So this year? It’s been fulla brisket. It started at New Years, with the Southwestern Pulled Brisket that made me a brisket person. And also a slow-cooker person. But mostly a brisket in the slow-cooker person because together, magic happens.
Sidebar: Last month, Alex and I were eating leftover brisket for dinner, or trying to, but these gigantic eyes, staring down our forks as went from plate to mouth and back again were making it difficult.
Alex: Jacob, this isn’t for you. You need teeth to eat brisket.
Deb: AHEM.
Alex: But not your mother’s!
[P.S. Jacob has decided that spelt/oat/barley cereal is an excellent stand-in, but I think it’s just because he doesn’t know better.]
The Year of the Brisket continued, fittingly, with our first Passover seder this week and people, not only do you not need teeth for this brisket, you didn’t even need a knife; you just tapped a slice of it with the side of your fork and it exhaled into a pile of rich, flavorful confetti. And I’m going to tell you a secret, which is if you use the slow-cooker in the method I describe below, it barely matters which brisket recipe you use, brisket magic will be made.
Of course, humbly, I suggest the one I hacked from Emeril this week — though believe me, I’ve heard them all, like that one with the bottle of cola and those with the packets of onion soup mix and the other one with a can of cranberry sauce or a bottle of Kraft salad dressing. I would never make this stuff up. Good Jewish brisket usually comes down to an element of sweet, salty, sour and tangy and my people have found endless crafty ways to get there. I do not judge.
The ingredients here, though still bottle- and jar-heavy, are a little less scary but I warn that if you very strictly follow Passover rules you’ll want to look for ketchup and chili sauce without corn syrup in them. Nevertheless, if you’ve been felled by brisket recipes in the past — those that produced leaden, leathery slabs your guests politely choked down bites of while burying the rest under piles of charoset — let this recipe be your brisket vindication, your brisket salvation … your brisket Elijah? Ahem, perhaps I’m getting a little carried away. Good brisket has that effect on me.
And it makes the dreamiest leftovers. (Over egg noodles. You know, if you’re reading this next week.)
One year ago: Chewy Amaretti Cookies
Two years ago: Shaker Lemon Pie
Three years ago: Mixed Berry Pavlova
Tangy Spiced Brisket
Adapted (er, overhauled) from Emeril Lagasse
Sure, I’ve pretended that I adapted this from an Emeril recipe but I am pretty sure Emeril wouldn’t recognize what I did with it, from changing every single measurement to ditching steps (like studding the brisket with garlic; I like my brisket uninterrupted) to not straining the sauce (I know! I always thought I was more the sauce straining type too!) because the bits were too tasty to making it in a slow-cooker and deciding browning it had no effect on the final dish and also greatly simplifying the cooking process. So yeah; mostly I just made this recipe up. And it’s wonderful — not just the buckets of flavorful sauce (no dry brisket here!) but the slow-cooker to fridge to oven technique (adapted from my mother-in-law), which produces flawless brisket every single time.
Serves 8 to 10 servings
3 large onions, sliced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (adjust to your heat preference)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups beef stock (unsalted or low salt)
1 cup ketchup*
1 cup chili sauce* (I’m realizing from comments that there are many many types; I used Heinz, which is not exactly spicy)
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
8 to 10 pound brisket
Prepare the sauce: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and sauté onions in vegetable oil, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and most of liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add halved garlic cloves and saute for 3 minutes more. Stir in spices and seasoning (paprika, salt, garlic and onion powders, black pepper, cayenne, oregano and thyme) and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the beef stock, ketchup, chili sauce and brown sugar. Don’t worry if your brown sugar is lumpy (mine always is), the acidity of the ingredients will quickly break it down.
If baking in oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place brisket in a baking dish or casserole, spread onion mixture over the top, then pour sauce mixture over the entire dish. Cover tightly with foil bake until very tender but not falling apart, about 3 to 4 hours.
