Old-Fashioned Beef Pot Roast

Old-Fashioned Beef Pot Roast

What you'll need:

  • 1.25kg Rolled Brisket or Silverside
  • Sea Salt
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, sliced
  • 1 Sprig Rosemary
  • 2 Tbsp Rapeseed Oil
  • A Knob of Butter
  • 1 Onion, finely chopped
  • 1 Carrot, diced
  • 2 Celery stalks, diced
  • 250ml Red Wine
  • 300-425ml Beef Stock
  • 2 sprig Thyme
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • Black pepper

Method:

  1. Dry the meat thoroughly, rub with salt and make about twenty slits all over the surface with a tip of a knife. Poke garlic slices and rosemary leaves into the slits, using a knife tip to embed them. Leave to stand for 1 hour.
  2. Preheat the oven to 140°c. Heat a casserole dish over a high heat. Add the rapeseed oil and when it’s very hot, brown the meat on all sides, turning with tongs. Put the meat on a plate and reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter and gently fry the onions until soft and golden. Add the carrot and celery and fry until soft.
  3. Put the meat back in the casserole with any juices that have accumulated. Pour in the wine and bubble briskly for a minute or two. Add the stock, thyme sprigs and bay leaf, and season with black pepper. Bring to the boil, cover with a tight-fitting lid and put in the oven. Cook at a simmer for 3-31/2 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes or so.
  4. When the meat is very tender, lift in onto a warm dish  and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
  5. Blot up any fat from the braising liquid with a paper towel and strain the liquid into a saucepan, pressing the vegetables hard with the back of a wooden spoon. Bring the strained liquid to a boil, adding any juices that have flown off the meat. Let it reduce slightly, then check the seasoning.
  6. Carve the meat diagonally and arrange in overlapping slices on a warm serving platter. Pour some of the sauce over the meat and serve the rest in a jug