When I was a kid, this was one food I absolutely hated. I remember once we went on a trip to Cooma and we were billeted out for our accommodation. My girlfriend and I (we were about 17 at that stage) were sent to a shabby old house with cobwebs hanging throughout the kitchen and it was just really grotty.
We were dished up corned beef with white sauce – and from that point on I was scarred for a very long time.
Fast forward 30 years and I find a recipe by chance for corned beef – I had been looking for something unusual and definitely something that was on the cheap side for sandwiches for lunch
Ingredients:
- 1 piece of corned beef (sized to suit your needs)
- 1 sliced onion
4 star anise4 star anise- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 teaspoons of allspice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons peppercorns
- 8 cloves
- 2
bayleaves - 2 red hot chillies
Method:
Wash the meat!
Place all ingredients in the bottom of the pressure cooker. If you have a trivet that fits into the pressure cooker, place the meat on this. Add extra water to bring liquids up to rack
If using a slow cooker, same as above, no trivet -6-8 hours on low, turning meat regularly so it doesn’t dry out.
Once cooked, into the fridge – slice up and sandwich with pickles and cheese – yum.
Or serve as a main with mashed potatoes, strain juices and thicken to make a sauce.
Beef Brisket – Slow Cooked and Perfectly Tender
Beef Brisket – one of those cuts that you never know quite what to do with. The answer – low and slow – follow these steps and you will have beautiful tender beef!
Seriously though – have you spotted that super cheap chunk of beef at the supermarket and wondered what to do with it? Or, have you bought a nice looking piece of beef and its been like eating an old shoe?
Try out our low and slow method – this one is a twice cooked method – we smoke the meat in the Webber for an hour and then wrap it up and refrigerate it for a few days before putting it into the slow cooker. This way we get the full smoky flavours throughout the meat, and then the second cooking stage tenderises it for 9 hours before it falls apart in your mouth – divine!
Ingredients:
Herb bundle – fresh herbs (rosemary, chives, oregano, thyme, parsley, sage)
2 onions
head of garlic
2 fresh chilli
beef brisket
2 T beef stock powder
1 C red wine or port
3 T bbq sauce
spice rub – have you got some mixed spices in the pantry? we use Bush Spices, but you can use whatever you have available
chopped tomato x 3
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
Method:
If you have a wood smoker, or your barbeque supports smoking – rub the meat with your spice rub and smoke the meat for an hour and then wrap in foil and refrigerate for a few days. If you don’t have a smoker, then skip this step.
Make up your bouquet garni (bundle fresh herbs)
Peel and slice the onions and place in the base of your slow cooker dish with the chopped tomatoes, chilli, garlic and bouquet garni.
Rub your meat all over with the spice rub – if you have time, refrigerate overnight.
Place the meat in the bottom of the slow cooker and add more sliced onions over the top of the meat and add the mushrooms. Mix together the red wine or port, beef stock powder , barbeque sauce and a little water. Pour the liquid over the meat – note, the meat does not need to be completely covered!
Cook on the lowest setting for about 9 hours, turning every few hours and pouring liquid from the pot over the meat.
Remove meat from pot and set aside to rest. Strain juices into a jug, keep the mushroom/tomato mix to serve with the meal. Discard the bouquet garni.
Gravy:
Ok, this is the best bit! And it’s super easy to make.
In a small saucepan, melt about 2T butter. Add 1/4 C plain flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Slowly pour in the reserved juices, stirring while adding. Add enough liquid to get to desired consistency and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper if needed – if lacking in flavour (it may not be) add a generous teaspoon of vegemite and stir well.