Slow Cooker Beef Brisket with BBQ Sauce

To-die-for Beef Brisket recipe that really makes the most out of this cut of beef! This Slow Cooker brisket is cooked in a simple homemade BBQ sauce until it’s deliciously tender and infused with incredible flavour. 

Serve brisket with a side of Coleslaw or Macaroni Salad and steamed corn. Or pile high onto rolls and make sliders!

Beef Brisket recipe!

I really am not a girls’ girl when it comes to food. I don’t gaze in wonder at stunningly decorated multi-tier cakes. I don’t ooh and aah over pretty little chocolates. I have no interest in learning how to make candy.

But I do go gah-gah over sights like this – a giant hunk of flavour loaded brisket.

I’m all class. All class. 😂

How to make slow cooker Beef Brisket

It’s a straight forward beef brisket recipe though there is a fairly long list of spices because we’re making a homemade rub and homemade BBQ Sauce here. Totally worth it – there’s no bottled sauce that compares to this!

• Spice Mix – We start off with a spice rub. No need to marinate because we’re slow cooking it – the long cook time essentially has the same effect as marinating. If we were roasting it, I’d recommend marinating it.

• Slow Cook – place the ingredients for the homemade BBQ Sauce in the slow cooker (vinegar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and spices), add the beef and leave to slow cook for 8 to 10 hours.

• Caramelise crust – After this, all that’s required is a few minutes in a hot oven (or even under the grill/broiler) to caramelise the crust;

• Reduce sauce – Meanwhile, simmer the liquid in the slow cooker to reduce it down to a syrupy sauce consistency <– This right here is our homemade BBQ Sauce!

What is beef brisket?

Brisket is a cut of beef made for slow cooking, not fast cooking. It’s unique characteristic compared to other slow cooking cuts of beef is that it holds its shape even after hours and hours of slow cooking and can be sliced.

When you slow cook other cuts of slow cooking cuts of beef like chuck (like in Beef Stew), gravy beef (an Australian beef cut) and short ribs, they “fall apart easily because there is more connective tissues running throughout the meat which breakdown with slow cooking.

However, as you can see in the photos in this post, brisket holds together and can be sliced. But the slices are ultra tender and could be shredded easily, see? 🙂

Is brisket suitable for shredding?

Brisket does shred well, but I prefer using chuck beef or ribs for shredding for recipes like slow cooked Shredded Beef Ragu, Shredded Beef Chili and Shredded Mexican Beef.

Those cuts have more fat running through the meat and so the shredded pieces are nice and juicy. Though brisket has a layer of fat on the surface, there actually is not that much fat or connective tissues running through it, so if you shred it then it’s pretty lean.

What to serve with beef brisket

For this particular recipe, I’m keeping this Slow Cooker Beef Brisket whole and slicing it. Serve up a hearty Southern style supper with sides of Homemade Southern Style Baked Beans, Corn Bread (or try my favourite Corn Bread Muffins!), Creamy Corn Casserole, classic creamy Coleslaw or this No Mayo Coleslaw (it’s excellent!), Macaroni Salad, Potato Salad or mashed potato.

Or pile it onto sliders – this is the way I usually serve it because brisket is a perfect recipe for feeding a crowd! – Nagi xx

MORE GREAT THINGS TO PILE ONTO SLIDERS

• Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Shredded Chicken
• Easy Homemade Pastrami
• Chili – and Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Chili
• Cubanos (Cuban Subs with Mojo Marinated Pork, from the “Chef” movie)
• Slow Cooker Pulled BBQ Pork Sliders

PS If you love beef, don’t miss this Beef Pot Roast and Prime Rib / Standing Rib Roast recipes!

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

I speed through the part where I put the rub on to save you copping an eyeful of my BabyHands…. That brisket looks GIANT compared to my hands!! 😂

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Slow Cooker Beef Brisket with BBQ Sauce

Author: Nagi

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 10 hrs

Total: 10 hrs 15 mins

Mains

American, Southern

4.98 from 403 votes

Servings8 - 10 people

Tap or hover to scale

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Video above. Beef brisket slow cooked until tender, then finished in the oven to get that gorgeous caramelisation, basted with a homemade BBQ Sauce that the brisket is cooked in. Slice it and serve as part of a hearty Southern style supper or pile it up high on sliders!

