I’m really super happy to be sharing this with you today! Since shooting at Louie Mueller Barbecue a month ago, I’ve been working on my oven brisket technique and two things have happened. My oven brisket is at least four times more delicious than it was before I got tips from the master. Also, Chris and I are all beefed-out. Seriously. If you never thought you could ever get tired of beef brisket, uh, try eating it three times a week for a month.
If you watched the video, you may have laughed heartily at my foolishness when it came to judging how long my humongo brisket would take in the oven. Since then I have gathered information from the internet and my own experiences into this handy chart. It works out to about 1.5 hours per pound.
- 3-4 pound brisket = 6 hours
- 5-7 pound brisket = 11 hours
- 8-10 pound brisket = 14 hours
These times are all for a brisket baked at 250 F, which is optimum for efficiency, moistiness and juicitude. I’ve tried it at higher temperatures in an effort to reduce the cooking time, but the tough result was not worth it, and that’s coming from me who loves shortcuts, aka the “Good-Enough” girl.
Texas-style moist brisket plate with onions, pickles, and pickled okra. Hold the sauce.
Also, if you’re cooking a “split brisket” meaning a half-brisket (which is the only way you’ll find a brisket that weighs less than about 8 pounds) try to get one that’s split lengthwise — that way you’ll get both the lean and the fatty meat — at least that’s my preference. If you like the lean end (the “flat”) or the fatty end (the “point”) more than the other, then by all means buy a split brisket that’s split the other direction.
Watch this video to see how to trim a brisket. Begin at 2:45 to skip ahed to the trimming part.
- 1 beef brisket, 3-10 pounds
- Rub (for 8 pound brisket):
- 6 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- Preheat oven to 250ºF and get out a roasting pan big enough to hold the brisket and put a rack in the bottom. If you have a pan with a lid, use that one. Otherwise, get some aluminum foil at the ready.
- If not already trimmed, trim excess fat from the brisket, removing all but about ¼” cover fat from the top and cutting out the thick “heel” of fat on the under side of the point.
- Combine all rub ingredients in a bowl. Use the full amount for an 8-10 pound brisket, half the amount for a 3-4 pound brisket.
- Sprinkle the rub all over both sides of the brisket and press it to adhere.
- Place it on the rack in the pan, fat side up.
- Cover with foil.
- Bake covered, 6-14 hours, depending on size. No basting is necessary. Seriously. Just step off it.
- When the brisket is soft and jiggly (see video for visual cues) remove the foil and bake an additional hour to get the spicy crust on it.
- Rest, covered, 30 minutes to 1 hour before slicing.
- Slice thinly against the grain and serve.
And no brisket post would be complete without an exhaustive list of “things to do with leftover brisket” because Lord knows you’re going to get tired of it if there’s only two of you eating it.
Cut up leftover brisket and make a big pot of Texas Chili. You’ll only need to simmer everything for 30 minutes, making it a super quick chili, too.
Use leftover brisket minced up in a Shepherd’s Pie, which would then technically be called a Cottage Pie but I’m really just telling you that so you know the truth. I never call it a Cottage Pie.
Throw that brisket in a burrito! Brisket Burrito!
Shred it up, season with chili powder, sauteed onions, and plumped up raisins and use it to fill chiles rellenos! Dude. I can’t believe I just thought of that. I’m totally doing it this week!
Something I made up for lunch yesterday, I called it “German Stir Fry”: sliced brisket stir fried with cabbage, onions, garlic, then I threw in some sauerkraut. I am aware of how weird and even yucky it sounds, but it was good. Pinky swearz.
AND you can freeze leftover brisket if you chop it and cover it in barbecue sauce to keep the air out. Reheat it with the sauce and you basically have yummy chopped beef for sandwiches! Damnit, I am just FULL OF GOOD IDEAS.
Let me know in the comments if you have any other genius ideas for what to do with leftover beef brisket!
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{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, brisket is in oven! Thanks for the tips and video!
As Anthony Bourdain said on his first “No Reservations” this season, the only people who really know brisket are Texans and Jews. Your recipe looks terrific and we definitely will have to try it. My experience with brisket is “gedempte” brisket, more of a pot roast using a ketchup-based sauce as the acid to soften up the meat. I need to adjust the recipe I’ve used, though, to tenderize the meat by cooking it lower and slower.
Your suggestion to use fail to cover if you don’t have a cover for the pan is good. I’d use a belt-and-suspenders method, by using both foil and a lid.
Holy moly, that brisket pot roast looks GOOD. I bet the ketchup gets thick and caramelized in the oven. Oh boy, I’m hungry. I better go eat lunch!
