When you roast beef brisket low and slow in the oven, you end up with meat that’s so tender and buttery, it practically falls apart. We’ll show you how to season it with a homemade spice rub and make a mouthwatering BBQ sauce from scratch out of the brisket drippings.
This oven-barbecued beef brisket recipe is a favorite for Sunday dinner, a summer barbecue party, or a holiday feast. We’ve got a foolproof and flavorful brisket rub recipe made with brown sugar and spices like smoked paprika, cumin, and cayenne.
The foil pouch keeps the beef super moist because it traps all of those savory brisket juices–which then then get transformed into a sweet and tangy homemade BBQ sauce with brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, and two secret ingredients: chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a splash of bourbon.
Lay the BBQ sauce on thick, and finish the brisket under the broiler to get that smoky, crispy “bark” with just the right amount of char.
No smoker, no grill, no tending to a barbecue pit — you could even call this a “lazy” brisket recipe. It’s definitely going to make an oven-barbecued brisket convert out of both the cook and the lucky diners.
Unless you’ve got a huge family to feed, you’re guaranteed get more than one meal out of this brisket. You know what that means? Delicious leftover brisket sandwiches, brisket tacos, or even swap it for bacon in a breakfast hash.
Oven-Barbecued Beef Brisket
Makes 6 – 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
Brisket:
- 1 (3 – 5 pound) brisket, fat trimmed to about ¼-inch thick
- salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
Brisket Rub:
- 1 packed Tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste (optional)
Barbecue Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons butter (or rendered brisket fat)
- 1 cup finely chopped onion (about ½ of a large onion)
- 2 – 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (about 1 Tablespoon)
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup bourbon
- reserved brisket juices, skimmed of fat
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 275°F/135°C and place an oven rack in the middle of your oven.
- Season the brisket with salt and black pepper.
- Prepare the brisket rub: in a small bowl, mix all of the spice rub ingredients together until they’re well combined.
- Gently rub the spice mix all over the brisket, making sure to get the spices into all of the various nooks and crannies.
- Make a double-layered aluminum foil pouch for the brisket: place two layers of foil down on the counter, place the brisket (with the fat side up) on the foil, and pull the edges of the foil up around the brisket to wrap it. The pouch needs to be sealed well so that it will keep in all of the moisture. Let the brisket sit (refrigerated) in the spice rub for 3 to 24 hours, or cook immediately.
- Place the foil pouch on a baking sheet or baking dish and cook for 3 to 5 hours, depending on the size of your brisket.
- Turn off the oven and allow the brisket to rest until it’s cool enough to handle without oven mitts.
- Pour the accumulated juices from the brisket into a large measuring cup or a bowl. Skim the fat from the juices, reserving the juices and saving 2 tablespoons of the fat for the sauce. Keep the brisket wrapped in foil and return it to the warm oven while you make the barbecue sauce.
- Heat a medium-sized saucepot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it’s softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until it’s fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, chipotle pepper, apple cider vinegar, and bourbon, and stir to combine. Bring it to a simmer and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until all of the ingredients are dissolved. Add the reserved brisket juices and simmer until it has reduced to your desired consistency, about 15 minutes. (If desired, blend the finished sauce to make it more smooth.)
- Remove the brisket from the oven and open the foil pouch. Turn the oven to broil. Brush the brisket with a good layer of sauce and broil, uncovered, until the top is lightly browned and the fat starts to crisp. Allow the brisket to cool slightly before slicing. Slice the brisket against the grain into ¼-inch slices, and serve with extra barbecue sauce.
Tips
- If you have time, it is best to let the rubbed and foil-wrapped brisket sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or up to 24 hours. Generally speaking, the longer the brisket has to absorb the flavors of the rub, the better the flavor will be. But if you don’t have time, it’s fine to cook the brisket immediately after applying the rub.
- Brisket cooking times will vary depending on the size. A good rule of thumb is about 1 hour per pound of meat.