I made a version of this recipe when I had a lesson at the London Barbecue School courtesy of Branston; we used thin steaks rather than beef brisket as they were quicker to cook, and they had been pre-marinaded.I liked it so much I decided to make the full version of this recipe at home, which you can find on the Branston website here.
To serve 4, you need:
500g beef brisket
Bottle of dark beer – I actually used Liefmans Fruit Beer for a lovely fruity taste
1 tbsp honey
1 head of garlic, cut in half
100g Danish blue cheese, crumbled
150ml buttermilk
1 tbsp cider vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
1 tsp garlic powder (available in the spice section of supermarkets)
Pinch of pepper
½ head of Savoy cabbage, core removed, and thinly sliced – I don’t like cabbage generally so used mooli instead
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
4 large flour tortillas (I actually served mine on the little gem leaves as I was avoiding carbs)
Branston Smoky Tomato & Chipotle Relish
2 sliced medium Jalapenos or green chillis (I left these out)
Marinade the beef overnight in the beer, honey and garlic.
When you are ready to cook, pre-heat oven to 120C – a pretty cool temperature. You are going to braise the beef, in the marinade, for 3-4 hours until cooked through and tender.
When it’s ready, carefully transfer the beef to a plate or chopping board and cover with foil. Strain the cooking liquid into a pan and reduce to a glaze.
Use two forks to shred the beef, and add to the pan with the glaze and fold in.
Meanwhile mix the cheese, buttermilk, vinegar, garlic powder and pepper in a large bowl until smooth. Add the cabbage, carrot and onion and stir until all combined.
To serve, place a tortilla (warmed in a skillet if you like) onto a plate, top with little gem, the slaw and pulled beef brisket. Add a dash of the Smoky Tomato and Chipotle Relish and sprinkle with chillis if desired.
I often make chicken fajitas but this was the first time I had served my husband pulled beef in a tortilla wrap and he really liked it. I don’t normally buy beer or have 4 hours to cook something in the oven so this isn’t something I’d probably make again, but I did really enjoy it – and it showed me once again how versatile Branston is.