Slow-Cooked Brisket with Red Wine, Thyme and Onions
Very tender brisket with a lovely rich gravy that has a subtle flavour of star anise.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg rolled beef brisket joint
- groundnut oil for frying
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 onions chopped
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- a large glass red wine (250ml)
- 300ml chicken stock
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 8 whole sprigs thyme
- 1 star anise
- 2 carrots peeled and quartered
- 2 sticks celery quartered
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan until hot. Rub the joint all over with oil and season really well. Sear on all sides until golden (about 30 seconds on each side), making sure you get a nice dark colour. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Add the onions to the same frying pan and cook for 10 minutes or until starting to go golden at the edges.
- Sprinkle over the flour, stir well and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Gradually add in the wine, stirring, then stir in the stock and Worcestershire sauce. Tip the onion mixture on top of the beef, then add the thyme and star anise, and tuck in the carrots and celery.
- Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 5 hours. Take out the brisket and put on a plate. Scoop out the carrot, celery and thyme, and discard. Serve the brisket with the gravy, which should be nicely thickened, and the melted onions.
- Enjoy with mashed potatoes or roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings and your choice of fresh vegetables on the side.
Notes
- This slow-cooked brisket with red wine, thyme and onions recipe is easily adapted if you’re cooking for less or more people. Our piece of brisket was smaller at 900g, but we decided to cook the full amount of ingredients for the gravy to make sure we had plenty for 3 of us, plus a portion left over for a lunch the next day!