Usually on Sunday if I am on the ball, I will put something into the slow cooker for our dinner before I leave for church in the morning. Normally it will be red meat of some kind. To be honest I am not fond of chicken in the slow cooker. I find it almost gets over-cooked and I don't like the texture of it. Beef on the other hand, or pork, lends itself quite well to being cooked in a slow cooker, especially the cheaper cuts.
I especially love Beef Brisket done in the slow cooker, either whole as a pot roast, or as I have done today, cut into chunks and as a stew. Brisket is one of my favorite cuts of beef and is beautiful when prepared this way.
And is is such a simple thing as well. Cubes of brisket (I like to cut mine into 1 inch cubes) is tossed with well seasoned flour and then browned in a bit of oil, on top of the stove in a skillet. Really brown it well on all sides. It is the color from this initial browning that will help to color your stew.
The juices from the meat also caramelise a bit which adds flavor. Don't crowd the pan when you are browning. Do it in batches if need be. Crowding it means your meat won't brown properly. Handy tip here.
Onions and garlic are added as well as some stout (Guinness) and beef stock. Stout makes for a lovely and richly flavoured gravy. Pour it all into the slow cooker, and then let the slow cooker (crock pot) do the rest.
Six hours on low does the trick. You will have fork tender chunks of beef, in a really rich beautifully flavoured gravy . . .
And plenty of it . . . and so beautiful spooned out over a lovely pile of creamy mash. I cheat sometimes and use the frozen mash. Especially after church. It is so simple to use and just as good as fresh mash. I add a bit of butter and cream to mine, which makes it even tastier.
Today I cooked English Petit Pois to serve with it, which really went down a real treat. I love Petit Pois. I always buy them. I like them a lot more than the regular ones! So sweet and tender!
The smell of this when it hits your nose as you walk back into your house immediately starts your taste buds to tingling and your mouth to watering. You will hardly be able to wait until you have the rest of the meal ready before digging in, but you must . . .
Trust me when I tell you. It is well worth the wait. Well, well worth it . . .
This is just so, so, so good. I know it might seem like winter food to some, and yes, it is, but sometimes in the summer you get a cool day (like today) and you just crave something like this. Today was the day. It went down a real treat!
*Braised Brisket with Stout & Onions*Serves 4Printable Recipe
A delicious stew that cooks long and slow in a slow cooker. You can also do it in the oven if you wish or on top of the stove. I like to pop it into the slow cooker on Sunday mornings and then I have a delicious dinner waiting for us when we get home from church. I serve with mashed potatoes and a vegetable.
2 large onions, peeled and choppeda few springs of thyme1 bay leaf, broken in half1 clove garlic, peeled and crushedoil for browning2 pounds beef brisket cut into chunks6 TBS flour well seasoned with salt and black pepper240ml Guinness/stout (1 cup)240ml Beef stock (1 cup)
Heat the oil (about 1 TBS) in a skillet with a heavy bottom. Toss the beef with the seasoned flour. Shake off any excess and then brown the beef on all sides in the hot oil. You want it to have a good color so do it in batches if need be. Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant. Add the beef stock and bring to the boil, stirring up any browned bits. Pour the whole mixture into a medium sized slow cooker. Add the sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf. Stir in the stout. Cover and cook on low heat for about 6 hours, until the meat is tender and the gravy well flavoured. If need be you can thicken the gravy with a bit of flour shaken together with some cold water until smooth (about 1 TBS flour, and 120ml/1/2 cup water) pour this into the beef, give it a stir and cook on high for about 15 minutes until thickened.
Serve hot, spooned out onto a fluffy pile of mash with a vegetable on the side.
There has been a lot of talk about the undesirable look of "Brown" food in food photography. I don't know about you, but I see nothing undesirable about the looks of this at all. In fact it makes me hungry just seeing it. Perhaps that's because I know how delicious it really is! Bon Appetit!
