Air- picurean wonders

Smoked Beef Brisket Sous Vide

Rub a fair amount of salt and pepper onto both sides of a 2kg–3kg piece of brisket. Cut it in half and split it between two resealable bags. Into each bag, add a few drops of liquid smoke. Seal them up and put them in the water.

Set your immersion circulator to 57°C, which is hot enough to pasteurise the meat, and leave it for 48 hours. (Yes, two full days!) When the time is up, take the bags out of the water and put them in the refrigerator for three hours to cool down. Once cool, take the meat out of the bags, pat them dry with some paper towels. Rub in a bit more salt and pepper, and put them in the oven on a skillet or grill, fat cap side up, at Gas Mark 2 (150°C) for about 1 to 1? hours.

While the meat is developing a crust, prepare a simple gravy. If you wish, add in some of the liquid from the bags. Remove the meat from the oven and let it rest, tented on a cutting board, for about 20 minutes. Slice it up right before serving.