Beef brisket - slow cooked on the hob

Some meat just needs to be slow cooked.

I also can't resist a bargain, brisket is a good value cut of meat but it needs to be given some time or you'll just end up with a tough, chewy mess.

So this is what I did to bring out that brilliant flavour.

First seal off the meat in a frying pan, I seasoned the brisket with a little bit of salt and lots of black pepper and used a knob of butter and a splash of oil in the pan. Keep the heat high and turn quickly in the pan. It only needs to be in there long enough for all the sides to be sealed.

Once the brisket is sealed, put it in a big pan and add the following:

1/2 bottle of red wine
2 beef stock cubes
1 red onion roughly chopped
3tsp mustard
1dessert spoon of tomato paste/puree
1tsp of paprika
4 cloves of garlic
pinch of celery salt
1/2 tsp each of oregano, rosemary and thyme (all mine were dried herbs)

Top up the pan with water until the brisket is covered and pop the lid on bring to the boil and then reduce down until it is very lightly simmering.
Leave it like this,topping up with water and checking occasionally. I actually forgot about mine and left it ticking over for 4 hours!


The meat should shred apart pretty easy with just a normal knife and fork. We had ours in gravy with a big pile of mash (click here for a recipe that includes smooth tasty mash) and green beans.
Simply comforting food. 

Also great to use as a pie filling or as a great value roast dinner. :)

Chicken Leek and Mushroom Pie

So, my first thing I want to champion is not wasting a drop after roasting a chicken. If you don't use the pan juices after for gravy or you have some left over, pour it into a little dish or ramekin. It splits into two delicious layers, both of which I use in this recipe. If you haven't got this, you can use any fat and a chicken stockcube instead.

This is a cheats pie, only using a pastry lid, but hey it saves on the calories.
You will need a big flat dish for your pie I used a 8 1/2 inch pyrex dish. (Don't forget it's going in the oven!)


So, as well as the jar of loveliness you will need:

2 chicken breasts ( or equivalent of thighs) cut into bite size pieces
5 mushrooms ( chestnut mushrooms if you have them, not the fiddly baby ones)
1/2 a leek sliced into little half discs
2 cloves of garlic chopped up tiny
1 spring onion sliced finely
pinch of dried parsely
pinch of dried tarragon
1/2 glass of white wine
dsrt spn of plain flour
2 dsrt spn of plain cream cheese
pack of rolled puff pastry (cut a square that is a bit bigger than your pie dish)
1 beaten egg - to glaze.


To make the filling:

Melt the top layer of the chickeny loveliness (or some butter and oil) in a big frying pan.
Add the leeks and spring onion and cook on a medium heat until softened. Add the garlic mushrooms and chicken and stir until the chicken is sealed.
Now add the white wine and the bottom part of the chicken juices, stir until incorporated then sprinkle over the flour.
Keep stiring as it turns into a sauce and add the cream cheese and herbs.
Once the cheese has melted turn off the heat and tip the mixture into the pie dish.

I left mine to cool a bit whilst I waited for my oven to get up to temperature about 180°c.
Then brush the edges of the pie dish with beaten egg and laid the pastry over the top. push the fork prongs around the edges to make sure it stays stuck on. Brush the egg all over the lid and I also topped mine with some mature grated cheddar ( not essential but very tasty) I also used some bits of pastry to decorate the top (but then I like to do faffy cheffy things occasionally!)



Cook the pie for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is puffy and golden brown. We served ours with green beans and carrots. And well, there's no leftovers!