Gordon Ramsay’s beef brisket recipe is a 1kg joint rubbed in cayenne, mustard powder, cumin, and celery seeds, then slow roasted at 140°C for 3½ hours in lager and beef stock until it falls apart. Serves 4 to 6 with coleslaw and sweet potato wedges.
In his Ultimate Home Cooking cookbook and the YouTube video where he cooks it with his daughter Holly, he calls brisket “a super cheap cut from the breast of the cow” that’s “underused in the UK but loved by our American cousins.” The spice rub gives it a smoky barbecue bark without going anywhere near a charcoal grill, which he says is the whole point.
What makes this work is the lager. When the beer hits the hot roasting tin it deglazes all the caramelised onion and spice stuck to the bottom, so every bit of flavour ends up in the braising liquid. After 3½ hours that liquid reduces into a sticky barbecue sauce with a splash of cider vinegar stirred through at the end.
Gordon Ramsay’s BBQ-Style Slow-Roasted Beef Brisket
Course: DinnersCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4-6
15
minutes3
minutes520
kcal3 hr 45 min
From Ramsay’s Ultimate Home Cooking. A spice-rubbed brisket braised in lager and stock for 3½ hours, then sliced and served with the reduced pan juices as a sticky barbecue sauce.
Ingredients
- For the brisket:
1kg beef brisket, excess fat trimmed to 1cm
2 onions, peeled and sliced
6 bay leaves
2 tbsp light brown or muscovado sugar
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 x 300ml bottle lager
350ml beef stock
1 tbsp cider vinegar (optional)
Olive oil, for searing
- For the rub:
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp freshly ground cumin seeds
2 tsp celery seeds
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Make the rub: Preheat the oven to 140°C (285°F/Gas 1). Mix the cayenne, mustard powder, cumin, celery seeds, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Rub the mixture all over the brisket, massaging it into the meat.
- Sear the brisket: Place a roasting tin on the hob and add a glug of olive oil. When hot, seal the beef on all sides until the spices are coloured and fragrant. Transfer to a plate.
- Caramelise the onions: Add the onions, bay leaves, and sugar to the tin with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over a medium heat until the onions are soft and caramelised. Add the tomato purée and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the lager to deglaze the pan, scraping up the bits stuck to the bottom.
- Braise: Put the brisket back on top of the onions and pour the beef stock around it. Bring to the boil, then cover tightly with foil and transfer to the oven for 3 to 3½ hours until fork tender. Baste every now and again so the meat is nicely glazed.
- Rest and make the sauce: Transfer the brisket to a serving dish, cover loosely with foil, and rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Place the roasting tin on the hob over medium-high heat and reduce the sauce, stirring in the cider vinegar if using. Pour any resting juices back in.
- Serve: Slice the brisket and spoon the sauce over it.
FAQs
What’s Ramsay’s simpler version without the spice rub?
In his Ultimate Cookery Course he makes a completely different brisket: no spices, no lager, just a 2kg joint browned and poached in water with chopped carrot, celery, half a head of garlic, peppercorns, cloves, and freshly grated nutmeg. Same oven temperature, same 3 to 4 hours, but the result tastes cleaner and more British because there’s no barbecue bark.
He serves that version with a piccalilli salad made from new potatoes, cauliflower, and green beans in a mustard and honey dressing. In the UCC cookbook he notes that brisket is “traditionally used to make salt beef and pastrami,” and his corned beef uses the same cut brined instead of spice-rubbed. If you want something closer to a traditional Sunday roast, the UCC version is the one to follow.
Why does Ramsay use lager to braise the brisket?
When the beer hits the hot roasting tin it lifts all the caramelised sugar, tomato purée, and spice from the bottom in one go, so nothing gets wasted. The lager also adds a slight bitterness that balances the sweetness of the brown sugar and onions as the sauce reduces.
In the video he says “I’m using beef stock but it will work with chicken stock or even vegetable stock,” so the lager is doing the heavy flavour work here, not the stock. Any standard bottle will do. Don’t use anything too hoppy or craft because those bitter flavours concentrate over 3½ hours and can turn sharp. The reduced pan juices with cider vinegar become a sticky barbecue sauce on their own, though his BBQ sauce recipe uses a similar vinegar-and-sugar balance if you want extra on the side.
What should you serve with beef brisket?
Ramsay gives three different answers depending on the version. The BBQ brisket from Ultimate Home Cooking comes with a yogurt coleslaw dressed in mustard and cider vinegar (not mayonnaise) and spiced sweet potato wedges seasoned with smoked paprika, coriander seeds, and cayenne.
The UCC poached version he serves cold-ish with piccalilli and new potatoes. In the video he adds “fantastic with roast potatoes or in sandwiches with lots of mustard.” I’ve tried all three and the coleslaw wins because the acidity cuts through the rich, sticky meat. His lamb shoulder uses the same low-and-slow method, so these sides work for that too if you want to switch up the protein.
How do you know when beef brisket is ready?
Push a fork into the thickest part. If it slides in with no resistance and the meat pulls apart easily, it’s done. Don’t go by time alone because every oven runs slightly different and thicker joints take longer. Ramsay bastes his “every now and again” which keeps the top moist and tells you how tender the meat is getting each time you check.
In the video Holly asks “how come is it shrunk?” after 3½ hours, which is completely normal. Brisket loses about a third of its weight during cooking as the connective tissue melts and the fat renders out. That’s why you start with a kilo even though you’re only feeding four. His lamb shanks shrink the same way because both cuts are loaded with collagen that breaks down into gelatin over hours of slow cooking.
Does beef brisket store well?
Better than almost anything else you’ll cook. The collagen that melted during braising sets into a jelly when it cools, which keeps the meat moist in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat slices gently in the sauce so they don’t dry out, and the flavour actually deepens overnight as the spices settle into the meat.
Ramsay mentions sandwiches in the video, and leftover brisket with mustard on thick white bread is one of the best lunches going. You can also shred it into his beef tacos with a squeeze of lime and some pickled onion for a completely different meal from the same joint.
