Beef Brisket Recipe
Beef Brisket is covered with an amazing dry rub, then roasted on low for hours until it practically melts in your mouth. Then, it’s drenched in homemade barbecue sauce and grilled or broiled until caramelized and charred. This is one of the best briskets you’ll ever try!
This slow-cooking cut is also perfect for homemade pastrami, slow-cooked Barbacoa beef, and Corned Beef, and they’re really fun (and so delicious) to make from scratch, too!
Easy beef brisket in the oven
Beef Brisket is THE BEST WAY to enjoy this incredible cut of beef. Every part of this recipe is bursting with flavor— the meat, the dry rub, and our amazing homemade BBQ sauce, which all get infused into the brisket during the slow roast. Now, don’t be overwhelmed by the number of spices we need, because most of these are common pantry ingredients.
And we promise you— it’s all worth it because nothing’s as delicious as beef brisket that’s 100% made from scratch! And once you’re prepped the beef, the oven does almost all the work.
What is a brisket?
Brisket is a type of meat cut that comes from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. It’s a tougher cut with lots of connective tissues, which makes it absolutely perfect for slow cooking. Also, the low and slow heat melts those tissues down to give you super tender meat. This cut also has a unique quality— it can be both sliceable and tender at the same time, unlike other cuts which can only be shredded once they get soft.
What cut of meat is similar to brisket?
No meat cut comes close to the beefy flavor and sliceable quality of brisket, but for this recipe, you can swap it with a blade roast or chuck roast.
Oven Roasted Beef Brisket Ingredients
For the meat:
- Brisket: We recommend using organic, grass-fed beef with lots of marbling for the best flavor and tenderness.
- Broth: We’re braising the meat in beef broth, but you can also use homemade chicken stock or veggie in a pinch.
For the seasonings:
- Powdered seasonings We’re using garlic and onion powder, plus mustard powder for a little tang and smoked paprika. In addition, cayenne or chili adds optional heat, while cumin infuses the meat with a warm, earthy flavor and a lovely aroma.
- Brown sugar: For a hint of sweetness, and to encourage caramelization all over the surface.
- Ground peppers: Cracked white, black, and red peppers add a great texture to the crust plus complex spice.
- Olive oil: Helps all the seasonings stick to the crust.
Braising sauce:
- Sauces: We’re combining BBQ sauce, ketchup for a subtle tomato flavor, plus Worcestershire and apple cider vinegar for tang. A little soy sauce adds a ton of umami and salt.
- Garlic: Minced fresh garlic makes for an incredibly fragrant sauce.
- Sweeteners: Molasses and brown sugar both add sweetness and encourages caramelization.
How to make Juicy Beef Brisket from scratch?
- Combined the spices
First, whisk the spice mix together, and rub it all over the meat. - Roast for the first hour
Next, place the spiced beef on the tray. Pour broth into it, and then roast for 1 hour at 350F, covered in foil. - Roast for another 3-4 hrs on LOW
Bring down the oven to 300F and continue roasting for 3 to 4 hrs., or until the meat is really tender. - Broil
Raise the oven heat to 400F. Brush the meat with the BBQ sauce mixture and broil up to 10 mins until the crust starts to get caramelized. Brush with another layer of sauce and broil until the edges get charred. Afterward, take it out and rest for around 10 mins. - Serve
Slice the meat and serve with the rest of the BBQ sauce.
More dinner recipes to try:
Recipe variations and substitutions:
- Use chuck: The best alternative if you can’t get brisket is rolled and tied chuck roast.
- Add beer: Sub half of the broth with some dark beer like Guinness for more complexity.
Should brisket be pink?
No, it shouldn’t be pink anywhere at all because brisket should always be well-done, and never be eaten rare. In addition, almost 5 hours of low and slow cooking in the oven guarantees that the meat will be cooked through. If it’s still pink, it’s most likely massively tough and undercooked.
When people say “pink” brisket, they’re probably referring to pastrami or corned beef. Both use special curing salts which turn the meat pinkish.
What to serve with beef brisket?
A Southern-style spread is our favorite way of enjoying this brisket! That means a table full of cornbread, dirty rice, coleslaw, macaroni salad, and corn on the cob. We love this with some baked beans and mashed sweet potatoes, too!
More Beef recipes to try:
How to store leftovers?
First, cool all the leftovers before transferring to a big container, then store leftovers in the fridge for up to 8 days. You can also transfer in a freezer bag and store frozen for up to 12 months (yes, it can last a really long time!)
Defrost before reheating. Heat the slices up in a 325F oven, cover with sauce then with foil, and roast for 20 mins until hot.
Recipe tips:
- Cayenne pepper in the sauce is optional, but we highly recommend it. That heat takes the sauce to another level!
- Alternatively, you can also broil the brisket on a hot grill if you have one.
- For deeper flavor, I recommend marinating the meat overnight after rubbing it with a spice rub to get more flavor into it.
Homemade Beef Brisket
Ingredients
- 4 pounds beef brisket
- 1 cup beef broth
Beef Brisket Seasoning:
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Sauce:
- 2 cups barbecue sauce
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper if you like it spicy
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Pat dry the brisket.
- Add 1 cup beef broth, 1 cup sauce, and 1 cup water to the roasting tray, stir.
- Mix the seasoning ingredients in a bowl and season the brisket well on all sides and place into a roasting tray.
- Cover tightly with foil and cook for one hour.
- Reduce temperature to 300 degrees F and continue cooking for 3-4 hours, or until fork-tender.
- Pour 1/4 cup of juices from the roasting tray into the remaining bbq sauce.
- Baste the meat with sauce and either grill or broil in the preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the edges start to char.
- Baste again and either grill or broil until sticky and charred on the edges.
- Let the brisket rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice brisket thinly across the grain and serve with remaining barbecue sauce.
Nutrition
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