JOHN’S SLOW COOKED BRISKET

When I first met my husband John, he asked if I’d written a recipe for brisket. Of course, I said, handing him Leith’s Cookery Bible. He thumbed through the index. No brisket. So here you are, John, eight years late. And you must admit that, as my chief taster, you did declare it worth the calories.

Serves 6

Cooking oil, for frying

1.35kg (3lb 1oz) brisket, boned and rolled 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 small can of Guinness or other stout 1tbsp dark brown sugar

2 heaped tbsp tomato purée

1 mild or medium-hot chilli, deseeded and chopped

4 large onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 130°C/fan 110°C/gas 1. Very lightly grease the bottom of a large frying pan with oil and brown the brisket well all over.

Transfer to a lidded casserole dish or Dutch oven (or you could use a slow cooker, see right). Pour off any fat from the frying pan into a cup. Add a dollop of the tinned tomatoes to the pan and loosen any brown stuck-on bits with a wooden spoon – you don’t want to waste the flavour. Then add the rest of the tomatoes, the stout, sugar, tomato purée and chilli. Tip this all over the meat.

Rinse out the frying pan, then fry the onions in 2tbsp of the reserved fat, stirring frequently, until the onions are an even pale brown. Add the garlic and fry for 2 minutes. Tip on top of the meat.

Make sure the lid fits really well (if it doesn’t, cover with foil) and cook in the middle of the oven for 4 hours, turning the meat over and stirring the onions and sauce after 2 hours. When the time is up, test with a fork – the meat should be soft and falling into shreds.

When done, lift the meat out into a serving dish. Spoon off any visible fat from the sauce, check the seasoning and pour over the brisket.