If making in a slow cooker (which I highly, highly recommend): Place brisket in a slow cooker, spread onion mixture over the top, then pour sauce mixture over the entire dish. Cover with the lid and cook it on LOW for 10 hours. (I like to start it before I go to bed, and process it in the morning to rest over the course of the day in the fridge.)
For both methods, rest the dish: When the brisket is cooked but still hot, use a spoon to scrape off any large fat deposits adhered to the top and bottom of the brisket. (This part is easiest to do when hot. The sauce will be de-fatted after it has chilled.)
If you’re using a slow cooker, transfer the brisket and all of its sauce to a baking dish. If you’ve baked it in the oven, you can continue in that same dish.
Chill entire dish in the fridge for several hours and up to one day; this resting time will significantly enhance the flavor and texture of the meat.
An hour before you’re ready to serve it: Preheat your oven to 300°F, and remove the dish from the fridge. Remove all of the fat that has solidified with a slotted spoon for a less oily finish.
Carefully remove the meat from its sauce and place on a large cutting board. Cut the brisket into 1/2-inch slices.
If you like a smoother sauce (I do) this is a good time to run it through a blender or literally just smash up the onion and garlic strands with a wooden spoon. They’ll be so soft, that’s all it takes.
Carefully place the sliced meat (moving it in large sections with a spatula helps keep it together) back into the sauce and spoon the sauce over the meat. Replace the lid or cover the dish tightly with foil and reheat in the oven until it is bubbling at the edges — this usually takes up to to 30 minutes.
* If you are very strictly kosher for Passover — generally, at an Orthodox level — you’ll want to find versions without corn syrup in them.
This is perfect for passover, I needed a tried and true recipe. Thanks, Deb!
I’d second Zoe and add that I think this is perfect for anyday. Yum. I admire how well you juggle having a child and still turning out excellent dishes in the kitchen.
I. LOVE. BRISKET. And this looks fantastic. My boyfriend’s family has brisket for every Jewish holiday (cause we all love it so much); I think I’ll recommend this recipe for the next one. Or I’ll just make it for dinner this weekend.
Never made brisket on my own, but my grandma made it a few times a month! Love it!
Yum! Yum! Yum! The brisket looks great, and I love the pic of Jacob!!
My slow cooker needs to make itself useful…this looks heavenly!
I agree, Brisket can do no wrong.I think I need to find more occasions in my life for brisket. I will have to try this recipe. Maybe in sandwich form. Maybe on an onion bun. With swiss. And a little horseradish mustard. yum.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Deb, for the oven version, could you do it in a dutch oven, like with the southwestern brisket, instead of using foil? (which, by the way, my husband and i love so much we’ve already made it three times).
Hi Sara — You can. But I feel the most confident putting it in with the tightest fitting lid. The oven is more drying to brisket than the slow cooker.
I just got an email from Williams-Sonoma this morning about a sale on All-Clad slow cookers. I’ve been tempted to get one (you’ve been on a kick with them lately!) and this recipe sealed the deal. My husband will not be happy with you, Deb, that you inspired me to add another cooking item to our kitchen, but I have a feeling all will be forgiven once he tries this.
Deb, can I ask what kind of chili sauce you use? My first thought was the lovely rooster bottle, but 1 cup of that seems mighty hot.
I haven’t had brisket in ages, but now want to throw this in the crockpot for food for the next week. It looks delicious!
Emily — Heh. I used Heinz. However, if you love that rooster stuff as we do, perhaps use a halved or quartered amount of it, and swap the rest with additional ketchup. And nix the cayenne.
Britta — Funny. Yet, not to be too contentious, but at least according to the Amazon reviewers that I let make all of my purchasing choices for me, the All-Clad is not very well reviewed. People looove their Hamilton Beaches and Cuisinarts!
