Serves: 4
In the summer months there is very little desire to turn the oven on, yet a succession of salads might not go down so well with the heartier eaters among us. When the mercury is rising (fat chance at the moment I admit) the thought of a hot kitchen can be unbearable which is where a slow cooker comes into its own. If you have an Aga that stays on throughout the year you could try this in the simmering oven although I think the meat would be done in 6-8 hours but perhaps someone will let me know about that! I serve the shredded meat in a brioche burger bun with cheese and coleslaw but you could use flatbreads or fill a baked potato. You may not need all the sauce to moisten the meat but you need that amount of liquid to keep the beef moist during cooking.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1.3-1.6kg piece brisket, unrolled
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil or sunflower oil
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 2cm piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- Scant tablespoon gochujang paste
- 400ml ginger beer ( I use FeverTree)
- 90ml barbecue sauce ( I like Bulls Eye)
- 2 tablespoons cornflour
Method
- Mix the cumin, paprika, smoked paprika and mustard powder in a shallow dish and add some salt and ground black pepper. Roll the beef in the spices covering all the sides. Set aside while you start to cook the vegetables.
- Using the sauté function on the Instant Pot heat the oil in the pot and add the onion, carrot and celery. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly then add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the beef and stir in the gochujang, ginger beer and barbecue sauce. Bring to the boil then switch the function to Slow Cook and set the timer for 12 hours. Secure the lid and let the cooker do its thing.
- Remove the beef from the sauce and shred into a serving dish. Pour the cooking sauce into a saucepan (you can sieve to remove the vegetables but I like the little pieces so don’t bother). Bring the sauce to a boil. Mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons water and add to the hot sauce. Stir until thickened. Pour as much sauce over the meat as you want to moisten- if you are filling buns you may not want the beef to be too sloppy whereas you may want lots of sauce for a baked potato. Serve with sliced cheese, some spring onions and a little coleslaw on the side.