Roast Wagyu sirloin bordelaise with braised brisket and sauce bercy

By: Justin North
From: Becasse
Serves: 4
Photographer: Steve Brown

Bordelaise-style dishes originate from the Bordeaux region in France, which is renowned for its gastronomy and fine wines. Dishes that are cooked ‘ à la bordelaise’ typically use bone marrow, shallots and wine – usually red wine for red meat and white wine for white meat and fish. Bordelaise sauce is the classic French accompaniment for grilled or roasted beef.

This is a wonderful hearty dish, full of rich flavours, and it beautifully showcases the range of textures and depth of flavour of Wagyu beef. As well as using the ever-popular sirloin, this dish also uses brisket, a secondary forequarter cut taken from the belly behind the foreshanks. Brisket is well-marbled with fat and is, along with the oyster blade, one of the best cuts for long, slow braising. Although the preparation is simple, the brisket does need at least 24 hours marinating before braising, to allow the flavours to penetrate the meat.

Marinated and braised brisket

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
800g	wagyu beef brisket
1	medium onion, roughly chopped
1	large carrot, roughly chopped
2 sticks	celery, roughly chopped
1/2	leek, roughly chopped
1/2 head	garlic, roughly crushed
1.5 liters	cabernet sauvignon
4 sprigs	thyme
2 sprigs	rosemary
1	bay leaf
4	white peppercorns
30ml	non-scented cooking oil
60g	unsalted butter
750ml	* brown veal stock [rid:1789]
	salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

To prepare the brisket:

Cut it into 4 even pieces. Put them into a large heavy-based saucepan with the chopped vegetables and garlic. In another saucepan bring the wine to the boil with the herbs and peppercorns. Simmer until reduced to 1 litre (21⁄4 pints) then pour the hot marinade over the beef and vegetables. Leave to cool to room temperature then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
To braise the brisket, preheat the oven to 110°C and remove the pieces of meat and all the vegetables and herbs from the marinade. Heat a large frying pan and add half the oil and butter. Fry the vegetables until golden brown and caramelised then transfer them to a casserole dish with the wine, herbs and the veal stock. Bring to a gentle simmer then skim well and season with salt and pepper.
Season the brisket pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining oil and butter in a heavy-based frying pan and sear the meat until lightly browned all over. Add to the casserole dish and cover with a piece of greaseproof paper, cut to the size of the dish. Cover with a lid then cook in the oven for 4 hours. Check every 30 minutes or so and turn the meat around in the braising liquid. At the end of the cooking time the meat should be very soft and meltingly tender. Reserve until ready to serve.