Slow Cooked Chilli Brisket

I won’t lie, this is not a dinner to make when you only have half an hour until dinner time. It needs a long time to cook, the longer the better. It is however, a great dish to make it the morning and leave on the stove or in a slow cooker all day. The brisket literally falls apart it is so tender, and the spices, vegies and tomato all meld into each other to make a wonderful sauce. This is great in winter as a stew served over polenta, rice or mash, but I love it most in summer, served in tortillas with guacamole and loads of fresh coriander to cut through the richness. I got the idea from a Jamie Oliver recipe but changed it to suits my tastes so much that it has become altogether different.

1 -1.5 kg piece of beef brisket (ask your butcher to score it across and down so it looks like a checker board)

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tbspn smoked paprika

1 tbspn cumin

1 tspn ground coriander

1 tspn cinnamon

½ tspn cayenne pepper

3 tbspn olive oil

1 tin chopped tomatoes

4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (you can substitute with another can of tomatoes)

1 cup of beef or vegetable stock

2 bay leaves

1 heaped tspn brown sugar

2 tbspns balsamic vinegar

2 red onions thinly sliced

2-3 capsicums (red, orange or yellow) cut up into strips

½ bunch coriander

2 chillies, split

Season the brisket well and rub with the spices. Heat a large fry pan to medium, add olive oil and sear the brisket til brown and juicy. Meanwhile in a heavy saucepan or slow cooker, add tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, sugar, vinegar, capsicums and coriander and bring to the boil.

Once brisket is done, put it in the tomato sauce. Then fry the onions and chillies in the pan that the brisket was in and once they are tender, add to the tomato/brisket pot. Put the lid on the pot, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 5-7 hours (the longer the better). Check occasionally to make sure the meat is immersed in the sauce. When it is ready the brisket should fall apart when you pick it up.

Use tongs and a fork to get the meat out and shred it. Ladle on some veggies and sauce and either serve with rice, or top tortillas with guacamole and brisket and fresh coriander and roll up to eat. Be warned, you will need lots of serviettes!