Slow cooker season

Cards on the table: I hate coming home from a busy day and knowing I have to walk into the kitchen at 7 pm, cook a full meal, and then clean up. Don’t get me wrong; I love cooking. It gives me joy to create a beautiful and healthy. After a 10-hour day at work, an hour commute home, and a heavy workout, cooking is not much joy; it is a chore. I’m usually borderline hangry at the end of a long day, and I want my food as fast as possible. 

This is where having a slow cooker comes into its own. I know that I can walk in and find a meal that is cooked, hot, and ready to serve. That means food is served as soon as I want it, not 30 to 60 minutes later.

Putting the slow cooker on the counter

It has been getting a bit cold in the mornings and evenings here in the southern hemisphere, and the cost of salad is going through the roof. Yes, it means winter is upon us. It also means that the slow cooker is coming out of the cupboard and taking up residence on the kitchen counter again. My slow cooker is my favourite kitchen appliance when the weather cools down. To celebrate the slow cooker taking its place on the countertop, I decided to make brisket and onions. 

A little bit of effort, a lot of reward

This slow-cooker meal isn’t a dump-and-go recipe; it requires some prep work, but it is worth the effort. Making a bed of caramelised onions for the brisket to sit on in the slow cooker gives the meat an extra level of flavour that kicks ass and takes names. The bone broth helps to make a rich sauce that can easily be turned into a gravy. If you want to kick things up on the comfort-food front, whisk a tablespoon of tapioca flour into a small amount of the bone broth, then return it to the slow cooker and mix well. I love combining my brisket and onions with cauliflower rice, but it also goes well with mashed sweet potatoes or cauliflower mash. 

Sear in the flavour

I spent some time experimenting with this recipe to create a deeper flavour; I finally landed on the seared meat to make this recipe extra special. The extra step of searing the meat adds a beautiful caramelised flavour to the meat and, more importantly, to the gravy. 

Brisket and onions Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 onion, sliced
• 1.5kg beef roast
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups beef bone broth
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. coconut aminos
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat.

Add the onions to the pan and let them cook for about 15 minutes, stirring them now and then.

When the onions are caramelised, spread them on the bottom of your slow cooker.

Return the frying pan to the heat.

Season the brisket before searing it in the pan where the onions were cooked.

When the meat is browned, place it on top of the onions in the slow cooker.

Put half of the onions on top of the brisket.

Pour the Worcestershire sauce, coconut aminos and broth over the meat.

Cook the brisket on low heat for 6 to 8 hours. 

The meat should pull apart with a fork.

Let the meat rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Use two forks to pull the brisket apart and mix it well with the onions and cooking juices.

Equipment

• Knife
• Chopping board
• Measuring jug
• Measuring spoons
• Frying pan
• Wooden spoon
• Tongs
• Whisk

Nutritional disclaimer

Nutrition information is provided as an estimate based on the ingredients used and available in my area (New Zealand). The nutritional information is here to help you understand the recipe; I use MyFitnessPal to generate my estimates. For more accurate nutritional information, please use a nutritional calculator with the ingredients in your area.