Leave it to Britain to make a meal out of boiling a hunk of beef in water for hours.
Leave it to Jamie Oliver to make it AMAZING.
A colleague of mine bequeathed a couple of Jamie Oliver cookbooks to me, and I have been obsessed. Hubby and I have delved into the pages of his British cookbook specifically. Rich visited England years ago and claims it was the worst food he ever had. SO Jamie Oliver intrigues him a lot. Is it possible to have delicious British food?
Yes. Yes. It. Is.
I adapted this recipe from Chef Oliver, but made my own adaptions and additions. Also, the asparagus toast was a delicious compliment to this dish, also made from the main British ingredient, Worcestershire. And I had to make my family’s favorite, forked over potatoes. I included links below.
We cooked our brisket on the longish side so it fell apart. For more of a “steak” texture cook it less.
Braised British Beef
Ingredients:
3 lbs. Beef Brisket
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
4 onions, quartered
5 fresh rosemary sprigs
5 bay leaves
5 sticks celery, cut into 3″ pieces and slice lengthwise
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 heaping teaspoon of sea salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Directions:
In a large stock pot put all the onions, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves and celery. Add the brisket, salt and pepper and pour the Worcestershire sauce over everything. Pour water into the pan, until water level is 1″ above the beef. Bring the pot to a boil, then bring to low and cover. Simmer for about 3-4 hours for meat that pulls a little, and 5-7 hours for fall apart beef. Once your beef is where you want it, turn off the heat and let it sit in the hot broth, covered, until serving.
When ready to serve, pull out the beef and place on a serving platter. Ladle a couple cups of the stock into a sauce pan, and skim of the fat. Bring to a boil, and spoon a little of the hot broth in a ramekin and mix in 2 Tbsp. corn starch until a past forms. Add the smooth cornstarch back to the broth, and whisk. Cook until thickened and reduced a little. Serve over the beef with the side.
Note: Don’t throw away that cooking stock! You can strain it, and use it as a great soup base or braising liquid later in the week.
Flora is an award-winning creative director in Chicago turned food and lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. She is also author to the popular BEE NATIVE! gardening book series and various children's books that celebrate the wonder and hard work of bees and butterflies. Her blog and social spaces inspire thousands to create, learn, cook, grow, and craft, making their world lovelier one pixel/petal/seed/bite/stitch/brushstroke at a time. Follow her on all the social spaces, YouTube, and Amazon, and get creative!
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