Method

  1. Prepare beef

    Take beef out of fridge around 2 hours before cooking.

    Rinse beef under tap and pat dry with kitchen roll.  Well season beef on all sides with salt and pepper.

  2. Prepare the veggies

    Peel carrots, parsnips, onion and garlic.

    Top and tail 3 x carrots and parsnips and slice them length ways and not across.

    Roughly slice/chop onion and pepper.

    Finely chop garlic if a garlic press is not available.

  3. Seare the beef

    Put a big knob of butter in a cast iron pot and heat to medium to hot.  Brown all sides of the beef in the pot (add more butter if needed} and then remove and set aside.

  4. Deglaze the pan with a plug of brandy and reduce heat to 2.  Add a bit of butter.

  5. Saute the onions until soft and starting to brown - about 10 minutes.

  6. Add garlic and peppers to onions and saute for another 5 minutes.

  7. Add in carrots and parsnips.

  8. Deglaze pan with brandy and then a hug of red wine.

  9. Return the beef to the pan and pour three quarters of the red wine around it.  Keep the rest.

    Pour beef stock until joint is just poking out the top of the liquid.  Keep rest.

    Bring it to a boil, reduce heat to around 2 and cover.  After 10 mins the liquid should be just boiling.

    Set timer for 1.5 hours.

  10. After 1.5 hours, turn the beef over and add rest of red wine.  Add stock to top up and keep rest in reserve.

    Set timer for 1.5 hours.

    Smaller joints may cook faster.

  11. After 1.5 hours remove beef and wrap in foil.

  12. Pour pot liquid through a sieve into another pot and push the cooked veg against the sieve to extract juices.

    Discard veg mush.

  13. Heat gravy and add some more red wine and stock if necessary.

  14. When ready to serve, add a corn flour slurry to the gravy whilst stirring to thicken.