Easy Sunday Lunch – all cooked in one pot!
Here is how you can cook a cheap easy Sunday lunch for your roast that is tasty and delicious. Best of all it is a great menu for when you don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen cooking.
You can follow the recipe below with almost any joint of meat. The thing to remember is that if you cook any cut of meat long and slow it is likely to be tender.
The trick is to put your meat into very hot oven of about 200c gas mark 6 for 30 minutes and then turn the oven right down and leave it cooking for the next few hours. This will ensure it is tender and falling off the bone – if there is one. The result is you will have a delicious and tender piece of meat.
Good cuts of meat to cook long and slow
There are many cuts of meat you can use including, brisket of beef, pork and shoulder of lamb. Have a chat with your butcher who will be able to advise on the type and size of the joint you will need. The butcher will also be able to advise you on how to cook it.
Pot roasted or Slow cooker roasts
I am a big fan of Slow Cookers
– so I often use this when cooking roasts. Although it has been pointed out by my butcher that actually I am not roasting I am slow cooking. Well frankly I just want to do meals that are simple and tasty so whether it is pot-roasted, slow-cooked, or roasted in the oven I don’t really care. I just want the end result to be good.
If you are on a budget then try following the recipe below that uses a cheap but wonderfully tasty cut of beef called brisket. If you have a slow cooker slam it in that. If you are worried that the brisket may be tough, have a chat with your butcher and ask for advice on the cut of meat he would advise you to cook, given your price, time, and cooking options.
Brisket – A slow-cooked easy Sunday lunch
Brisket is a cheap cut of beef and as a result often overlooked because if it is not cooked long, low and slow for a good number of hours it can be very chewy. But if you are looking to save a few pennies – then this can be a very tasty cut of meat and a really easy way to cook a Sunday roast using beef. Fans of brisket claim it is tastier than topside and you can make great gravy from the meat juices.
The great thing about this recipe is once you have prepared the meat and popped it in the oven – or into a slow cooker – you can get on with doing other things – and have not spent all day in the kitchen cooking. If you require more confidence with cooking meat then I would recommend you invest in a Kitchen Cooking Thermometer. They are not expensive and will come in very useful particularly at Christmas when you are cooking the Christmas Turkey.
Ingredients for your slow-cooked Brisket of Beef
You will need a boned, rolled brisket of about 2.5k, tied with string which should serve about eight people.
- 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- Thyme Springs
- (or add your own favourite herbs)
- 700g of potatoes washed and peeled and cut into chunks
- 650 g of carrots also peeled and cut into chunks
- 500 g of celeriac cut into chunks
- 500 g of small onions or shallots peeled
- Any other root vegetables will work well including beetroot, parsnips and sweet potato,
Preheat the oven to 200c/gas 6. Meanwhile, massage the brisket with the oil garlic and season well with salt and pepper. Put the herbs including the garlic in a large roasting tin and rest the meat on top. Roast for 30 minutes.
Take out of the oven and turn down the temperature to 140c/gas1. Cover the meat with tin foil and return to the oven for another four hours. Longer if it is still not tender.
Baste the meat with the juices from the roasting dish. Add the vegetables to the roasting tin and toss them in the juices too. Turn the oven up to 160c/gas mark 3 and cook uncovered for a further hour until the vegetables are cooked through and ready to eat and the beef has crisped up a little.
Remember long slow one pot roasts keep you free to spend your time doing other things
Doing long slow roasts are a great way to ensure that the meat tastes good and by cooking everything in one pot you are free to do other things before you dish up a lovely Sunday roast. For lots more delicious reliable Sunday lunch recipes this is an excellent buy (We are big Mary Berry fans). Mary Berry’s Family Sunday Lunches
