Rick Stein’s Pot-Roast Brisket With Parsley Dumplings Recipe

Thursday Sep. 26, 2024

nzme

This hearty pot roast is dialled up by the addition of dumplings (they only call for three ingredients) which soak up some of the goodness. Photo / James Murphy

A cooking method Rick loves, with dumplings for extra deliciousness, this recipe is from the British food legend’s latest cookbook, Rick Stein’s Food Stories.

I’m inordinately fond of pot-roasting meat, particularly when it is a slightly less than tender cut, like brisket. When you open the pot towards the end of the cooking time, the aroma of onions, celery, carrots and beer is as comforting as the smell of smoke from a wood fire in an open hearth.

POT-ROAST BRISKET WITH PARSLEY DUMPLINGS RECIPE

Serves 6

4 Tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil

1.3kg boned and rolled beef brisket joint

20g butter 2 onions, chopped

2 celery sticks, sliced

4 carrots, each cut into 3 pieces

200ml beer

500ml rich beef stock

1 bay leaf

2 fresh thyme sprigs

1 tsp sugar

Chopped parsley

Salt and black pepper

Dumplings

150g self-raising flour

75g suet

Small handful of parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan 140C. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the brisket on all sides, then remove it and set aside.
Add the butter to the pan, reduce the heat and cook the onions, celery and carrots for 5-6 minutes until golden.
Add the beer, beef stock, bay leaf, thyme and sugar, then season well with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then immediately turn the heat down to a simmer and put the beef back in the pan.
Cover with a lid, transfer to the preheated oven and cook for 2½–3 hours, turning the beef after the first hour.
Remove the beef from the pan, transfer it to a plate and cover with foil to keep it warm.
Mix the dumpling ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add enough water (about 100ml) to make a soft dough, then with floured hands, shape the dough into 6 balls.
Bring the juices in the pan back to the boil, adding a little more stock or water if the pan looks dry. Add the dumplings, cover with the lid and return to the oven for 20 minutes until the dumplings are risen and fluffy.
Carve the beef into thick slices. Taste the juices and add more seasoning if needed.
Serve the beef with the dumplings, vegetables and meat juices and sprinkle with a little parsley.