This Oven-Barbecued Beef Brisket is so smokey, tender, and juicy. No one will ever guess it wasn’t cooked on the grill.
We are very partial to pork in the Carolinas and I truthfully haven’t eaten a whole lot of beef brisket in my life.
But this Oven-Barbecued Beef Brisket. OMG!
This is a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated and it makes THE most flavorful brisket.
It is one of the most scrumptious pieces of meat I have ever tasted and I think it has the potential to create quite a few brisket lovers.
The brisket is coated in a rub and completely wrapped in bacon – 1 full pound of bacon- and slow-cooked in the oven. The smokey flavor of the bacon really penetrates into the meat and all that pork fat coating the beef brisket really adds to its flavor.
So much smokiness that it will fool most people into thinking this brisket was cooked on the grill or in a smoker.
Once the brisket has cooked fully, the bacon is removed and serves double duty as a flavoring for the BBQ sauce. The meat is then broiled to give it a nice char to complement the smokey flavor.
A super flavorful sauce that is both sweet and spicy is made from the bacon, which is finely chopped, cider vinegar, dark brown sugar, chicken broth, ketchup, and chipotle peppers. Once cooked, you can strain the sauce and discard the bacon, or I like to strain half of the sauce and then add it back to the saucepan. This way, there’s still some bacon, but it’s not an overwhelming amount.
Leftovers heat up well and this would be a good thing to cook in advance if you are having dinner guests. If you are just feeding your family, you can get multiple meals from this Oven-Barbecued Brisket. No kidding, I usually manage to get 3 meals out of it. Leftovers can be made into Brisket Grilled Cheese Sandwiches or Brisket Nachos.
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Watch the short video below to see how to make Oven Barbecued Beef Brisket.
Oven-Barbecued Beef Brisket
Ingredients
Rub
- 1 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Brisket
- 1 (4-5 pounds) brisket roast – if there is a thick layer of fat, trim it down to 1/4 inch
- 1 pound bacon
Sauce
- reserved bacon from cooked brisket
- 1 onion,, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1-2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 4 teaspoons canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce,, minced
Instructions
- Make the rub. Mix all ingredients well in a small bowl and set aside.
- Place oven rack in upper-middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Rub dry rub all over brisket and poke holes all over with a fork. Place half of bacon going crosswise in a broiler safe 9 by 13-inch pan (it’s best not to use glass). Put brisket fat side down on top of bacon. Lay the rest of the bacon crosswise on top of brisket, wrapping it down around the sides, and tucking any excess under. Cover pan with foil and place in oven for 4 hours.
- Take pan out of oven. Carefully flip brisket over, fat side up. Replace foil and return to oven. Turn off heat and leave brisket in oven 1 additional hour.
- Pour accumulated juices from brisket into large measuring cup or a bowl. Remove bacon from brisket and chop into pieces. Cook bacon in medium saucepan over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until fat has rendered. Add onion and cook until softened, 4-5 minutes. Take off heat and add vinegar and dark brown sugar. Return to heat and simmer until reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes.
- Skim fat from accumulated juices and add chicken broth to make a total of 3 cups. Add to mixture in saucepan and reduce until about 3 cups in volume, 8-10 minutes. Take off heat and add ketchup. Mix well and strain if desired. (I like to strain about half the solid pieces out and leave the rest). After straining, add chipotle peppers.
- Turn oven to broil. Brush brisket with 1 cup sauce and broil until top is lightly browned and fat starts to crisp. Cut brisket against the grain into 1/4-inch slices and serve with extra sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe adapted slightly from Cook’s Illustrated.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Hi Christin,
I am making a test run of this recipe tomorrow (before I make a huge batch for a family get together) and was wondering:
I bought a 2 lb brisket (since it is just for myself and my husband on the trial run) – do I still cook it for 4 hours? Or would it be better to just cook it for 2 since it is half the size of the one in the recipe? I’m hoping for a quick reply..
Thanks!
Jenny
I would still cook it a pretty long time as I think it’s the long cooking time that really helps make it tender and the heat is very low so you don’t really have to worry too much about overcooking it. Maybe give it a test after 3 hours.
Great! Thank you for your help and such a quick reply! I will post my results after it is finished!
I cooked for 4 hours and let sit for an hour and it was not quiet done. Put the left overs into the crock pot with the sauce on low for several hours and it was amazing. Better the next day!
