There is nothing more mouth watering than a beef brisket cooked in the slow cooker. It is meltingly tender and perfect for any meal, served with glazed carrots and polenta or creamy mashed potatoes.

By using the slow cooker its a set and forget process till you are ready to eat. You can be secure in the knowledge that it will always be perfectly cooked with a delicious sauce as well.

A little preparation will add greatly to the flavour and texture of the brisket. Buy the brisket from your butcher a day or two before cooking. The larger the piece the longer the lead time for preparing it.

I like to pre-salt the piece of brisket a day or two before cooking. This is a prefect way to tenderize the brisket.

By salting the brisket with kosher salt ahead of cooking, the moisture is drawn out onto the surface of the meat and dissolves the salt with the resulting brine then, through osmosis, being reabsorbed into the meat. This breaks down the proteins in the meat and it will be juicier, more tender as well as flavourful.

Then keep the brisket in the fridge till cooking bearing and plan for it to take 10 hours on LOW to cook in the slow cooker.

I have also included the recipe for glazed carrots which are so nice as an accompaniment to the brisket.

Instructions for the home made ketchup which forms part of the rich cooking liquid that the brisket cooks in is also included.

The brisket is cooked on a bed of caramelised onions and celery with red wine, Worcestershire, the homemade ketchup, herbs and spices that can be reduced to make a lovely sauce to serve with it.

The preparation, along with the slow cooking will reward you with the most tender and delicious meat you will ever taste. In our home it has become a family favourite. I hope you will enjoy it too.

Slow Cooker Beef Brisket

Ingredients:

• 1 Brisket 1.2 kg or more
• Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tblsp Olive oil
• 1 knob of butter
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 celery stalks
• A handful of celery leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup homemade Tomato ketchup (ingredients and directions included)
• 2-3 stems of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp Italian herbs
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tblsp Chicken stock powder
• 4 sage leaves, chopped

Homemade Tomato Ketchup

• 4 Tblsp Tomato paste
• 1 Tblsp Apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Glazed Carrots

• 3 large carrots
• 2 Tblsp brown sugar
• 1 Tblsp of Maple syrup
• 1 Tblsp Olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Mc Cormick’s Italian Herbs (or similar)

Method:

Pre-Salting the Brisket:

1. 1-2 days before cooking, dry the piece of brisket well and sprinkle over the whole piece with kosher salt rubbing it over.

2. Do the same with freshly ground black pepper

3. Cover with cling wrap and store in the fridge for a day or two. The larger the piece the longer you should leave it.

Homemade Tomato Ketchup:

Prepare the ketchup a day before to allow the flavours to develop.

1. In a small bowl combine the tomato paste, Apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup

2. Season with salt and sprinkle in the paprika and garlic powder

3. Combine well and spoon into a sterilized jar and keep in the fridge till the next day

Glazed Carrots:

Prepare and start to cook the carrots 1/2 an hour before serving the brisket.

Pre heat oven to 200 C and line a shallow baking tray with baking paper

1. Peel and cut carrots on the diagonal into similar sized pieces

2. Place the pieces into a bowl and drizzle over the olive and maple syrup

3. Sprinkle over the brown sugar, freshly ground black pepper

4. Combine everything into the carrots using your hands to distribute well.

5. Place the carrots into a shallow tray lined with baking paper in a single layer and sprinkle over the Italian herbs

6. Place the tray into the pre heated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until well caramelised

7. Serve with brisket and polenta or mashed potatoes

Cooking Brisket in Slow Cooker:

1 Remove the pre-salted piece of brisket from the fridge an hour before cooking

2. Allow the brisket to come to room temperature before searing

3. Set up the slow cooker and add a 1/4 cup of water, setting to HIGH then continue preparing the brisket

4. In a large heavy based stainless steel pan big enough to hold the piece of brisket, place the olive oil and knob of butter into it over a high heat

5. When the butter stops foaming place the brisket in the pan and brown well on both sides for 10 minutes till well browned

6. When well browned, remove to a plate to rest while cooking the prepared onion and celery stalks and leaves

7. In the same pan from searing the brisket add the onions, celery, celery leaves and garlic and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes till softened and caramelised. Add a little water if catching

8. Then pour over the red wine and allow to evaporate for a few minutes. Taste and if still acidic allow a little extra time till the liquid tastes sweet

9. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, homemade ketchup, brown sugar

10. Add the thyme stems and bay leaves

11. Sprinkle over the dried sage, paprika, Italian herbs, chicken stock powder

12. Add a few good dashes of Worcestershire sauce

13. Season with salt and a good dusting of freshly ground black pepper stirring everything through to combine well

14. Place the liquid into the slow cooker and settle in the piece of brisket into the liquid pushing it well down, fat side up, making sure that the meat is covered, leaving the fat only exposed on the surface. Add a little extra water if needed to cover the brisket well and so prevent it from drying out

15. Cover and reset the slow cooker to LOW. Make sure to do this as it so easy to forget to do so

16. Cook the brisket on LOW for 10 hours

17. At the end of cooking time turn off the slow cooker. Carefully remove the cooked brisket using two wide spatulas. The meat will be extremely soft so care is needed

18. Remove to a plate and cover loosely with foil. As the meat rests continue to prepare the sauce

19. The liquid and tender vegetables can be removed from the cooker and made smoother using a potato masher, passing through a sieve or processing using a stick immersion blender till smooth. The extent of smoothness depends on personal preference. I have used the masher so that some of the vegetable’s texture remains but its up to you. This can then be thickened further by reducing the sauce in a pan over a medium high heat. Cover and keep the sauce warm

20. Slice the brisket thickly

20. Serve the brisket with the glazed carrots and polenta or mashed potatoes with the sauce from reducing the cooking liquid

NOTE: The meat and its prepared sauce can be carefully returned to the slow cooker if yours has a ‘Keep warm’ function until you are ready to serve.