Becky — I have a 6-quart. Yikes, I just realized why you’re asking. I 3/4-ed this recipe to make a 6 pound brisket. I cut it in half and overlapped it to fit it in the machine. Sometimes I’ll flip the pieces when I wake up in the morning, but even when I forget, no harm is done. An 8 to 10 pound should fit in a 6 quart, but if one has a bigger one, do use it.
Looks delicious … I’ve never made brisket in my life, but my mom loves it. And I think this definitely tops her recipe – I’ve never seen it look so tender!
Out of curiosity, what size slow-cooker do you have?
That looks insane–in a good way. I can just imagine the tenderness of that meat! Mmm, I’m getting hungry. And YES, I am definitely reading next week. :]
Posts like this make me reconsider thinking of going 100% vegan :D
My mother made a mean brisket for my wedding reception- but these sound as though they might give my mom’s a run for her money!
Ok, slow cooker is going on the wedding registry now, for sure.
Deb, great post! I loved your little note before the recipe! Cracked me up a bit, but I know what you mean about everything you stated. My mom loves using her crock pot because she likes the touch screen on it (I kid you not!) and because it always ends up resulting in pure deliciousness several hours later.
Looks yummy. If you want a change, the Ina Garten brisket is (no surprise) amazing. It has onions and carrots, and the base of the sauce is tomato juice. No corn syrup!
I love brisket, but I’m so confused about which cut to buy. And I love my slow cooker too. The last time I tried a brisket in the slow cooker, it was so dry that we didn’t even want to eat it. The recipe had a lot of vinegar in it, and the smell through out the day was actually nauseating too. Needless to say, it was not a good experience. Do you have any tips for buying brisket? What cut to buy and what to look for? I live in Idaho, and the selection here is not the greatest.
I was hoping to read a reply to your question as I also never know which cut to buy
This looks delicious.I am planning on making brisket for Easter[I grew up in India,so never had ham for Easter or brisket for that matter].Can you suggest some suitable side dishes for this brisket- all the recipes I looked online do not suggest any sides.
Thanks
Amy
I’m not quite sure how you don’t weight 600 lbs. This looks so amazing. Just bought my first house, that slow cooker is going to be on 24/7.
The other day I thought I smelled pot roast in my building, and it drove me crazy. I yearned for pot-roast. Now it occurs to me it might have been brisket. Now I just have a hunger for slow cooked red meat. I wonder if there’s a way to do my Easter Leg of Lamb in a slow cooker…
This does look good. Brisket has always seemed like a once in a great while dish because it takes so much effort and time to prepare. This one sounds very doable for a Sunday or perhaps Easter dinner.
This looks really delicious. I love the thick gravy….would be so delicious scooped over rice…mmmm
I saw brisket at Trader Joes the other day and thought of you.
We made an awesome pineapple glazed brisket this year…ON. THE. STOVETOP. I was shocked. It would have benefited from a Staub (with the dimples), since Mom was opening the dutch oven every hour to baste. But the thing bubbled on there for 4-5 hours, rested, and was reheated in the oven while we did the first half of seder.
Probably would have been even better in the slow cooker, but we don’t have one for Pesach yet.
We’ve been eating brisket every day since Monday and now I’m tempted to go out and buy another to get us through the rest of Passover. ^_^
Deb, you don’t use kosher meat do you?
Ahava — No, I don’t. I don’t keep kosher. I buy organic beef.
Gillian — Great question. I have made countless briskets both ways and was surprised to find no difference in the final product (at least from a slow-cooker) when the browning step is skipped. I think it is because there is so much liquid, more than other braises, where a good seal in the beginning makes a bigger difference.
I am still working through my Passover leftovers… Last night i made Enchiladas with left over shredded brisket,black beans, grilled sweat corn and Chipotle cream cheese… Cover with homemade enchilada sauce and fresh shredded cheddar cheese… I just thought i had to tell someone!
yesterday I was wondering what to cook on Easter Sunday–now I know!! yay–I haven’t eaten brisket in years, but you’ve inspired me!
