Melt-in-your-mouth Slow Cooker Beef Brisket in a rich onion gravy, a simple and comforting dish that turns the ordinary weeknight dinner into a family feast. The beef brisket is cooked on high for 6 hours until it literally falls apart, creating a humble, but filling and heart-warming dish that is perfect for busy nights.
Cold winter's days are made for comforting food that warms one's heart and fills the stomach. But when life goes back to normal after the festive season, and time is short again, the slow cooker becomes our best buddy again.
It does all the hard work while we get on with our daily life, and it rewards us with a wonderfully cooked meal at the end of a busy day. It does sounds wonderful to me! No fuss, just pure comfort for the whole family!
A beef brisket has to be slow cooked in order to get the best results, and even when you cook it on high in the crockpot, I would still leave it for a lot longer than I usually cook beef for. It's a good chunk of beef, and the longer you cook it, the more tender and juicy it becomes.
But just simple beef sounds a bit boring to me, that's why the onion gravy adds not only tons of flavour, but it also keeps it moist and uses the juices to create something truly spectacular.
Caramelised onions are sweet and rich and delicious, and don't need much else to create layers of flavour. And ey work with lots of other cuts of beef, pork or chicken; my pork chops with onion gravy is another comforting dish that we enjoy at this time of the year.
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Note!
Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions!
Ingredients overview
- beef brisket - I used a beef joint that weighed 1 kilo and that was enough to feed 5 people, if you have a larger family, or want to cook more to freeze for later too, use a larger joint and adjust the cooking time
- beef stock / broth - adds lots of flavour and makes the perfect base for the gravy. Use any good quality stock, I used a Knorr beef stock pot which I dissolved in a cup of hot water
- onion & garlic- add flavour and make a great base for gravy
- Worcestershire sauce - balances out the sweetness of the caramelised onions
- oil - for searing the beef
- salt & pepper - to taste
- tomato paste - adds a deep colour to the gravy
- bay leaves - add extra flavour
- cornflour - corn starch to thicken the gravy
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- heat up the oil in a large pan
- add the beef, season with salt and pepper, and sear it on all sides
- transfer it to the slow cooker
- in the same pan, add the chopped onion with a pinch of salt and pepper, and fry it until golden
- pour in the beef stock, add the tomato paste, worcestershire sauce and bay leaves
- pour everything over the beef and cook in the slow cooker on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 9-10 hours
- make a cornflour slurry and add it to the liquid in which the beef cooked
- remove the beef from the slow cooker, and allow it to rest while the gravy thickens
Expert tips
You can cook the gravy either in the slow cooker, or transfer all the liquid to a pan set over a medium heat on the cooker, and let it simmer until it thickens. Cooking it on the stove will be way quicker though.
I would highly recommend searing the beef before adding it to the crockpot, the flavour will be much more intense, and will give a better, less grease gravy too. While a brisket with a good marbling adds flavour, I would definitely remove any excess fat, to keep the gravy lighter.
Once the beef is removed from the slow cooker, wrap it in foil and allow it to rest, that will help the juices redistribute and keep the beef moist and juicy.
Serving suggestions
We served our beef brisket with some good old creamy mashed potatoes, and it was incredibly hearty and delicious.
But you can also have the beef shredded or sliced and served with gravy and chips, my oven baked fries are really good, or crusty bread, soda bread, fluffy basmati rice, couscous, bulgur wheat or pasta.
Other slow cooker beef recipes
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Slow Cooker Beef Brisket with Onion Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef brisket joint (2 lb)
- 250 ml beef stock (broth, 1 cup)
- 1 large onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (corn starch)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
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Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a large pot, add the beef, season it with half of the salt and pepper, and sear it on all sides until brown.
- Remove it from the pot and transfer it to the slow cooker.
- In the same pot, add the peeled and chopped onion and garlic with the remaining salt and pepper, and fry them until golden.
- Pour in the beef stock, add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves, give it a stir, then pour everything over the beef.
- Cook it on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 9-10 hours.
- Once the beef is cooked, mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry, then add it to the liquid in which the beef cooked.
- Remove the beef from the slow cooker, wrap it in foil, and allow it to rest while the gravy is thickening.
- To speed up the process, you can also transfer the gravy to a pan set over a medium heat on the cooker, this will thicken a lot faster, 2-3 minutes max, in the slow cooker it can take up to 30 minutes.
- Slice or shred the beef, and serve it with the onion gravy.
Video
Notes
- I would highly recommend searing the beef before adding it to the crockpot, the flavour will be much more intense, and will give a better, less grease gravy too. While a brisket with a good marbling adds flavour, I would definitely remove any excess fat, to keep the gravy lighter.
- Once the beef is removed from the slow cooker, wrap it in foil and allow it to rest, that will help the juices redistribute and keep the beef moist and juicy.
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