Contents
Contents
Rick Stein's Pot-roast brisket
with parsley dumplings
I’m inordinately fond of pot-roasting meat, particularly when it is a slightly less than tender cut, like brisket. When you open the pot towards the end of the cooking time, the aroma of onions, celery, carrots and beer is as comforting as the smell of smoke from a wood fire in an open hearth.
Serves 6
Preheat the oven to 160°C/Fan 140°C.
Ingredients:
4 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
1.3kg boned and rolled beef brisket joint
20g butter
2 onions, chopped
2 celery sticks, sliced 4 carrots, each cut into 3 pieces
200ml beer
500ml rich beef stock
1 bay leaf
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 tsp sugar
Chopped parsley
Salt and black pepper
Dumplings
150g self-raising flour 75g suet
Small handful of parsley, chopped
Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the brisket on all sides, then remove it and set aside. Add the butter to the pan, reduce the heat and cook the onions, celery and carrots for 5–6 minutes until golden.
Add the beer, beef stock, bay leaf, thyme and sugar, then season well with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then immediately turn the heat down to a simmer and put the beef back in the pan. Cover with a lid, transfer to the preheated oven and cook for 21⁄2–3 hours, turning the beef after the first hour.
Remove the beef from the pan, transfer it to a plate and cover with foil to keep it warm.
Mix the dumpling ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add enough water (about 100ml) to make a soft dough, then with floured hands, shape the dough into 6 balls. Bring the juices in the pan back to the boil, adding a little more stock or water if the pan looks dry. Add the dumplings, cover with the lid and return to the oven for 20 minutes until the dumplings are risen and fluffy.
Carve the beef into thick slices. Taste the juices and add more seasoning if needed. Serve the beef with the dumplings, vegetables and meat juices and sprinkle with a little parsley. Colcannon and some horseradish and apple sauce are good accompaniments.
Extracted from Rick Stein's Food Stories, BBC Books, £28 photography James Murphy - click on the cover to buy
For a chance to win a copy, simply send your name, contact telephone number and email to craig@inbath.net. Subject: STEIN Closing date: 31st October. Usual ts and cs apply