I’m a vegetarian so I wont be trying this one. The photos are lovely though :)
This looks great – I’ve never made brisket on my own before, but I’d love to try this since I can use the slow cooker. Your pictures are always so divine – I can almost smell the brisket through my screen! Thanks for the great recipe!
Hello Brisket. I think it’s about time we get reacquainted with each other.
Wow, Deb. You go above and beyond! I’m a lazy cook and everyone loves the brisket recipe I give them–vinegar, brown sugar, dry onion mix, ketchup, bake covered for 3 hours. Much like yours but for simpletons like myself. Makes the best pulled brisket sandwiches (unless it is Passover….cannot stomach the taste of matzoh!).
Hey Deb,
So excited to try this one! Im VERY new to cooking but I tried your Southwestern Brisket and it came out lovely! I actually might have felt like I could actually cook (I had many many failed recipes since I started 3 months ago) Looking forward to trying this one sometime next week! Question though? I thought all meat had to be browned before going in the slow cooker? did you find out why skipping it is okay? Id love to do away with it! Thanks!
This looks wonderful. I, too, am a follower of the school of brisket plus slow cooker…..
HOORAY! I’ve been looking for a fabulous slow-cooker meat dish and yummers! This looks heavenly. :-)
Is it OK to use a brisket (like Shenson) without the pickling spice package?
Shenson brisket — I’m not familiar with it.
Carter — Thanks. It’s the “oval baker” from my everyday plate set (Calvin Klein Cargo). And hot damn, I never realized how expensive it was. Nice gift!
Anne — If your husband can’t have sugar, this is probably not the best recipe because both ketchup and chili sauce have a lot of sugar in them.
Deb please tell readers of this recipe that Shenson brisket is only for making corned beef. And P.S. it is the best supermarlet one to buy.
What difference does shenson make? Use the meat and toss the pickling spices.
Im making this next week and Im sure any brisket will work, tho there are different cuts available Inthink. But after all of these wonderful seasonings and sauce, w long cooking time, i cant imagine going bad due to a shenson or other cut of brisket
Correct me if im wrong
I can’t be the only person who is in love with that dish in the second photo, Deb. Where oh where did you get it?
Thanks Deb! The less I have to mess around with that big slab of meat the better! into the cooker it goes! :)
This sounds like brisket heaven! I have one question. My husband can’t have sugar (medical reasons), so can you recommend a substitute for the brown sugar? The artificial brown sugar stuff is nasty in a dish like this. Honey? Molasses? Applesauce? ??? Thanks ever so much, Deb!
Would a dutch oven work?
Question from a Catholic, Italian old lady in Chicago…. what does one serve with brisket? I’d love to make it this weekend for my daughter-in-law’s Jewish dad. TIA
Judy — I like it with roasted or mashed potatoes. Maybe a green, too. But definitely potatoes.
Shannon — No reason not to — any baking dish will work.
Hey there! Recipe looks awesome. I was wondering how a brisket would do in a crock pot. I’ll have to give this one a try. I should start keeping a list…I think the bakewell tart is next if I don’t make the cauliflower and onion tart AGAIN first.
I noticed in the recipe for the brisket you say to pre-heat the oven, but then you don’t say how long to put it in for…next step says remove to cutting board.
Michelle — Crock pots and slow cookers are the same thing, I believe. Crock Pot is just the brand name. Keep reading in that section… after you slice the meat and put it back in the dish, it says to put it in the oven.
Hi Deb!
Love your blog, I am a regular reader and your writing and recipes are my favorite!
I was wondering if the cook time for a slow-cooker set on low is still 10 hours for a 5 pound brisket as it is for a 6, or even 8-10 pound brisket. Thanks and Happy Pesach!
Samantha — I have done 2, 4 and 7 pound briskets … all for 10 hours and they all worked great. I might have pulled the 2-pounder at 9:15 but I was being unnecessarily paranoid.
