24 Hour Garlic Beef

Great Aunt Regina

There’s a wonderful story behind this 24 hour garlic beef. The recipe is handed down from my incredible Great Aunt Regina.  She escaped from Nazi Germany by walking from Poland to France. By all accounts she was an amazing woman who clearly picked up some culinary tips during her lifetime in Paris.  This beef being one of them.

The Beef

Good quality beef would have been hard to come by and expensive during the war. The cheaper cuts would have been used.  I’m using a rather fancy Lincoln Red Beef roasting joint sent to me by the wonderful people at the South Ormsby Estate.  It came as part of their Essentials Box which is a brilliant starter box for anyone unsure about cuts of beef and what to cook with.

Brisket

You don’t have to use anything quite so fancy. The skirt would have been traditionally used but a nice piece of brisket would work just as well. Anything you’d normally use for a slow roast.  More importantly, you will also need a casserole dish with a tight fitting lid and an oven that has a low, non-fan setting of 80C. 

This dish can often go wrong if you don’t follow the steps but you know your own oven better than I do. It’s also important to remember that this is a ‘word of mouth’ recipe. Nothing was ever written down like I’m doing now, so don’t be slavish to my rules either – relax into it all and enjoy the process.

• 1 cut of brisket or roasting joint (approx 900g)
• one large garlic bulb (roughly 15 cloves) – peeled and finely grated
• 1 tablespoon sea salt flakes
• 1 glass red wine (optional – read on)

You will need 24hrs to make this dish.

So this long weekend is perfect. Start the evening before you want to eat. Rub the beef with the crushed garlic and salt, place it in a bowl, cover with cling-film and leave to marinade in the fridge until the morning. (Take it out of the fridge at least 1 hour prior to cooking.)

The next morning, if you want to eat at 8pm then at 8am place the marinated beef in a casserole dish with a tight fitting lid.  Pour over the wine (this is not in the original recipe but I think much needed) place the lid on tightly (you can even use a little foil too if unsure) and place in an oven on 80C (no fan) for 12 hours.

After 11 hours the house will be filled the most incredible fug of garlic beef.  Take it out of the oven and set aside, still in the covered dish whilst you make your choice of starchy side dishes or salads, then once you’re ready to eat place the beef on a wooden board, shred and serve.

For more roast ideas, check out these recipes on my blog.

Eat and of course, enjoy!