This oven beef brisket recipe is perfect for anytime you’re feeding a crowd. It’s a no-fuss recipe that uses a homemade spice rub, and cooks in the oven until tender. We typically serve it on the holidays with mashed potatoes, but it is also great for an outdoor BBQ with BBQ sauce.
If you don’t ever make any other recipe from our site, please make this beef brisket recipe. It is our go-to recipe when it comes to brisket, and it has never failed us. It is amazingly simple and full of flavor. This blog post could easily be titled as “easiest beef brisket recipe” or “best beef brisket recipe”. It’s that good and easy.
Since brisket is a larger cut of beef, we typically make this recipe when we’re having guests over. The reason we like it so much is because it always turns out well, and it requires no fuss or oversight on the cook’s part.
After all, if we’re having company over, we want to spend the time with our guests. Not worry about what’s happening with the main entrée. Right?!!
Where is Beef Brisket From?
Brisket is one of the primal cuts of beef, and it’s from the breast section of the cow, between the steer’s shoulder and forelegs. When a cow stands or lies down, much of their body weight is on this area. Since this muscle is used often, it’s stronger, and therefore has a lot of collagen and connective tissue. This muscle gets a workout every day. Therefore, it is a tough cut of meat.
Brisket is made of two different muscles, which are separated by a thick layer of fat. The two cuts of brisket are the flat (a.k.a. first cut, the leaner end) and the point (a.k.a. second cut, the fat end).
A whole brisket can weigh anywhere from about 5 to 20 pounds. Usually, grocery stores sell brisket as either the flat or point, not a whole brisket. If you want a whole brisket, you’ll need to go to a local butcher or a local farmer.
When cooking a whole brisket, remember that the flat and point cook differently — this is why cooking brisket can be so tricky! The flat is slightly leaner than the point and is easier to overcook. The point is very well-marbled and needs a longer cook time.
How Do you Make Brisket More Tender?
The secret to achieving a tender brisket is letting it slow cook, or “low and slow” as they sometimes say. By doing this, the connective tissues dissolve and the beef becomes fork tender. You can cook it slowly in a variety of ways — oven, slow cooker and even the grill.
If you want to cook it in a slow cooker, we recommend this barbecue beef brisket slow cooker recipe with homemade BBQ sauce.
Tips for Cooking the Perfect Brisket
- One of the many reasons we like this recipe is because the dry rub uses basic pantry ingredients: kosher salt, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, ground black pepper, sugar, dry mustard and bay leaf. Mix the ingredients in a small bowl and apply liberally to all sides of the brisket.
- We typically use a roasting pan for this recipe, but you could also use a disposable pan for easy clean-up.
- This recipe calls for cooking the brisket uncovered AND covered. Be extra carefully when you remove the brisket from the oven and tightly wrap pan with aluminum foil. The pan will be very hot, so please be careful.
- Always allow for carryover cooking. Watch the thermometer, and when the center of a brisket comes within 10 degrees of the target, it’s time to take it off the heat. The temperature will rise an additional 5-7° degrees as it rests after being removed from the oven.
- Always let the brisket rest for 15-20 minutes before you cut it. This will allow the juices to redistribute evenly and lets the meat fibers relax for ultimate tenderness.
How Many Hours Does it Take to Cook a Beef Brisket?
Remember, patience is a must when cooking brisket! It needs to cook for about 40 minutes per pound, and we recommend using a digital meat thermometer (this one is our favorite). The ideal temperature is between 180-200°F.
Rest & Serve
Once the brisket has reached your desired temperature, pull it from the oven. Then, let it rest for at least 15 minutes before you cut and serve. Resting the meat lets the brisket’s fibers relax and widen so that juices redistribute throughout the cut of beef.
Beef Brisket Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 pounds beef brisket trimmed
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 bay leaf crushed
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Trim the brisket (if you haven't already done so). Pat meat dry with a paper towel.
- Make a dry rub by combining all of the dry ingredients in a small bowl, and season all sides of the brisket with the rub
- Place brisket in a roasting pan uncovered, and roast for 1 hour at 350-degrees
- Remove brisket from oven, add the beef stock so that there’s about 1/2 inch of liquid in the pan. If you have a big pan, you may need more than 1 1/2 cups of beef stock or you can also add water.
- Lower oven to 300, remove brisket from oven and tightly wrap pan with aluminum foil. Place back in oven for an additional 3-hours or until fork tender.
- Slice meat thinly across the grain. If desired, use the drippings from the pan to make an au jus sauce. Pour sauce over meat or potatoes, if desired.
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One More Thing!
Do you want to learn more about beef? Join our weekly e-newsletter where we share farm happenings, recipes and beef availability. Sign-up and get a cheat sheet with 9-must-ask questions before buying beef directly from a farmer. Or, we have an entire ebook about beef that goes through purchasing and preparing beef from a cattle farmers perspective.
Here are a few other links you may like:
- Prime Rib Roast with Garlic Herb Butter
- How to choose the best cut of steak (Top 4 cuts)
- What everybody ought to know about beef cuts
- Buying a Cow. How Much Beef Is It?
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