Slow-roasted brisket with onion gravy

Comfort food at its best! Just put this slow-roasted brisket into the oven and forget about it for a few hours. You’ll be rewarded with the most tender and succulent meat that will have everyone coming back for seconds. And as a bonus you can thicken the juices for the most delicious onion gravy.

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Slow-roasted brisket – fall-apart tender meat

Brisket is the cut of meat found on the lower chest of the cow, and its purpose is to support the weight of cattle while they are standing or walking. Because of this, brisket contains strong muscles with plenty of connective tissue.

If you were to try and grill or fry a piece of brisket you would end up with tough, stringy meat, that would be virtually inedible. But rub it with spices, place it in a casserole dish in the oven and forget about it for a few hours, and you will have the most juicy, succulent and tender meat imaginable.

The recipe that I’m sharing today, for slow-roasted brisket, calls for a long and slow cooking time. But even though it takes a long time to cook, most of the time is hands-off, so this is actually a very easy joint of meat to cook. The hardest part is remembering to get the meat in the oven early so it has plenty of time to transform into an amazing meal.

This slow-roasted brisket makes the most fabulous roast dinner, served alongside crispy roast potatoes and your choice of vegetable. Why not try some of my vegetable recipes to go along with it.

• Creamy leek and brussels sprouts bake
• Buttered cabbage with leeks and mustard seeds
• Baby marrow with tomato and onion
• Mashed green beans South African style

I always put sliced onions in with my brisket, so that they combine with the cooking juices transform into the best onion gravy ever. All you have to do is thicken it before serving.

Just look at how the connective tissue has softened during the cooking process. Honestly, this meat is so tender you could cut it with a spoon!

How to carve brisket

You should always carve meat against the grain, and this is especially true with brisket.

If you look at a piece of brisket you will notice the long tendons of muscle running through the meat. You should always carve the meat across these tendons, rather than along them.

Carving the meat in this way cuts through the long tendons, resulting in juicy pieces of meat that melt-in-your mouth, as opposed to long stringy meat that you have to chew like chewing gum.

What ingredients do I need?

For the complete list of ingredients and full instructions see the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

To serve 4 people you will need a piece of brisket weighing about 2 pounds, or about 900 grams. This allows 8 ounces of raw meat per person, but the brisket does lose a lot of weight during the slow cooking process as the tough collagen breaks down. (And don’t worry about having leftovers – cold brisket makes delicious sandwiches).

The top side of the brisket should have a nice thin coating of fat. Don’t trim this fat away – it helps keep the meat moist during cooking.

Other ingredients

Apart from the meat you will need one or two onions (depending on their size). Once sliced, you should use about 1 cup of onion. You will also need a cupful of chopped carrots (which I COMPLETELY forgot to include in the photo).

You will also need a mixture of herbs and spices that will be rubbed all over the meat before it is placed in the casserole.

• Paprika
• Onion salt
• Garlic salt
• Dried rosemary
• Dried thyme

I haven’t included any salt in this recipe as I find the garlic salt and onion salt in the spice mix contains sufficient salt. If you want to add extra salt you can mix it in with the spices.

And finally you will need stock.

• Stock cube – you can use either a beef or vegetable stock cube dissolved in 1 cup of water. For my 2lb (900g) brisket I used 1 stock cube and 1 cup of boiling water. If you have a larger joint of meat which will cook for longer, use 2 stock cubes with 2 cups of water.
• Worcestershire sauce – two tablespoonfuls per cup of stock
• Tomato paste – one tablespoonful per cup of stock

For browning the meat before it goes into the casserole dish you will need a few tablespoons of sunflower oil.

Cooking times for brisket

This table is intended to be a guide only. Actual cooking times will vary, according to various factors such as the thickness of the joint and how often you open the oven to check on meat.

This chart will help you to work out how long you should cook brisket. The times given in the recipe are for a 2-pound or 900 gram brisket. For anything other than this you can adjust your cooking times according to the table below.

