Brisket

brisket

Now the clocks have changed, it feels distinctly autumnal. A little over a year ago, I wrote about what is a rather good dish for this time of year. The brisket had been in the freezer for a while – I bought it Waitrose at a knock-down price as it was the end of a joint. I cooked it rather simply, but first, something else.

Marks and Spencer have been running a promotion – “Dine in for £10” – where you get a main course for two, side dish, dessert, and bottle of wine all for £10. I’ve had some good deals in the past – often the main course is a whole chicken, and I’ve pricked up some that come in at around £8 – so a big saving. This time, it was “Dine in for 4 for £15.” The main course options included chicken and beef. The chickens were only about £9, but I managed to find a beef roasting joint at just over £11! Along with it, I got a bottle of wine (now on the rack) and a berry and cherry jelly. The final part was a selection of vegetables for roasting – red onion, potatoes, swede, parsnips, and baby carrots.

So, to the brisket. First I browned it all over, and set it aside. Into the pan then went some of the red onion from the selection and a whole additional onion. Then went some baby carrots and the diced swede. The beef went back in,  as did water to mostly cover, some tomato puree, and half a bottle of Ruddles County. It simmered for a couple of hours, and then went in the fridge over night. The next day, for dinner, I heated the whole thing back, up with a little instant gravy powder to add more flavour and thicken the sauce. It was good – alongside I tucked into steamed kale and some more of the vegetable selection, roasted this time as the instructions suggested.