- 1½kg brisket
- 1½ garlic bulb
- 3 tsp cumin seeds
- 1½ orange
- A pinch of cayenne pepper
- 3 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 bay leaves
- 1½ lime
- 750ml boiling water
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Honey or sugar (optional)
- 1.
Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 190°C/Gas 7. Unwrap your beef brisket and pat it dry. Place it in a roasting tin. Allow it to come to room temperature (30 mins- 1 hr should do it).
- 2.
Peel all the garlic cloves. Thinly slice two cloves and set the rest aside. Make small cuts in the beef and push in the garlic slices and some of the cumin seeds.
- 3.
Zest and juice the orange. Whisk the orange zest and juice with a pinch of cayenne pepper (it's hot, so use as much or as little as you prefer) and 2 tsp smoked paprika. Rub this all over the brisket with plenty of salt and pepper.
- 4.
Pour in 750ml boiling water in t the roasting tin around (but not over) the beef. It should come halfway up the brisket. Drop in the bay leaves and whole garlic cloves. Place a lid on the tin or cover with foil, scrunching it to the sides of the tin. Slide into the oven and cook for 20 mins. Turn the oven down to 160°C/Fan 150°C/ Gas 5. Cook for a further 3 hrs 30 mins
- 5.
When the brisket has cooked for a total of 3 hrs 50 mins, remove the lid or foil. Lift the brisket out of the cooking liquid and set aside on a board or plate. Pluck out the bay leaves and discard them. Scoop out the garlic cloves. They should be soft. Pop them out of their skins and crush them with the back of a fork. Swirl the crushed garlic back into the liquid in the tin.
- 6.
Taste and season the spicy, fruity, garlicky sauce with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add a little honey or sugar to sweeten if you like. Serve slices or shreds of the brisket with the sauce spooned over and wedges of lime to squeeze.
- Tip
On the side
Cook a pan of rice to go on the side of this slow cooked brisket and soak up all the saucy flavours. Sweat a died onion for 5-10 mins in oil till soft and lightly coloured. Stir in a couple of crushed garlic cloves, then add 50g white basmati rice per person. Pour in double the volume of boiling water as you have rice (so, for 200g rice pour in 400ml boiling water). Add a pinch of salt, bring to the boil then clamp on a lid, turn the heat down and very gently cook for 8-10 mins. Take the rice off the heat and steam in the pan, lid on, for 5 mins, then serve with the beef. - Tip
Next week
Turn Easter into Feaster with a gorgeous roast chicken smothered in wild garlic butter.
