A simple but flavour-packed recipe that you’ll want to add to your repertoire – make sure there’s plenty of room in your freezer for the extra portions. It tastes great either served with a creamy mash or some crisp-skinned baked potatoes
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
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Ingredients
a lean beef brisket joint, around 1.7kg
3 tsp olive oil
2 large or 4 medium red onions, cut into wedges
4 tbsp clear honey
125ml non-premium balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
500ml beef stock (made using 1 stock pot or cube) - use gluten-free stock if required
2 tbsp chopped rosemary leaves (or 2 tsp dried
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g packs Chantenay carrots, trimmed
3 tbsp cornflour
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How to make this in a slow cooker
Brown the beef and onions as per the main method, transferring them to the slow cooker as they are ready. Add the carrots and the honey-balsamic stock (use only 400ml beef stock), cover and cook for 9-10 hours on Low (or 5-6 hours on High). When the beef is ready, remove it from the slow cooker and turn the heat up to High if you were using Low beforehand. Shred the beef, make the cornflour paste and add to the sauce with the shredded meat. Cook for 10 minutes or until thickened.
Remove the brisket from its packaging, pat dry and leave to rest on a plate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3.
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a casserole, season the brisket and brown over a high heat for about 5 minutes, turning to colour evenly. Remove to a plate.
Add another 2 teaspoons of oil to the casserole then tip in the red onions and cook for 3-4 minutes over a high heat until starting to colour. Transfer the onions to a bowl and set aside.
Whisk the honey, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock, rosemary and garlic together in a jug. Return the beef joint to the casserole and pour over the honey-balsamic stock. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours.
Add the carrots to the casserole so they are mostly submerged in the liquid, then add the red onions. Re-cover and cook for a further 11⁄2-2 hours until the carrots are soft and the beef is fall-apart tender.
Lift out the beef to a board, discard the bindings and shred the meat using 2 forks, discarding any fatty bits. Put the cornflour in a small bowl and mix in enough cold water to make a paste. Stir in some of the liquid from the casserole, then tip all of this back into the casserole on the hob, also adding the shredded beef. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
Serve with mashed or baked potatoes and some greens, such as Savoy cabbage. Freeze extra portions of the brisket, when cool.
Once seared, place brisket in foil pan, fat side up, and smoke, uncovered for 2 hours.Flip brisket and smoke for 1 hour. At this point, the juices inside are under a fair amount of pressure. It is important not to pierce the meat from this point until it is done.
Brown brisket in a small amount of oil over medium-high heat. Or sear fat side up in a heated 500 ˚F oven for 20 minutes to develop flavor. Add a small amount of liquid (water, broth, or wine) to a Dutch oven, cover tightly, and simmer gently over low heat or in a 275 ˚F oven for 3 to 4 hours, or until tender.
Sear the brisket first. Sear the brisket all over to caramelize the meat and develop flavor before slow cooking it. Submerge the brisket in liquid and add aromatics. The liquid can be anything: broth, wine, ketchup, BBQ sauce, beer - you name it.
If you want to give your brisket some extra moisture without messing with the flavor, just use plain water. It will get the job done and allow you to focus on imparting your desired flavor into the meat through a brisket injection and exterior rub.
Dissolve the salt and sugar in the boiling water. Add the ice, then let cool to room temperature. Place the brisket in the brine and cover. Transfer to the refrigerator to brine overnight.
To season your brisket for smoking and for Brisket Burnt Ends, simply rub generously with kosher salt, black pepper, and optional garlic powder.Place the seasoned brisket into the fridge and allow it to dry brine overnight. Now, it's time to cook!
The acid also breaks down the tough fibers of brisket, helping make it as tender as possible. Plan on marinating your brisket for more than 1 hour per pound, but no more than 2 hours per pound. Most brisket will require marinating overnight, so plan ahead.
Tim: The process takes time. It doesn't happen just by sprinkling some salt on it. You need to allow the brisket to sit and really absorb those flavors...for at least the next 12 hours.
To set things straight, we're here to put an end to the confusion, so you can get back to the grill with confidence. For brisket cooked to flavorful perfection, fat-side-down is the way to go. This is the only way to achieve a brisket that is perfectly moist with a perfect bark on both sides.
The main goal is to cut away most of the fat cap, which comes too thick to fully render in the low-and-slow smoking temperatures every brisket needs to become tender. If you don't trim the fat cap, you'll be left with big mouthfuls of fat that'll have to be sliced off after the cook anyway.
Insoluble collagen can only weaken and soften with prolonged exposure to heat; it won't break down into gelatin. Thus, while brisket has more collagen than chuck, the collagen in both these well-exercised cuts is mainly insoluble, so neither produces enough gelatin to create full-bodied juices.
To enhance the tenderizing effect of smoking, marinate the brisket with lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, or any other acid-based marinade. This will help break down the tough fibers in the meat and the acid will carry any flavor you add to the marinade deep into the meat.
Mind you, it is a little faster. The meat still needs a couple of hours in a higher temperature range to fully render fat and dissolve collagen. Brisket can be done in a range of 200-210°F (93-99°C), but as a general rule, it's safe to bet on 203°F (95°C). Brisket should be tender but not so tender it's falling apart.
The brisket is at its most tender when it reaches an internal temperature of around 195 to 205°F (90 to 96°C). However, the exact temperature for peak tenderness can vary based on factors like the cooking method, the grade of the meat, and personal preference.
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Prep time: 30 mins