“Brisket: The Holy Grail of Jewish Food”, by Molly Yeh, The Jewish Daily Forward, Dec. 20, 2012.
“Brisket: The Holy Grail of Jewish Food”, by Molly Yeh, The Jewish Daily Forward, Dec. 20, 2012.
Foil
Hilah,
I made the brisket and used liquid smoke, but I marinaded it for 24 hours and then I used Schultz’s gourmet premium seasoning and rub, very tender and delicious .
Thank you for all your great recipes.
Thanks for sharing, Judy! I’m really happy you liked it. Sounds delish!
Hello, Hilah!
All your videos are really funny and easy to follow, thank you very much for sharing these juice recipes!
Thank you, Samir!
I’m looking forward to trying this method on the weekend…thanks so much for the video. Just one question: do you recommend placing the brisket in the fridge before slicing and then reheating next day. In the past, using other methods, I’ve cut the brisket right out of the oven and ended up crumbling the meat rather then nice thin slices. Your recommendation would be much appreciated. Thanks
Hi Robin! I’ve never tried that. Do make sure you let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before slicing and try to get your slices about 1/4″ thick. Hope that helps!
I did a gedempte brisket today to reheat for our weekend tailgate at the Redskins/Ravens game this weekend.
Based on your suggestions for the dry rub oven brisket, I modified my method. I used to cook it covered whole in the liquid for two hours at 350°, then cook it sliced and covered at 350° in the liquid for a hour. I lowered the temperature to 300° and added an hour to each step. The brisket was much more tender. Thanks!
I just saw a picture on G+ and it looks fantastic! Or maybe it wasn’t exactly, but it looked like brisket and yummy.
It wanted so badly to add some type of liquid when I put this in the oven! But I trusted you and you were SOOOO RIGHT! The meat was so moist and tender. Yum! This is literally the easiest most delicious dish I’ve ever made! Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback, Nikki! I know the first time I did it I felt the same way. It’s kind of like magic.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Tried this and it worked out great!!! To make up for the lack of smokyness normally gained by smoking a brisket I used a smoky BBQ sauce. That combo did the trick!! The brisket was fine by itself however just no smoky flavor. Thanks for the excellent tips!!
Thanks for the feedback, Frank! I’m so glad you had success with it. Brisket can be tricky.
Yum Yum! Made your recipe tonight and it was great. Thanks dude! I am now a follower of you on Facebook. The jiggle tip was helpful for us to know when it was done.
Yay! That’s great, Karen! Thanks for the feedback.
I went for minimal on the recipe. I only used salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and chopped onions, and just enough to enhance the flavor of the beef. I had a 3.5 pounder and let it cook for 5.5 hours and it was great! So , juicy and tender! And of course the smell permeated the house while it was cooking. I thought my stomach was going to gnaw through my belly before it was done.
What I like to do with leftover beef brisket is to slice it about a quarter inch thick and make brisket sandwiches with it. A half brisket will make perfect sized slices for a sandwich, taking two to cover the slice of bread. If there is a lot of it leftover, I bag the slices in a freezer bag and remove as much air as possible and freeze it.
Then, when I get the hankerin’ for a brisket sandwich, I get out a couple of slices and heat them on low in a skillet till they are thawed, then brown them a bit. Sometimes I put a dab of barbecue sauce on them after they brown and have a barbecue sandwich.
Thanks for working out the cook time, based on weight. That was a great help.
Kevin
Thanks, Kevin! I’m so glad the method worked. I love the idea of adding fresh onion, too. And thank you for the tips on freezing! That is one thing about brisket: it’s hard to make a small one.
I cooked my first brisket with your recipe and it was unbelievably good, lived in Houston 20 years ago (ate a lot of brisket there) and been in NC ever since, there is a BBQ joint in Durham called the original Q-shack that has brisket and fell in love all over again which inspired me to make my own, to my surprise our local BJ’s has briskets. Point being your recipe was almost as good (there’s being smoked) also lost your recipe and tried another tonight (not as good). Got you bookmarked now LOL
Thanks Jack III
Sweet!!! I’m so happy to hear it worked for you and net your high standards!
Bookmarked! Thank you, Jack!
I just picked up a 2.38 pound brisket at my local grass fed beef farm–can’t wait to try this tomorrow! Using your formula, I figure that means about 3.5 hours in the 250 degree oven. Who doesn’t love meat that’s all jiggly?
Yummy! It’s gonna be so good. Enjoy, Steven!
