Yorkshire Brunette Beer-Braised Beef Brisket
Boned and rolled grass-fed British beef brisket from Donald Russell slow braised for four hours in Ossett Brewery Yorkshire Brunette (a traditional Yorkshire bitter brewed from pale, wheat and roasted malts) and beef stock with lightly caramelised onion and a little muscovado sugar. I made a spice rub first, massaged it into the meat, put the meat in the fridge for the spices to infuse overnight, brought the meat to room temp, browned the meat on all sides before pot-roasting in the oven at a low temperature. Fabulous aromas. Meat so soft and tender it just falls apart when you slice it. Deep, beefy, beery, umami, close your eyes deliciousness. Great as part of a dinner with Yorkshire pudding or as I did, sandwiched the meat in a crusty bread roll slathered generously with the braising liquor sieved and reduced down to a gravy consistency. Bloody lush!
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1 x 950g Donald Russell beef brisket
rapeseed oil, for frying and browning
For the rub:
1 beef stock cube
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp light muscovado sugar
1 tbsp onion granules
1 tbsp garlic granules
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tbsp dried orange zest, crushed to a powder
1 tbsp dried oregano
The above ingredients makes a small batch, you only need about three tablespoons of the rub for the brisket. Save the rest for something else – roast chicken, baby back pork ribs, steak… Simply combine all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
For braising:
500ml Ossett Brewery Yorkshire Brunette (or a dark amber ale or bitter if unavailable)
500ml beef stock
1 brown onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tbsp light muscovado sugar
Method:
1. Rub the meat generously with the spice rub. Place the meat in an airtight container then refrigerate overnight.
2. Before you intend to cook the brisket, remove the meat from the fridge and bring to room temperature.
3. Preheat the oven to 150°C / 130°C fan / Gas Mark 2.
4. Heat a tablespoon of rapeseed oil over a moderate to high heat in a large frying pan. Then cook the sliced onion until lightly caramelised for about five to six minutes. Transfer the onion to a casserole pan with a lid using a slotted spoon.
5. Add a little more oil to the frying pan and brown the brisket on all sides until well caramelised.
6. Transfer the meat to the casserole pan then pour in the beer and enough beef stock to come up the side of the meat by about two thirds. Stir in the sugar.
7. Bring the pan to the boil then put the lid on and transfer to the oven and cook for four hours checking the brisket at intervals for tenderness and spoon some of the braising liquor over the top of the meat.
To serve: Remove the brisket from the pan, place on a carving board and let the meat rest for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, pass the braising liquor through a sieve into a clean pan, spoon away as much of the fat as possible then reduce the liquor down to a gravy-like consistency to serve with the beef. So good!