Ingredients

• ▢ 1.5 – 2 kg / 3 – 4 lb beef brisket (Note 1)
• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil (or a neutral oil like vegetable, canola)

Rub:

• ▢ 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ▢ 2 tsp paprika powder
• ▢ 1 tsp onion powder
• ▢ 1 tsp garlic powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• ▢ 3/4 tsp mustard powder
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp black pepper

BBQ Sauce:

• ▢ 2 garlic cloves , minced
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 125 ml apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups / 375 ml ketchup
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 110g brown sugar , packed
• ▢ 2 tsp EACH black pepper, onion powder, mustard powder
• ▢ 1 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste re: spiciness)
• ▢ 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

• Mix Rub ingredients. Rub all over brisket. If time permits, leave for 30 minutes – 24 hours in the fridge, but I rarely do this.
• Combine BBQ Sauce ingredients in a slow cooker. Mix then add the brisket – squish it in if needed, like I did (see video).
• Slow cook in slow cooker for 8 hours (1.5 kg / 3 lb) to 10 hours (2 kg / 4 lb). (Note 2 for pressure cooker and click here for oven)
• Remove brisket onto a tray.
• Pour liquid in slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium high heat and reduce until it thickens to a syrup consistency (it thickens more as it cools).
• Meanwhile, drizzle brisket with oil then roast in a 200C/390F oven for 15 minutes until brown spots appear. Remove then baste generously with Sauce, then return to oven for 5 minutes. Remove and baste again, then return to oven for 5 – 10 minutes until it caramelises and looks like the photos. (See note for BBQ option)
• TO SERVE: Slice brisket thinly across the grain and serve with remaining BBQ Sauce. This is terrific served as a meal with sides or piled high onto rolls with Coleslaw as sliders. See Note 3 for more ideas.

Recipe Notes:

1. Beef - This recipe will work on any slow cooking cut of beef but it works best with brisket because it holds its shape once slow cooked until tender, so it can be sliced. See post for more info. Best sub is chuck beef roast that's rolled and tied. 

AUSTRALIA: Best to get it from a butcher so you can ask for a thick cut which is best. Woolies and Aldi sell rolled brisket which is thinner. Harris Farms also sells brisket but they are small pieces. Recipe will work for these, see notes below for cook times for different weights.

2a). Cook time - The cook times provided yields a tender brisket that is sliceable but tender so the slices tear easily, as demonstrated in the video. Don’t stress too much about cook time - brisket is a cut of beef that holds together pretty well even cooked to the point of being shreddable. So even a 1.5kg / 3 lb brisket slow cooked for 10 hours should still be sliceable. Brisket that isn’t tender is tough and chewy but if you pull it out too early, don’t worry, just keep cooking!

SLOW COOKER on HIGH: Same recipe, 4.5 hours for 1.5 kg / 3 lb or 5 hours for 2 kg / 4 lb. Follow same directions.

PRESSURE COOKER: Same recipe, 1 hr 15 minutes for 1.5 kg / 3 lb or 1 hr 30 minutes for 2 kg / 4 lb. Follow same directions. If you've got an Instant Pot, add 1 cup water (otherwise you get the burn notice) and might need to reduce sauce slightly at end. Natural release, or wait 15 minutes then quick release

OVEN: Click here for directions.

2b) DIFFERENT SIZES: For a 800g - 1 kg / 1.6 - 2 lb piece of brisket, I would still slow cook for 7 to 8 hours on low because the cook time is more about brisket width rather than length. 

For a 2.5 - 3 kg / 5 - 6 lb brisket, I would slow cook for 10 hours on low.

3. How to serve - See in post for what to serve this with. For Sliders, I use soft rolls (brioche buns are pictured in the post) with Coleslaw (or try this No Mayo Coleslaw - it's excellent!)

4. Finish on BBQ: fantastic chargrilled flavour: Brush grills with oil, then preheat BBQ to medium. Place beef on the grills and leave until browned, then turn the beef over and brown the other side. Baste the beef generously and turn, then baste again. Do this repeatedly until there is a nice caramelised glaze on the brisket, then remove.

5. MAKE AHEAD: Slow cook the brisket but do not bake, then transfer into a storage container with the cooking liquid (don’t reduce it down) and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To reheat, transfer brisket only into a baking dish and cover. Bake at 180C/350F for 20 minutes or until warmed through. Then turn up oven to 200C/390F, remove cover and proceed with recipe to brown and baste the brisket surface. Transfer sauce into saucepan and warm – you may not need to reduce. Use for basting per recipe.

6. SERVINGS: I usually budget for 250g/8oz of raw meat per head, to err on the side of caution. This shrinks to about 200g / 6.5 oz per head once cooked. That's a generous pile on rolls!

7. Nutrition per serving, assuming a 2 kg / 4 lb beef brisket with some fat on the surface (i.e. not trimmed of all fat), 10 servings, assuming all the sauce is consumed.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 269gCalories: 476cal (24%)Carbohydrates: 24g (8%)Protein: 66g (132%)Fat: 14g (22%)Saturated Fat: 5.6g (35%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 7.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.7gCholesterol: 198mg (66%)Sodium: 756mg (33%)Potassium: 824mg (24%)Fiber: 0.6g (3%)Sugar: 20g (22%)Vitamin A: 550IU (11%)Vitamin C: 3.1mg (4%)Calcium: 10mg (1%)Iron: 6.5mg (36%)

Keywords: beef brisket, Brisket, Slow Cooker Brisket

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Brisket recipe originally published July 2017. Updated to improve writing, and created separate recipe card for oven baked brisket directions. No change to recipe – much loved by readers as is, I wouldn’t dare!

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