Average cooking times range from 60 – 75 minutes per pound (450 gram) plus an additional 30 minutes. I have based my calculations on 75 minutes per pound, because that is how long my 2 pound (900g) brisket took.

The times below (for slow-roasted brisket) are based on an oven temperature of 150C / 300F.

The internal temperature of cooked brisket should be about 91C / 195F, and a fork should slide right through the meat with no resistance.

Weight in pounds	Weight in grams	Minutes	Extra	Total Time (hours)
1	450	75	30	1:45
2	900	150	30	3:00
3	1.350	225	30	4:15
4	1.800	300	30	5:30

How to cook slow-roasted brisket

Preparation

• Peel and finely slice the onions.
• Peel the carrots and cut into 1-inch chunks
• Combine all the spices in a small dish, then rub them all over the meat, making sure to cover the meat completely.
• Dissolve the stock cube in one cup of boiling water, mix in the Worcestershire sauce and the tomato puree, and set aside.

Equipment

You will need an ovenproof casserole or dutch oven with a TIGHTLY fitting lid. It is important that the lid fits tightly so that the cooking liquid does not evapourate.

Cook the brisket

• Heat sunflower oil in a frying pan (or if your casserole dish is stove-top friendly you could use that) and sear the meat well on all sides until it is nicely browned (image 1 above).
• Once the meat has browned, transfer it to the casserole dish (fat side up) and arrange the onion slices around the sides.
• Pour the prepared stock over the onions (image 2 above).
• Cover the casserole with a lid and place it in a medium oven (150C / 300F) and leave it to cook slowly for about 3 hours (image 3 above).
  • Turn the meat occasionally so it cooks evenly.
  • Check the level of the stock – if it starts to dry out, top up with extra stock.
  • One hour before the end of the cooking time, add the chopped carrots.
• The meat will be cooked when a fork slides easily into the meat with no resistance.

Rest the meat

It is important to rest the meat for at least half an hour after it has been removed from the oven. This will give the meat time to relax, and for the juices to settle back into the meat.

If you carve the meat the moment it comes out of the oven, you will end up with tough meat and a chopping board covered in meat juice.

To rest the meat, just leave it in the casserole dish, covered with the lid.

Make the gravy

Once the meat has been removed from the oven, transfer the carrots to a small serving dish and keep warm.

Pour the meat juices and onions into a small saucepan and bring to the boil.

Mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of cornflour / cornstarch with a quarter cup of cold water. Drizzle the mixture into the onions, stirring continuously, until the gravy thickens. You may not need all the cornflour mixture.

I like to keep the onions slices whole as they are so soft and full of flavour. If you prefer a smoother gravy, just blend with a stick-blender before serving.

Serve poured over slices of the slow-roasted brisket, alongside the carrots, and any other vegetables of your choice.

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Can I freeze leftover brisket?

Yes, leftover brisket can be frozen.

I like to shred any leftover brisket and mix with any remaining gravy before freezing. I find that sliced brisket by itself can be quite dry when frozen and reheated.

Freeze the brisket in ziploc bags. It can be frozen for up to 4 months.

To use, defrost in the refrigerator and then reheat in a saucepan on the stove.

What to do with leftover brisket

Leftover brisket can be safely refrigerated for up to 4 days.

There are so many meals you can make with leftover brisket. These ideas assume that the brisket has been mixed with the gravy beforehand.

• Spoon the brisket into crusty breadrolls and serve with a helping of coleslaw for a quick and easy Sunday night supper.
• Spoon into pita bread and serve alongside a fresh green salad.
• Serve over rice – see this post for a quick way to cook rice in the microwave.
• Cover a baked potato with leftover brisket, top with grated cheese and pop into the oven for a few minutes until the cheese has melted.
• Serve with homemade spaetzle for a pasta dish with a difference.

Other recipes

You may also like to try some of my other beef recipes:

• Slow cooker oxtail stew
• Quick and easy beef Trinchado
• Hearty beef casserole with suet dumplings
• Hungarian beef goulash
• Slow-cooker beef and kidney stew
• Slow cooker beef silverside
• Braised beef short ribs in a red wine gravy

The recipe

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