Richard — Heh. I use Google Docs. I keep everything digital. Lists and lists I make for myself of Good Fall Recipes and Stuff For Next Summer and Stuff For This Week and Recipe Ideas… lots of embedded links and references to the books I have that contain the recipes. Love Google Docs because I can get to them from anywhere, any computer. Even my iPhone at the grocery store.
And yes, I should look into making an app. Thanks for the suggestion.
This isn’t sponsored in any way but you should try Paprika Recipe Manager (https://paprikaapp.com) — literally SO easy to use, you can import recipes from any website (they also have a bookmarklet for your computer and iPhone), edit and create your own recipes, categorize them however you want, even rate them for yourself. It scales recipes without any math needed, creates grocery lists (and consolidates groceries needed from multiple recipes), and you can even create menus and add to calendars. Just converted my mother-in-law who used recipe cards, print outs, and torn up cookbooks for years!
It’s funny that you posted this recipe today because, as I type, your Southwestern Pulled Brisket is filling my home with wonderful aromas.
First time commenting, I love your site. It is done so well, and with integrity (no shilling which is so common nowadays and which I loathe). My wife asked if I was ever planning on using our cookbooks again. Maybe not!
Question for other readers: How do you organize your SK recipes? I now have a giant stack of printed out recipes. Do you put them in a binder? Cut and paste onto recipe cards?
Question for Deb: Have you considered doing an iPhone/iPad app? I would pay good money for it.
I just go to the smitten kitchen site and do a search….:-)
Man, I thought I’d picked my brisket recipe for Easter but now I need to consider this one. Ah well, I’ll probably just throw a bunch of yummy crap on the brisket and call it a day.
Brisket is such a fantastic dish…and perfect for company! I made a very basic one last week for a dinner party and it was a huge success…I will definitely be trying this version!! Thanks for the tip.
I’ve only made one recipe for brisket because it’s so good, that I can’t seem to make myself move on! But I’m going to try this recipe on your say-so and because it looks so good in your pictures! Tell me, how would you adjust the slow cooking time so that the beef can be sliced without falling apart? I like enough firmness to the meat that it’s still tenderto chew but can still be speared by the slice with a fork, intact. Is there a happy medium with this cut of meat?
Susan — Try it for 8 hours in the slow cooker. It will be done, but less falling-apart so.
:) #39.. about the Shensen brisket. That is a corned beef brisket; it’s a cured with brine meat. It’s not the same thing as a fresh beef brisket. It would not work in this recipe. Ask the butcher at your market for a fresh beef brisket.
Is that the same as koshering the meat?
This looks sooo deliciousss! Love the combination of ingredients!
Thanks, Deb. Also, I totally agree about refrigerating the finished brisket then reheating it. It really, really enhances the overall dish and makes fat removal so much easier. I’ve tried it with and without the chill on my one recipe, (which btw, instructed to chill and reheat) It was definately improved by it.
Oy! That looks divine. I’ll have dreams about it tonight! I have a cut of brisket question. I get my beef from a 100% grassfed rancher (I know I’m blessed). His briskets are pretrimmed of all the fat to about four pounds. Will that cut work for this? Would I just cook it a shorter time? Should I request a special cut I’m a frustrated transplanted Texas girl who has never successfully cooked brisket and would love to change that. However I’m also cheap and I don’t want to pay for 4-5 pounds of fat if that’s what it is, fat that will be pulled off and tossed at the end. Grassfed beef is pricey. Thanks!!
Brisket is my favorite! Especially when it comes from a crockpot! I don’t even think I’ve made it all winter – the shame!
When I made your Southwestern Brisket, I shredded it up a bit and put it over toast with the sauce. Do you think I can do the same with this one, or do you think it’s better in slices? PS – I love your site and your pics of your adorable baby boy!
Amanda, did u serve it over toast? How was it?
Im planning to serve it with sandwich buns, like a brisket sandwich…. Making it next week for friends.
