remove and place in a slow cooker on top of the onions.

Add your stock, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and soy sauce to the hot pan and stir until bubbling then add to the slow cooker. Don’t worry there isn’t meant to be enough liquid to cover the meat, that’s ok.

Put the lid on and cook in the slow cooker on LOW for about 8 hours or until the brisket is very tender. Let it rest in the slow cooker set on WARM for at least 20 minutes before serving. (If your slow cooker doesn’t have a WARM setting, transfer to a baking dish and cover tightly with foil while resting.)

The brisket can be sliced or shredded immediately and served with the onions and juices. Or let the meat cool then refrigerate overnight. Before reheating, scrape away and discard the layer of fat that has formed around the meat.