Beef brisket is by far one of my favorite cuts of meat. Brisket comes from the chest area of a cow, and is chock full of connective tissue called collagen. This is what can cause meat to be tough and chewy. This is also why brisket requires a loooooooong cooking time. Chefs and home cooks will all have varying opinions on the best rubs, sauces, and ways to cook brisket. In my opinion, there really isn't a wrong way, as long as brisket is being served I'm a happy camper!
If you're intimidated by trying to cook such a large chunk of meat (since stores usually sell it by the whole brisket, i.e. the entire chest muscle) you can probably ask a store butcher to cut it into smaller sizes. But let me assure you, if I can pull this off in my tiny apartment kitchen, you sure can too! Do be aware that a whole brisket is typically upwards of ten pounds. Though some part of that is the "fat cap", a thick band of fat connected to the meat, and you probably want to cut that off before eating. But leave it on for the cooking part, as it helps keep the meat tender and juicy, and tasting awesome!
If I had a huge grill, I would use that baby on low and slow all day. Since I don't have that, I made due with baking in the oven. And I'm totally not mad about that. I used mustard as the base for the rub, to get it to stick, and to add flavor. And made the rub from some spices I had around the house. You can change it up to use whatever spices you want, add some BBQ sauce, get creative.
Ingredients:
1 14 pound beef brisket
1 cup yellow mustard
1 cup pork rub spices
1/4 cup dried onion
1/4 cup garlic salt
Ground white pepper
Black pepper
Paprika
This is what the brisket looks like a the store. Quite the hunk of beef.
Ready and waiting to become a masterpiece.
Step 1: Smear a healthy amount of mustard all over the brisket, flip it, and cover the other side too. Use your hands and get all around the edges and in the crevices.
Step 2: In a small bowl, mix together all the spices.
Sprinkle the spice mixture liberally all over the meat. This is very thick, so it's pretty dang difficult to over-season at this stage. Rub it all over so you get a crispy, flavor-filled crust.
Beautiful.
Step 3: Place the brisket in an oven-safe pan with the fat cap upwards, so all the delicious melting fat will drip through your meat and keep it moist. Cover with foil and place into an oven set at 275. Add a cup of water or beef broth to keep it moist.
Now the hard part. Wait. This baby needs to cook for about 6-8 hours, low and slow.
When there is no longer any pink, or if you have a meat thermometer make sure it reads 150 or more, your brisket is ready to be enjoyed!
This. Meat. Is. Amazing.
I served the brisket with roasted whole new potatoes and onion, and steamed broccoli the first night. There were leftovers all week, and no one was upset about that. Made some pulled brisket BBQ sandwiches, brisket salad, just ate chunks of the salty, beefy goodness cold.
The drippings were delicious too, but had a lot of the melted fat in it.
That didn't stop us from using the drippings as a gravy!
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow was this good. Makes me consider changing careers to be a cattle farmer, just so I can have this once a month. Then I'd probably also have a heart attack within a decade... Worth.
Have you ever made brisket? How do you cook it?
Labels: beef, beef recipe, beef spice rub, brisket, brisket recipe, how to cook brisket, leftovers, low and slow, meat, spice rub, whole brisket
