Ingredients
• 3kg buffalo brisket (or beef brisket)
• Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground fennel seeds
• Finely grated zest of 4 lemons
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 18 medium potatoes, washed
• 12 medium carrots, peeled
• 12 small red onions
• 6 sticks celery, sliced
• 4 brown onions sliced
• 2 heads fennel, trimmed, chopped
• 2 heads garlic, halved
• 6 bay leaves
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 21⁄2 Tbsp cornflour
• Damper, to serve
• Hot sauce, to serve (optional)
Method
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Dig a hole in dirt 1m deep x 80cm square, then line with house bricks. Stack bricks against walls to a height of 45cm. Make a hardwood fire at bottom of pit and burn for 1 hour or until 20cm of coals are formed. (For oven cooking, see Cook’s tip, below right.)
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Season brisket, then rub with oil. Put paprika, cumin, fennel seeds and lemon zest in a small bowl, mixing to combine. Rub onto meat and arrange rosemary on top. Wrap in paperbark (you can harvest your own) or baking paper then foil and secure with kitchen string. Wrap potatoes, carrots and red onions individually in foil.
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Scrape coals to sides of pit and put a 4L camp oven in centre. Half-fill with water then add celery, brown onions, fennel, garlic heads, bay leaves and peppercorns. Rest a grill on top of bricks lining sides of pit, then put wrapped meat and vegies on top. Line edges of pit with banana leaves or damp hessian, then put a piece of galvanised corrugated iron on top. Shovel dirt around edges and on top of iron to cover and seal in heat.
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Cook for 5 hours, then dig up. Strain cooking juices into a bowl then measure out 1L in a roasting pan. Dissolve cornflour in
1⁄4 cup water, whisking well, then add to pan and return to heat. Simmer until thickened to a thin gravy. Serve barbacoa with gravy, damper and hot sauce (if using)
