Pulled Beef Brisket Sliders with Slaw – for the Best Lazy Weekend Lunch Ever

For a relaxed meal over a nice glass of red with family and friends, this easy to cook melt in your mouth piece of beef brisket will tantalize your taste buds and leave lasting memories of what good times are all about.

Served simply on a soft bun (or a nice big hunk of fresh ciabatta) with onion and juices from the pot and a fresh crisp slaw lightly bathed in an unpretentious dressing of extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar with a dash of honey, I guarantee everyone will be lining up for seconds.

If by any chance you have some meat leftover it is great for lunches or other quick meals during the week plus it also freezes well. The kids will love it too. The other good thing is brisket is a very economical cut of beef so it won’t break the bank to have such a pleasurable meal.

Ingredients:

1 to 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

3 large onions, halved & sliced, medium to thick (2 green or yellow and one red)

1½ kg piece of beef brisket – make sure it is NOT corned

Ground pink Himalayan salt or sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1 400 gm tin of diced tomatoes

1 stubbie (330 – 375 ml) of full strength beer (but not a dark ale – XXXX, VB, Boag’s or similar)

1 cup beef, veal or chicken stock

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon medium dry sherry

Marinade for Beef

I like to marinate the beef brisket for at least 24 hours before cooking but it is not a necessity if you are time poor. Unfortunately I can’t give you exact measurements for this; I just go by how I think it looks. Lay out the piece of meat on a flat surface. Doing one side at a time, sprinkle with the ground salt and pepper, a good sprinkle of cumin, a sprinkle of brown coconut sugar and a good pinch of medium chilli flakes. Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil (do one side with garlic oil if you have some) then massage both sides of the beef so it is all evenly spread and getting into the meat. Wrap up securely in Glad Wrap and put it in the fridge to do its thing – the longer the better. I sometimes also spread a bit of Dijon mustard over the top but it is not necessary.

To Cook

Take the brisket out of the fridge an hour before cooking and bring to room temperature.

Heat some oil in a good sized frying pan over medium/low heat and cook the onions until lightly caramelized – 10 to 15 minutes. Stir frequently.

While the onions are cooking, if you didn’t marinate the brisket then season with salt and pepper and a rub of good olive oil. Heat a large frying pan (I use a baking dish) over medium and sear the brisket on both sides until its golden brown. Remove and place in a slow-cooker (what we used to call a crock pot) fatty side up.

Sprinkle the crushed garlic and cooked onions over the top and around the meat (a bit underneath is good too). Tip in the tin of diced or crushed tomatoes.

Stir together in a jug the beer, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, sherry and pour into the slow-cooker with the beef.

Cover and cook in the slow cooker on LOW for 10 hours. Do NOT open for a quick taste until the time is up (slow cookers take ages to heat up again). It will be very tender and perfect for pulled brisket rolls and slaw. If it cooks for a bit longer don’t worry. It will be all the better.

When finished cooking let it rest in the slow cooker for 20 minutes on the warm setting before serving.

The beef brisket can be sliced or shredded with two forks and served with the onions and juices as a slider (burger), Nachos (see picture) or served with virtually any selection of veggies or salads. In the middle of winter, give yourself a treat by serving the meat and juices over a nice bed of soft and fluffy mashed potatoes. Brown Basmati rice would be the healthy option here.

You could also let the meat cool and refrigerate it overnight. Before reheating, scrape away and discard the layer of fat that will form around the meat.

This is one of our family favourite get together “easy” meals so let me know if you think so too.

And if you happen to have any leftovers (which I doubt), it freezes well too.

Because this recipe has become such a firm favourite at our house and with so many of my loyal readers as well I thought you might like 10 more brisket recipes that all fall off your fork.

Happy eating and don’t forget to like and share. Cheers – John.