serves
6
prep
10 minutes
cook
3:20 hours
difficulty
Easy
serves
6
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
3:20
hours
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
- 1.3 kg boned and rolled beef brisket joint
- 20 g butter
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 celery sticks, sliced
- 4 carrots, each cut into 3 pieces
- 200 ml beer
- 500 ml rich beef stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 tsp sugar
- Chopped parsley
- Salt and black pepper
For the dumplings
- 150 g self-raising flour
- 75 g suet
- Small handful of parsley, chopped
To serve, optional
- Colcannon or mashed potato
- Horseradish and apple sauce (see Note)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/ fan-forced 140°C.
- 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 2 ½–3 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.
- To make the dumplings, combine all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add enough water (about 100 ml) 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 (see Note) are good accompaniments.
Note
For the horseradish and apple sauce: Peel, core and chop 1 Bramley apple. Cook chopped apple in a splash of water for about 10 minutes until pulpy and broken down, then stir in 2 tbsp creamed horseradish.
Makes 8 serves
by Rick Stein (Penguin Random House, $60). Photography by James Murphy.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
