Mexican-style barbecued beef brisket with quick-pickled onions
- Portion size: Serves 6-8
- Hands-on time 45 min, oven time 5½ hours, grill/barbecue time 10 min, plus marinating
- Difficulty: medium
Beef brisket can be a tough joint, but this recipe guarantees fall-apart-tender meat with a Mexican flavour that will make your taste buds sit up and take notice.
Hankering for more Mexican? Try our chicken tinga tacos next.
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Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1-2 green or yellow jalapeños, sliced
- 2 tbsp chipotle paste
- 6 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
- 2.25kg British beef brisket
- 3 dried cascabel chillies (available from Waitrose, Ocado or online from Souschef)
- 500ml good quality beef stock
- 250ml fruity red wine
- 200ml fresh orange juice
- 200ml passata
For the quick-pickled onions
- 2 red onions, thinly sliced
- Juice 3 limes
- 1 tbsp sea salt
To serve
- Large handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- Sliced green or yellow jalapeños
- 2 ripe avocados, chopped
- Juice ½ lime, plus extra wedges
- Steamed rice or warm tortillas
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Method
- Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan. Add the chopped onion and fry for 5 minutes or until beginning to colour. Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, jalapeños, chipotle paste and sugar, season generously with salt and pepper, then cook for 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. If you like a smooth consistency, whizz in a mini food processor or pound in a pestle and mortar (optional).
- Rub the cooled onion and spice marinade all over the brisket, then transfer to a large food bag with any leftover marinade. Marinate for at least 2 hours or ideally overnight in the fridge (see Make Ahead).
- Meanwhile, for the pickled onions, toss the sliced onions with the lime juice and salt in a glass bowl, then leave for at least 2 hours until they’ve turned pink.
- Put the dried chillies, stock, wine, orange juice and passata in a large jug and stir until well combined.
- Once ready to slow-cook, heat the oven to 140°C/120°C fan/gas 1. Put the brisket and any marinade from the bag in a large, deep roasting tin and pour over the stock mixture (including the chillies). Cover the meat with a layer of baking paper, then tightly cover the tin with 2 layers of foil, scrunching the edges to form a tight seal. Slow cook for 5-5½ hours, turning the meat over in the roasting tin halfway through the cooking time.
- Once the brisket is fully tender (see tips) remove from the oven and set aside on a chopping board, loosely covered, to rest. Carefully pour the cooking liquid from the roasting tin into a saucepan and bubble over a high heat for 25-30 minutes to reduce to a sauce consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning (see Make Ahead).
- Heat the grill to medium-high and cook for 5 minutes on each side, basting every 2 minutes with more sauce to give a charred sticky crust.
- To serve, mix the coriander, jalapeños, avocados and lime juice in a bowl and serve alongside the brisket with the quick-pickled onions and steamed rice or warm tortillas.
Nutrition
- 533kcals Calories
- 20.7g (7.3g saturated) Fat
- 61.9g Protein
- 17.9g (16.6g sugars) Carbs
- 1.9g Fibre
- 2.9g Salt
For 8
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