Beef brisket served on a dish surrounded by parsnips and carrots

Pot-roasted beef brisket

By Good Food
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(24 ratings)
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Prep: 25 mins - 35 mins Cook: 2 hrs, 15 mins - 3 hrs

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Serves 6 - 8

Cook this one-pot brisket in beer for a richer flavour and your parsnips and mushrooms will absorb the liquor, too. Serve with mash to soak up the gravy

Nutrition and extra info

Nutrition: per serving for six

  • kcal575
  • fat39g
  • saturates14g
  • carbs20g
  • sugars1g
  • fibre5g
  • protein34g
  • salt0.53g
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Ingredients

  • 1-1¼kg/2¼-2¾ lb boned and rolled beef brisket
  • 5 tbsp vegetable oil
  • large knob of butter
    Butter

    Butter

    butt-err

    Butter is made when lactic-acid producing bacteria are added to cream and churned to make an…

  • 2 large onions, halved and sliced
    Onion

    Onion

    un-yun

    Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

  • 2-3 celery sticks, finely chopped
    Celery

    Celery

    sell-er-ee

    A collection of long, thick, juicy stalks around a central, tender heart, celery ranges in…

  • 2 carrots, sliced
    Carrot

    Carrot

    ka-rot

    The carrot, with its distinctive bright orange colour, is one of the most versatile root…

  • 200-250g/8-9oz large flat mushrooms, stalks chopped and heads thinly sliced
  • 500-550ml bottle brown ale or stout
  • a few fresh thyme sprigs

    Thyme

    This popular herb grows in Europe, especially the Mediterranean, and is a member of the mint…

  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1-2 tsp light muscovado sugar
  • 500g parsnips, cut into wedges
    Parsnip

    Parsnip

    par-snip

    The fact that the parsnip is a member of the carrot family comes as no surprise - it looks just…

  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • chopped fresh parsley or thyme, to serve

    Thyme

    This popular herb grows in Europe, especially the Mediterranean, and is a member of the mint…

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5/fan oven 170C. Wash and dry brisket and season. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep casserole and brown beef all over. Remove from pan. Turn down heat, add butter and fry the onions, celery, carrots and mushroom stalks for 6-8 minutes.

  2. Return beef to pan and add beer, thyme, bay leaves and sugar. Add water if necessary so the liquid comes about two-thirds up the beef. Season, bring to a simmer, cover tightly, and cook in the oven for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 160C/Gas 3/fan oven 140C and cook for 2 hours, turning twice, until tender.

  3. An hour before the beef is done, toss the parsnips in oil, season and roast on a baking tray above the beef for 50 mins - 1 hr until tender, turning once.

  4. Turn oven up to 190C/Gas 5/fan oven 170C. Lift out the beef, tent with foil and keep warm. Stir the parsnips and mushroom caps into the beef juices. Check seasoning; add water if needed. Cover and cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes until mushrooms are tender.

  5. To serve, use a slotted spoon to remove vegetables and arrange round the beef. Spoon off the excess fat from the juices, then whisk in the mustard and pour into a jug. Moisten the beef with a little juice and scatter with parsley or thyme.

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Comments, questions and tips

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jodiekidd
22nd May, 2016
5.05
Gorgeous! Cooked much smaller piece of meat for 3 1/2 hours. Had to top up with liquid a few times. Served with roast veg and mustard mash. I pushed the veg in the pot with the liquid through a sieve with a potato mashed. Boiled with juice and added mustard and granules to thicken it up. Melt in the mouth meat.
bikerbell
18th Jan, 2016
I used this recipe as a guide but i didn't have all the ingredients. Made do with carrots, onions and a few glugs of red wine with a rich beef stock pot. ! Went with the comments and cooked for 4 hours. Then blitzed the liquid and veg, this made a really yummy gravy. The meat was really tender and tasty. Will definitely do again.
lizleicester
16th Jan, 2016
5.05
Just put everything in the pot and forgot about it (for about 4.5 hrs). It had all mellowed to a most delicious melt in the mouth treat. It's a wonderful recipe to transform a cheap cut into something really special.
i05wahan
1st Jun, 2015
5.05
Great recipe! I also cooked the meat for 4 hours so it was fall apart. I then used Mary Berry's tip of adding red currant jelly to the gravy instead of the mustard which was delicious. Served with mustard mash and greens it made a great sunday night dinner.
clippert
16th May, 2015
5.05
This is truly fantastic. I cooked it for 4 hours and when i was cutting the joint it was falling apart. Melt in the mouth :-) The kids were even getting stuck in. Left overs I put in a container with the remaining gravy and had the next day - if anything it was better than fresh out of the oven. I'll be making this one again.
highwaycrossingfrog
15th Feb, 2015
4.05
Absolutely delicious. Although I had a significantly smaller cut of brisket than the recipe - about 720g - I stuck to the suggested times. I was concerned upon removing it from the pot that it felt too tight but in fact it was lovely and tender. It could even have been left in for longer, as others have suggested, for it to become fall-apart, melt-in-the-mouth. My only negative was my choice of ale - I used Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Celebration Ale - and I think it was too bitter. It paired wonderfully with the sweetness of the parsnips, but the veg that had stewed in the ale from the beginning had a little too much bitterness. Next time I will use Newcastle Brown as suggested. I also left out the mushrooms, as I don't like them, but in future I think I might add some dried porcini mushrooms for extra richness.
lisalovesmanolo
28th Feb, 2014
Love this recipe - have mad it four times now, one currently in the oven! Much as I love roast parsnips, for ease i do cheat and put them in with the other veg and I use whatever I have to hand and chuck it in at what seems an appropriate time. It works well served with rice too.
pwhyton
10th Nov, 2013
what a wonderful meal that makes. Full of flavor and really easy. I added swede in with the parsnips which gave some extra taste and as all the plates were clean at the end I guess it was a success.
musicbizmum
7th Oct, 2013
The family said it was the best roast I've ever made so will def do again! Used Newcastle Brown, left in for 4 hours as per previous comments & left out the mustard (but added in a couple of beef stock cubes to the gravy at the end for a bit more flavour.) Served it up with Maris Piper mash and runner beans. Even my 4 yr old had a clean plate!
beclam
12th Feb, 2013
Lovely recipe, the meat was so tender, loved by whole family.

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missbrannigan
19th Nov, 2015
Can I do this without alcohol? we have a teetotal guest.... Thanks in advance,
Römer25
26th Mar, 2016
4.05
I basically used this very good recipe, but opened the brisket out and rubbed a marinade of oil, garlic, rosemary, sage, thyme, sea salt and pepper into the scored meat, rolled and tied it back up and roasted as the recipe. I also left out the mustard and added PONTACK SAUCE, if you've never made this, do look for a recipe, (you can't buy it), it makes every gravy to a sensational sophisticated sauce.