Ann
Not being Jewish, I’ve never celebrated Passover, but was totally drawn to the brisket during yesterday’s trip to the grocery store. Now I know how to cook the thing. Yay meat!
Thanks.
it looks more that delicious!
by the way…happy and tasty easter!
I guess that I am going to finally have to try your brisket. It has to be very good for you to post 2 different recipes using the crockpot. It looks delicious. So Google Docs is how you stay so organized. I must give it a try.
This looks so delicious! My friend just told me about your blog and I love it! Do you mind if I ask what kind of camera and lens you use? Your photos are beautiful!
MMMM…..MMMM…..MMMM…nuff said? Thanks Deb!
looks delish! and even though i’m not of the religious type, it does seem like something really tasty to make on sunday!
Wow, this is seriously making my mouth water! My mind is already cranking on ways to make a low sodium version…. it probably won’t be the same, bu it’s worth a shot!
@Richard – I’ve printed them off and put them in plastic covers and then put everything in a binder. That way you can flip through the binder, or turn the page w/ messy fingers and not worry about smearing the food all over. You can organize the binder relatively easily according to your preference. I’m a sloppy cook so the laptop stays far far away from the kitchen.
Oooh… I confess, this would make a seder much more worth attending. Do you have killer ?????????/charoset recipes, too? Love that stuff.
Ohhhh wow this is great!!!!! looks so irresistable!!!
Deb,
We’ve thoroughly enjoyed your SW Pulled Brisket, including the sides that you recommend with it. (I am totally in love with those pickled onions!) I will have to give this one a try next. I’ve been using a slow-cooker for about 20 yrs, and like you, can’t tell the difference between meat that’s been browned/seared, and meat that hasn’t.
In reply to poster #39, it sounds like you are referring to a “corned” beef brisket…they usually include spice packets. You’ll want a fresh brisket for this recipe, as they are not interchangeable. Your butcher will know.
That looks really mouthwatering! I tried a brisket recipe last December that included Allspice, chopped prunes, and cider vinegar. It was amazing! I left my sauce lumpy, and the sweet little pieces of prunes were a nice texture and flavour to bite into.
Oh my gosh, that looks so delicious! I tried making a brisket for my family one night.. what a disaster. But since it is spring, and my spririts are rejuvenated, I think I am ready to try your recipe above. It looks simple, better than what I tried before.
Wish me luck on making mine turn out so juicy and tasteful as your did!!
I wish I could try some of your brisket!
@Richard – I’ve bookmarked recipes on my web browser and have them organized in bookmark files. Though, they are not accessible at the grocery store…I might just switch to Deb’s technique just for that convenience!
the only good thing that ever came from my wicked stepmother was her recipe for brisket: brown the meat, place it on a bed of onions and garlic, and pour over it a cup of heinz catsup mixed with a cup of cheap beer. cover and bake.
Is there any reason you can’t put meat in fridge in crock pot insert, remove fat and slice and reheat in crock pot? We are all about washing fewer dishes…
Alphie — Yes. It takes forever to chill in the slow cooker insert, hours longer. I did it this way once and it never chilled enough that I could skim the solidified fat (by dinnertime that night; I’d taken it off in the morning) and it was both oily and exasperating. Now I transfer it to a smaller dish and it chills in a few hours.
Rachel — Yes, I’d halve it.
This looks fantastic. I usually just wait until my mother visits from NJ to get some good brisket! I’d like to try this next week, and I see that you mention it makes a lot of sauce–if I make a 4-5 lb brisket, do you recommend cutting the sauce ingredients in half?
Hmm, could this be lunch for my guests on Monday??
I’m not usually that good with beef, but I love using the slow cooker.
I wonder – do we have “brisket” here in Oz – must ask the butcher!
Thanks.
I’m getting started now — at almost 10 pm EST. I can’t wait for tomorrow night’s dinner. Yummy. Thank you.
