Smoky Beer-Braised Brisket

, from Issue #72. May, 2017
Photography by Manja Wachsmuth.
Smoky Beer-Braised Brisket

This is basically a piece of brisket braised in my favourite barbecue sauce recipe and it’s delicious served with sharp, crunchy gherkins and American mustard.

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil
1½-kilogram piece brisket
1 each large onion and carrot, peeled
1 apple, skin on
3 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup raisins, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons American yellow mustard
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (I used Manuka Smoke Concentrate, see note below)
1 cup good-quality beef stock
330ml bottle pilsner beer
sea salt and ground pepper

To serve
gherkins
2 spring onions and
1 long red chilli, thinly sliced 

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 150°C fan bake. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan.

Season the brisket and brown on both sides. Transfer to a deep roasting dish. Don’t wash the pan. 

Grate the onion, carrot and apple on the coarse side of a box grater and add to the pan along with the garlic and raisins. Season generously and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Stir in all the remaining ingredients except the stock and beer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock and beer and bring to the boil, then pour the contents of the pan over the brisket. Make sure the top of the meat is well covered with a layer of the vegetable mixture.

Cover with baking paper, then cover tightly with foil. Braise for 3–5 hours or until meltingly tender and a knife will slip easily through the meat. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the brisket.  

To serve: Carefully lift the meat out of the pan and place on a large serving platter. If the juices are thin, tip into a saucepan and boil until reduced and syrupy. Slice the brisket and spoon over the sauce. Serve with crisp gherkins and scatter over the spring onions and sliced chilli, if using. Serves 8.