Organic Riverford brisket and ale roast with parsnip chips

It’s onto the penultimate item from my Riverford meat box, and what better for the weekend than an old school roasting joint. Only this joint was brisket – and I don’t know about you, but I’ve rarely tasted brisket, let alone cooked it. It’s a rather cheap cut from below the beef shoulder, and from my internet research it seems to be something Jewish grandmothers know how to cook!

On top of this brisket, I also had an unending supply of ale in the fridge. In my band playing days of yore (this was about two months ago before I left said band), we played one gig where the rider was just a fridge full of Bishops Finger and Hobgoblin. I came home with a box full of ales, not really knowing what to do with it, except that it would be put to good use one day if even in an ale pie.

So I tried a recipe for brisket roast poached in ale. First I marinated the 1.5kg brisket in a bottle of Bishops Finger overnight…

… and the next day I drained the joint, reserving the ale for the poaching liquid.

I browned the brisket joint on all sides, put it aside and used the juices left in the pan to cook up the poaching liquid for the pot. I fried two chopped shallots and garlic, then added about 400ml of the ale, bringing it to a boil. Once boiling, it foams and froths like a weird potion. To this I added a few bay leaves, 2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tbsp sugar and seasoning. The stock was poured over the joint in a lidded casserole dish and put in an oven at 180C for 45 minutes.

To accompany the brisket, I made some parsnip chips. I chopped up about eight parsnips as thin as I could, and tossed them in honey, wholegrain mustard and olive oil. After the brisket had been in the oven for 45 minutes, I added the parsnip tray to the oven. At this point I also added a couple of chopped carrots and leeks to the pot roast, though it threatened to overflow – I really do need a bigger casserole pot!

After 1 hour 45 minutes roasting time I took the brisket out, left it to rest and used the remaining liquid to make a gravy.

The result? A very tasty alternative to your traditional beef topside etc., especially if you get some of the gelatinous tendons. However brisket does have a tendency towards toughness, so I wish I had cooked mine at a lower temperature, and slower.

I have lots of leftovers and apparently there are some great ways of using up brisket, so look out for more brisket-related recipes!

An organic brisket joint from Riverford costs £10.45 and will serve 6.

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