Easy Baked Beef Brisket Recipe

When it comes to BBQ, beef brisket is king! What barbecue aficionados won’t tell you is that making an amazing fork-tender oven-baked brisket with a flavorful, crunchy bark is easier than you think. No smoker or grill is necessary.

 

I love barbecue, and for years, I was afraid of making pulled pork, baby back ribs, and beef brisket in my oven. I just didn’t think they would be any good. Well, let me tell you. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Those cuts of meat come out perfectly in the oven.

But at the suggestion of a grill master friend, I learned the secrets of dry brining and slow-roasting meats in my oven. Of course, if you prefer, you can use a smoker. Try my smoked beef brisket recipe.

You can also use a slow cooker with my Slow Cooker Beef Brisket Recipe.

I love a good beef brisket sandwich, and one of the places I frequent for barbecue makes a delicious combination by adding coleslaw and onion rings to chopped brisket. It’s covered in BBQ sauce and served on a toasted brioche bun. Can you say heaven on a plate?

Ingredients

Gather the ingredients to prepare our baked beef brisket recipe. Culinary professionals call this the “Mise en Place,” which means “everything in its Place.”

Setting up your ingredients not only helps speed up the cooking process but also ensures you have all the necessary ingredients on hand to make the recipe.

What are the different cuts of Beef Brisket?

Beef brisket is available in three different cuts. A full-packer brisket is a whole brisket that includes both the point and flat sections. It weighs 8 to 12 pounds.

The point cut is the fatty part of the brisket, also known as the deckle or second cut. The flat cut is the leaner cut of the brisket, also known as the first cut.

Whether you use the whole brisket, a flat, or the point, this recipe will still yield a moist, tender, OMG flavorful oven baked brisket.

*For my oven-roasted beef brisket recipe, either the flat or the point will work. Most grocery stores will carry the flat.

How to Make Oven-Baked Brisket

Follow along with my simple step-by-step instructions to learn how to make oven-baked brisket in your home kitchen.

The first step is preparing the beef brisket rub. This will act as a brine, adding flavor and helping to keep it moist.

*My spices include onion powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, chili powder, sea salt, cracked black pepper, and a few others. Feel free to adjust the seasonings to your taste.

Start by trimming the brisket of any silver skin, and if needed, removing most of the fat cap from the top of the meat. Hard fat does not render!

• Pat the meat dry with paper towels and coat it with the brisket rub, massaging the dry rub into the meat, making sure to coat the sides of the brisket.
• Wrap the dry-rubbed brisket tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight. *The beef brisket rub must penetrate the beef for at least 3 hours.
• Take the dry-rubbed brisket out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking, allowing it to come to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 275°F.
• Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the beef. The fat side should be up during the roasting process.
• Slow Roast in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F.
• Remove the brisket from the oven, and carefully cut the foil open to expose it. Continue roasting until the internal temperature reaches 195-205 degrees F.

Chef Dennis Tip:

Do not be tempted to raise the temperature for faster cooking time, or your brisket will be very tough. Slow oven roasting using a low temperature allows the fats to break down gradually, tenderizing the beef while keeping it juicy.

How do I slice oven-baked brisket?

Place the beef brisket on a cutting board and let it rest for an hour before slicing. Slices should be pencil-width thick.

Allowing the beef to rest gives the juices time to redistribute throughout the meat. If sliced right off the grill, the meat would lose moisture.

After the brisket has rested, the next step is finding the grain. The direction of the cut is key to having tender, fall-apart slices of brisket.

You want to slice against the grain. The grain of any meat is the alignment of the muscle fibers. When you cut with the grain, the muscle fibers remain somewhat intact and result in meat that is tough and difficult to chew. When you cut against the grain, you break up the muscle fibers evenly so that the meat becomes much more tender and easy to chew.

Chef Dennis Tip:

Before cooking, find the grain and slice a corner of the flat. This will make it easier to find the direction of the grain when the brisket is done and ready to be sliced.

How can I use leftover baked beef brisket?

You’ll often find chopped brisket in tacos, sandwiches, and chili. Other delicious uses for leftover brisket are brisket hash, soups, stews, quesadillas, pizza toppings, and brisket and beans, to name a few.

Wouldn’t your friends and family love to sit down to this tender, delicious baked beef brisket?

Why not surprise them and let them think you’re the new grill master in the family? I won’t tell them you made it in the oven!

Storing and Reheating

Any leftovers should be stored refrigerated in an airtight container or well covered in plastic wrap for 3-4 days.

To reheat, preheat your oven to 325°F. Place the brisket in a baking pan. Pour about one cup of beef broth over the brisket. Then cover tightly with aluminum foil, creating a double layer.

Place the pan in the oven and reheat for about 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Recipe FAQ’s

More Recipes You’ll Love!