This Week's Sunday Roast - Brisket

I've been living in England for almost 5 months now (10 for my fiance) and we have tried to adjust to the british way of living and take on a few of it's cherished traditions. Trips to the pub are frequent (not really out of the norm for us any ways, but the pub is closer and there is more than one to choose from) and taking strolls to the shops or park are much more common for us now, but the one bit of culture we have really taken a liking to is the 'Sunday Roast'. This is a traditional meal usually eaten in the late afternoon and of course is centered around a roast of some sort. The roast may consist of a beef, lamb, or a bird of some kind and served with all the trimmings. We have taken a little liberty with this and added anything that spends a bit of time in the oven and we will have this meal at more of a 'dinnertime'. 

{Check out Wikipedia for details under Sunday Roast} 

The measurements of this recipe are approximate as we did a bit of improve with the ingredients we had on hand. So here is what we had. 

Equipment:

• Dutch Oven or Large ovenproof Pan with a Lid
• Something to Chop with
• Spoon (big one to stir with)

Ingredients:

• 2-2.5 Lbs Beef Brisket {try to get it with the fat top layer intact}
• 1 Large Yellow Onion (sliced)
• 2 Shallots (sliced)
• 5 Clove of Garlic (crushed)
• 1 Large Parsnip (peeled and rough chopped)
• 1/2 Fennel Bulb (sliced)
• 5 Sprigs of Thyme
• 1 Tbsp Peppercorns
• 1 Cup Tomato Sauce
• 5 Cups Chicken Stock
• 1/4 Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Cider Vinegar
• 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
• Salt & Pepper
• 3 Tbls

Directions:

-Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F and heat your pan with the oil over med/hi heat

-Season your meat and sear both sides, start with the fatty side first to render some fat

-After browning the meat remove and add the parsnips, onion, shallots and fennel

-Get a little color on the veggies then add the rest of the ingredients and return the meat to the pan

-Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours

-When done and super tender, remove from the oven, take off the lid and let rest for 5 minutes

-Slice up the meat and serve with some of the veggies and liquid (if you want you can take some of the liquid and reduce it down to more of a gravy consistency)