Yes, I agree it gets better the next day. So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I made this 8/1/15 for a family party at the lake. I received rave reviews and there was barely any left over! Thank you!!! We did not have time to make the BBQ sauce, so we used bottled and added the chopped/crisped bacon to it. Also my broiler wasn’t working 🙁 so I didn’t get to brown the top… it was still wonderful. Our brisket was 12 pounds so we cooked it for 6 hours plus an hour after turning it over. It was so tender it fell apart when I tried to slice it. So, I just shredded it more like a pulled-beef. I’m sure it would have been delicious on buns too. We loved that it didn’t take much tending like cooking on a grill or pit. We were able to put it in before our guests arrived and enjoy their company until it was ready. This could definitely be made ahead and warmed. If you’re lucky enough to have left-overs they would easily freeze.
Wow! A 12 pound brisket! That’s huge. It is so nice to just put it in the oven and forget about it isn’t it? Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it Teresa! 🙂
Hi,
Can this be made ahead, frozen, and then reheated? Will it still turn out moist and flavorful?
I have never frozen it before Jenny so I can’t say for sure, but I would think that it would freeze nicely.
We have frozen brisket after cooking and it works well. When my husband cooks on the pit it is a day long process. So he makes extra and we freeze it in meal sized portions.
Hi Teresa,
When you freeze your brisket, what is the best way to reheat it so that it is still moist? I am making a large amount for an upcoming anniversary party and am planning to freeze it until the day before the party. I thought I could thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat it. Would you do the reheating in an oven on low temp? Should I add any liquid?
Thanks!
I haven’t frozen it before, but I think defrosting in the refrigerator and reheating in the oven ( i would maybe do 325) would work best. I don’t think you would need to add liquid, but you could add a little extra sauce on top before you put it in the oven.
$15/lb for the bacon from the Farmer’s Market, $10/lb for the brisket. Reaction from the family: absolutely priceless! Now I don’t need to go to the Caronlinas to try their bbq. This is really really good.
So glad everyone enjoyed it Bruce! I think it really is the most delicious home-cooked brisket. Still think you might enjoy a trip to the Carolinas. :0
Wow! Brisket in Texas is less than $2 a pound. I got a 10.66 brisket for $20.91! I guess it pays to live in cattle country where the beef is raised! This is the very first brisket I have ever cooked (as my father is the master BBQ’er of the family… (I’m 40!) So I feel quite “grown up” lol… This is the BEST BRISKET EVER… And I’ve had more brisket in the past year than most do in a lifetime! I’m about to proudly package some up to take to my father tomorrow. I know he will be proud. I followed recipe ALMOST exactly…I increased black pepper to a tablespoon and red pepper to a teaspoon and shook some liquid smoke over my cheap Walmart brand bacon ($2.98/lb!) So for around $26 TOTAL I HAVE 10 Pounds of BBQ BRISKET that tastes like $30/lb BBQ that is amazing! THANK YOU for sharing and anyone contemplating this… DO IT… You won’t be disappointment… Unless you hate BBQ… EVEN THEN- you still may find yourself licking the sauce off your fingers when no one is looking! I served sliced as stand alone main dish AND also chopped with sauce and red onion and sliced Dill pickles on Hawaiian rolls (BBQ SLIDERS) that I brushed the inside of rolls with melted real butter and chopped garlic before placing face down on skillet heated on medium high to “toast” the the little buns so that they didn’t get to soggy from this incredibly juicy beef and lots of sauce! I can’t wait for Christmas because I’m going to get rave reviews from this recipe!
Thanks for leaving the review Amy and telling us about your alterations! 🙂
Oh my gosh- this looks so amazing!! Cooked on bacon and topped with bacon? I need to make this for my hubby!!
Seriously?! This looks INCREDIBLE! Like it stepped out of a the world’s best barbecue menu! I’m going to try this one!
Oh my goodness, this brisket looks perfect, Christin! So juicy, tender and flavorful!
You really can’t go wrong with cooking something under bacon, can you? LOL! This looks so yummy!! I’m seriously craving BBQ now.
Oh, man. I can’t even stand how ultra-moist and juicy this brisket looks, Christin! All that glaze-y goodness is literally killing me! I’ve so gotta try this for dinner soon! Pinned. 🙂
I still want to make those ribs but good grief, this brisket looks amazing!! It’s going to be hard to stop thinking about this…