Braised Beef Spanish Style with Chimichurri

This recipe is a revelation and once you make it it will end up being a staple in your cooking rotations. You will notice that I keep the beef and sauce separate, and only combine the two when reheating. The reason I do this is so that I can make a large batch, portion the beef into zip-lock bags and freeze them, along with pouring the cooking liquid into ice cube trays, freezing and then also into zip lock bags for portion control.  

This way I can reheat the beef and sauce whenever I like. Also, keeping the beef separate to the sauce means that it can be used in a whole different manner of ways. I've used it in curries- cooking veggies in coconut milk with red curry paste and then adding the beef at the end as an easy week night dinner. It can be added to salads, pizzas and even stir-frys. 

Or you can just eat it once cooked with the sauce over a bed of rice or with some vegetables or roast potatoes on the side as I did with our meal. I highly recommend making the chimichurri to go with it if you will be serving it this way!

You will need..

2.5-3kg trimmed beef brisket, cut into 6 or 7 even chunks

salt and pepper

olive oil for frying

1 large carrot

1 large onion

1 large celery stick

4 whole, peeled garlic cloves

1 tsp fennel seed

1 tsp coriander seed

1 tsp thyme

4-5 cloves

1 cinnamon quill

2-3 bay leaves

parsley stalks

1 bottle Spanish dry red wine

2 Lt beef or veal stock

Chimichurri

chives

flat-leaf parsley

coriander

oregano

red wine vinegar

olive oil

Method...

1. Preheat your slow cooker to high.

2. Trim the outer layer of fat off the brisket, then dice into several large even-sized chunks

3. Peel the garlic, onion and carrot. Dice the onion, carrot and celery.

4. Fry the dried spices in a dry pan until fragrant, remove. Add olive oil and seal the beef pieces on high until browned. Remove. Add the vegetables and sauté until lightly browned. 

5. Transfer vegetables, beef, spices, wine and stock to the slow cooker. Cover with a lid and braise for 4-6 hours or until beef can be pulled apart easily with tongs.

6. Remove brisket from cooking liquid with a slotted spoon, then use a colander strain out vegetables. Compost or discard vegetables and place the cooking liquid into a pot. Place on to simmer for 20 minutes or until reduced to a jus. Meanwhile, use a fork to pull the beef into chunks. Place beef into a container and sauce into another container and refrigerate overnight.

7. Make the chimichurri by combining all the herbs in a food processor. Blitz until finely diced. Add the red wine vinegar and olive oil, then process until a chunky herby sauce has formed. Place in an airtight container in the fridge and store for up to a week.

8. To serve, take out a portion of beef, and a few spoonfuls of the cooking liquid and place into a pot on the stove. Heat through and serve over a bed of rice or some roasted potatoes. Spoon the chimichurri over the top.