I tried a different recipe a couple of weeks ago that used beef broth in the pan and let’s just say… well, I won’t even go there. Why people gave that recipe 5 stars is beyond me… At any rate, I ran across your recipe and changed the spices just a little, but used the temperature and time. I let a 4 lb go around 5.5 hours @ 250 and took the foil off for about 30 more minutes. Let it rest for about 45 minutes and all I could say was, “that is what I was looking for”. Nice and tender with loads of beefy flavor and the fat rendered through the meat nicely. Chilled the pan juices to set the fat and made a gravy from the fat (roux) and the remaining strained juice as the base stock. Served with roasted potatoes and assorted vegetables. Made for a very nice Sunday dinner.
By the way…. I love the video!! And yes, mine was all “jiggly” as well.
Can I get a “hayell yeah”?! Thanks, Tom! So happy to hear it was a winner.
Sounds wonderful with the gravy and vegetables alongside.
Love the video! I am trying my first brisket tomorrow. Do you suggest putting the celery, carrots, onion in with it?
Sure! You can add any vegetables you like, but be warned that after such a long cooking process they will be very very soft. If you want them more firm and roasted, add them the last 2 hours of cooking.
It works, no sauce needed.
Wonderful! Thanks for the feedback.
Since I’m working with a larger brisket, 14.5 pounds, do I just add a couple of hours to the cooking time to ensure it’s tenderness and that it’s completely cooked?
Hey Lee! It should be completely cooked within a few hours, but to ensure tender meat, yes I’d probably plan on 16 hours for a brisket that size. Hope you enjoy!
I am in the process of cooking an 8-lb brisket. I’ve cooked it all night for about 9.5 hours. It already looks ready to eat, all crusty and good, but I am doing what you say. I just pulled it out, gave it the jiggly test (it jiggles!), and have put it in for another 45 minutes, uncovered. Today is Easter Sunday, so I’ll pull it out and let it sit while we are at church services. As far as the spices, I just threw in some shakes of salt, pepper, garlic, paprika and mustard and rubbed it in. I’m sure it will taste good even though I did not measure. Oh, and I sprinkled some liquid smoke, too. I only marinated it for about 5 hours since I had just found your video. I’ll post the final results once I cut it. Thanks for the recipe and video! It looks yummy!!!!
It sounds like a great seasoning combination, Alma! Hope you and your family had a lovely Easter. Thanks for writing!
I was looking for the “How to trim a brisket” video and couldn’t find it. Is it here somewhere?
Thanks,
Greg
Oops, sorry, Greg! I never posted the link! I fixed it, but in the meantime here is the link http://youtu.be/LsVf99pkTdM to the video we made with Wayne Mueller. Skip to 2:45 for the demo on trimming.
Thanks. I have done this a couple of times now and I have a question about how to tell when it’s done. You have recommended the jiggle test but how much jiggle should there be?
Thanks,
Greg
Hey Greg! The video shows the kind of jiggle you’re looking for. Basically, if you lift a corner of the brisket out of the pan about an inch, then drop it, it should wiggle and jiggle like a jello mold for a second or two.
Hilah,
I tried this recipe today and it was fabulous! I’ve been looking for a brisket recipe indoors until later in the season when the weather warms up and I can ‘fire up ‘ my electric smoker – probably May. My first taste of brisket happened to be in Texas just a few years ago and I’ve been looking to recreate that taste sensation since then.
Glad I found your site. BTW, I did try it with and without BBQ sauce and it is great either way.
Susan
Hi Susan!
I’m so happy to hear you had success with this! Let me know if you try out the same rub when you break out the smoker this year. I bet that would be delicious, too.
I am originally from Texas and know great smoked brisket. Unfortunately, mesquite wood cannot be found within a thousand miles of Florida. I have oven roasted brisket for years but this recipe is the best I have found. Its delicious, moist and really easy to prepare. The family raved! Thank you.
Hooray! That is the best compliment! Thanks so much, Gaga. This makes my day.
Made this this evening and actually, I’m chowing down on it now! I had a small piece of brisket (1 1/2 lbs) and cooked it at 250 in a non-glazed dutch oven for a bit shy of 3 hours, after using a brown sugar based “Memphis Rub” with a wire rack in the bottom of the dutch oven. The meat was fork-tender, sliced easily, and was cooked perfectly. It was juicy as could be! The Memphis Rub lost a lot of flavor, however…most of which is probably in the bottom of the dutch oven. Next time, I’ll try your rub, as I’m sure it would work better than mine! Spot on for the cooking time! I think the lid on the dutch oven helped seal in the juices a little better, and I didn’t even need to take the lid off to let it brown! This is one I will go back to time after time, and will be my go-to for brisket! Thanks!
Howdy, Larry!
Thank you so much for following up! I’m really glad to hear it turned out well. Your description of it has made me want brisket for breakfast.