13Nice Cooking Brisket in the Oven - a Beginners Guide
Cooking brisket in the
oven is a time consuming process, but also a very rewarding one. When your
family and friends take their first bite of your delicious brisket, they will
most definitely be asking you for the recipe. This article will make you a
brisket cooking pro!
Did you know that at one
time, brisket was considered a very poor quality meat? History has it, that two
brothers from Germany, back in the 1950's decided to smoke up some leftover
brisket they had. They left the brisket inside their smokehouse for an entire
weekend. When they returned to work they sliced up the meat and served it to
their customers. The meat was so flavorful and tender that it quickly became a
hit.
I remember the first time
I had the pleasure of eating beef brisket. It was at this fabulous little
Barbecue Restaurant in Croton-On-Hudson, NY called Memphis Maes.
New York isn't known for
its BBQ, so my wife and I were a bit skeptical. But after we took our first
bite of the "Texas BBQ Beef Brisket", we became believers! My wife
then looked at me and said, "You have to make this!" Not wanting to
let the lovely wife down, I took it upon me to try and recreate the BBQ brisket
at home. I don't own a smoker, so I needed to improvise and cook the brisket in
the oven.
Believe it or not, the
oven makes a pretty darn good BBQ brisket. Many BBQ enthusiasts will tell you
that a smoker is the only way to cook brisket, but I can tell you from
experience this is simply not the case.
The secret to a good beef
brisket is to cook it nice and slow at around 225 degrees for several hours. So
if you are looking for a quick and easy meal tonight, cooking brisket in the
oven is not the way to go.
You will have to prepare
this particular recipe one day in advance and you will need to plan some extra
time to cook the brisket as it takes several hours to finish cooking.
Let’s Talk About Dry Rubs
There are a variety of
different dry rub recipes you can use for your beef brisket. One such recipe is
listed below. Don't be shy with your dry rub. You want to really coat the
brisket well. It’s not called a rub for nothing, so really rub those spices
into the meat with your hands. After the rub has been applied put the brisket
in the fridge and let it marinade over night.
DRY RUB
- 1/4 Cup Paprika
- 1/4 Cup Light Brown
Sugar
- 2 Tbs Chili Powder
- 2 Tbs Kosher Salt
- 2 Tbs Freshly Cracked
Black Pepper
- 1 1/3 Tbs Granulated
Garlic
- 1 1/3 Tbs Granulated
Onion
- 2 Tsp Ground Cumin
THE SAUCE
We need some type of
liquid to slowly braise the brisket in the oven. Braising is an excellent way
to cook brisket in the oven because it keeps the brisket moist and very tender.
What I do is mix some good
quality store bought barbecue sauce with a little beef broth to thin it a bit.
I like to use a smoke flavored barbecue sauce. To give it a little smokier
flavor, I also add a few drops of liquid smoke. This makes a very tasty
braising liquid.
LET’S START COOKING
ALREADY!
Before we start cooking,
lets do a little preparation.
Remove the brisket from
the fridge and leave it on the counter for 30 minutes or so to allow it to come
to room temperature.
Get yourself a baking dish
with a tight fitting lid big enough to hold your brisket.
Mix equal parts of
barbecue sauce and beef broth. I like to make enough so that the brisket is at
least half submerged. Pour this mixture into your baking dish.
Pre-heat your oven to 225
Degrees.
Heat up a large pan over
medium heat and add enough oil to cover the pan. Add the brisket to the pan and
brown on all sides until it forms a nice crust.
Place the browned brisket
into the baking dish with the braising liquid. Put the lid on and place it in
the pre-heated oven.
About half way through the
cooking process, flip the brisket over so that the other side has time to cook
in the braising liquid.
The brisket is done when
it is fork tender and has an internal temperature of around 185-200 degrees F.
The amount of time it takes to cook a brisket in the oven really depends on the
weight of the brisket. Figure 1 1/2 to 2 hours per pound of meat.
There you have it. My
recipe for cooking brisket in the oven.
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