… earlier this week I was called up by BBC Radio Lincolnshire as their local food expert to discuss the great butter debate. This week it was revealed by ‘scientists’ that perhaps the advice we were given in the 70’s and 80’s not to eat saturated fats was based on shaky evidence. As you can imagine I have quite strong views on the matter and I think I expressed myself eloquently on the radio. As always I truly believe that ‘everything in moderation’ is the best advice but sadly it remains quite a wishy-washy statement and whilst we’re the first to rise in uproar when we’re spoken down to, we do on the whole, like to be told what to eat. We like our elders to point at the devil and say no. It makes choices easier for us and also helps us point the blame when we’re wrong when in truth we should suck it up and take responsibility for what we put in our mouths.
My mum changed from butter to margarine in the 70’s and has stuck to it ever since, it’s what she prefers and my family are perfectly healthy and growing old nicely thank you. That said, I much prefer to cook with butter, as most of my recipes will show, I use it to make cakes and use it with olive oil when sautéing onions for soups and stews and particularly on a Sunday morning when making scrambled eggs… but again, i’m not eating it with a spoon out of the packet so I think i’ll be OK. The thing is, we all know what makes us fat, it’s not the government or big corporations selling us rubbish, it’s the bad rubbish we choose to put in our mouths…
slow-cooker brisket with caramelised onions
this really is as simple and as good as it sounds. Brisket always reminds me of my mum, it being one of her favourite joints of beef to cook when the family or large groups of people came round and so I am cooking it for her for Mother’s Day. Many people are quite snobbish about cuts of beef but I have to say that the brisket, nicely marbled with fat and packed with flavor, is my absolute favourite, so much so that it’s actually more of a treat for me than the posh cuts and I think my mum has always felt the same …
your slow-cooker may be a different size to mine so use these measurements as a guide… to be honest it doesn’t hugely matter as long as you follow the rough idea of the ingredients. The slow cooker and the brisket are very forgiving… oh and if you still don’t have a slow-cooker then feel free to roast this in an oven in a large casserole dish covered tightly with foil and a tight fitting lid on 150C for 4 hours until tender
this recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on the brilliant thekitchn.com site
2 large onions – peeled and sliced into large half-moons
butter and olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh thyme
3 large garlic cloves
2 pints good quality stock (I used vegetable stock)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
in a large, heavy bottomed pan heat some olive oil and butter and add the onions. Add some fresh thyme, season well, stir and let them sweat through for about 20 minutes until they become a light golden brown. You will need to stir them often to stop them sticking. – remove the onions from the pan and place them into the slow-cooker. Place the pan back on the heat
turn up the heat under the pan, throw in a little more olive oil and brown the brisket all over until you get a nice rich, toasty colour. Place the brisket into the slow-cooker with the onions and pour over the stock, soy sauce and vinegar and throw in the garlic cloves
cook on low for 8 hours. Once done, remove the brisket from the slow-cooker and set aside, wrapped in foil for 20 mins to rest. The sauce in the pan will make a perfect gravy. I like to serve my brisket traditionally, sliced with roasted veg but it falls apart like soft butter so could easily be served torn like pulled pork and eaten in a pitta…
as always this gorgeous dish is going off to the brilliant slow-cooked challenge hosted as always by the splendiferous Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen… it’s an open theme this month so hopefully i’ve hit the nail on the head and Janice will forgive me for my past discretions…
eat and of course, enjoy
I think that beef looks fabulous – and I share your views on butter!
I share your philosophy on eating Dom, and even though it's not as exciting as some of the 'good vs evil' ways of eating, all things in moderation is the way to go — and this brisket is definitely one of the good guys 😉
Ah Dom, you couldn't have made anything better for the Slow Cooked Challenge, I love brisket. I also love butter and just can't abide the flavour of 'spreads', although I do use them in some baking. I don't eat much butter but want the real thing on my toast!
Your brisket looks amazing and rustic, lots of childhood memories here 🙂 x
Looks heavenly, melt-in-the-mouth delicious Dom!
I'm absolutely in the butter camp. I hate the taste of spreads……….
We gave up on low fat spreads a few years ago after someone we know who knows someone in the industry told us some horror stories about the manufacturing process. I must say that our return to butter has has been thoroughly enjoyable!
Your brisket looks gorgeous and I can just imagine how delicious it tastes.
The real evil is sitting all day long and not what we put in our mouths. I so agree – everything in moderation. I love a tender slow-cooked brisket and caramelized onions makes everything better!
My mantra these days is eat what you want in moderation and then get off your duff and walk it off … or at least most of it! What a beautiful brisket, Dom! I've done it with onions, broth and cider vinegar, but never soy and balsamic! What great flavours for an 'undercurrent' !
I often cook a joint of beef in the slow cooker and love how it turns out. Brisket is perfect for slow cooking.
I've not really cooked with brisket very much but I am a fan of slow cooking so will give this it a go. It looks fab…
I am a HUGE fan of butter and brisket, and this looks fabulous Dom! It's not a matter of what is bad but the QUANTITIES that we eat nowadays, so butter me up! K xxx
I've recently discovered brisket – slow roasted a pice in the oven a few weeks ago – what a revelation. Will def try it in the slow cooker.
Absolutely lush brisket, and I love caramelised onions. I never liked margarine, it just doesn't appeal to me.
Brisket in the slow cooker is wonderful, and the onions to accompany it sound good
Slow cooker is always my preferred choice of cooking a meal, rather than using the unhealthy shortcuts that the frying pan offers you.
This looks so good, I have one of those new pressure cookers that also work as a slow cooker and I am new to the whole thing so looking for inspiration. As a Spaniard, I'd never even heard of slow cookers until a few years ago. This is going on the to-try list, thanks!