I worked at a bagel shop for a few years, it was a NY style deli and the owners were jewish. Around this time every year they would bring us leftover brisket from their seder dinner. Caramelized onions, horseradish and juicy brisket on an everything bagel, how I miss thee. I must make this very soon so I can have leftovers, can’t wait for your noodle recipe!
Oh yeah, I think you might have left out ‘eating’ in between ‘were’ and ‘leftover’ in the second paragraph. I always feel like a pain when I catch things like that, is that something you want us as readers to point out? Personally, I think it’s charming. We are only human after all.
When my children ( now 5&3) were toothless or semi, we soaked some bread in the juice of ‘slow cooker pulled pork’ and soon there after perfected our knife skills by chopping/pulverizing the meat into babyfood. My little ones still like the recipe- even though I continue to tween it. (a s-I-l gAve it to me, but she is find of jarred/packaged ingredients.) Perhaps this would work for your beautiful Jacob.
Thanks for the blog. I enjoy it.
m
Giovani — Thanks, fixed now. And please tell me. I really appreciate it.
That mouth-watering brisket has this Jewish vegetarian dreaming of melt in your mouth brisket. Yum.
Have to say that although the brisket recipe looks delightful and I will eventually make it, the pictures of Jacob sailing, charming his adoring public, and eating cereal were just what I needed to end a long day. He just keeps growing more adorable. . .thanks for sharing him with us!
is that an epicurean cutting board? how do you like it/how long have you had it? i have 3 (one huge one, one for meat that’s black and another the same size for everything else). i’m have the opportunity via a bridal registry to get other cutting boards and would love any suggestions. or just suggestions on must have items.
jen — I like them. A good wood one is my favorite, but I got tired of them stinking to high heaven of hidden garlic and onions (I believe I threw them all out when I was pregnant and would swear I could smell the rotting particles two rooms away; and yes, I’ve tried every trick in the book to remove smells from wooden cutting boards, I chop a lot of onions, none of them worked!) so I asked for suggestions on Twitter and people seemed to like these. They’re perfect for my one counter kitchen because I have them in a bunch of sizes and can easily put them away without it taking up much space; and of course they’re dishwasher safe.
Re: hot dog chili sauce — I haven’t heard the term. Is that like Heinz? Because that’s what I used.
My mom makes an incredibly good brisket with many of the same elements as this one (sans ketchup and chili sauce since my sister is allergic to tomatoes). Hers has prunes, dried apricots, and sweet and white potatoes added to it, with a little bite added by crushed red pepper.
We love brisket and although I have a great recipe, your sounds fabulous! Certainly the pictures make this look incredibly tender and moist. Thanks for sharing your recipe overhaul with us!
Deb,
Can I be any more of an idiot? The only chili sauce I ever knew or heard of was “hot dog” chili sauce. So, while at the store last night, I called my husband who was at home, to look up chili sauce and what it was. He said, “The only chili sauce I see is the hot dog chili sauce”. Something in my gut didn’t sound right, but I got it anyway. I looked on the Mexican food area and could not find chili sauce there either. When I got home I got to work on getting it in to the slow cooker. I never stopped to look on line for myself (since I trust my husband so much…who by the way told me when we were dating to touch a live electric fence and I did) until AFTER I put the lid on the slow cooker.
I put my hot dog chili in the bowl with my ketchup and brown sugar and beef broth. I tasted it before putting it on the brisket. It was pretty good. I had to cut my measurements down because I am making a smaller brisket.
Anyway I thought I would just share with you my mess up and I look forward to trying this one and then making it with the correct kind of chili sauce. I can’t wait for dinner tonight to try this out. Thanks! ps, I made your sour cream pancakes (or Ree Drummonds) and they reminded me of my mom’s cottage cheese pancakes she used to make with her crepe maker! I had been craving her pancakes and a hug from her. These pancakes helped…thanks so much.
Wow! This looks amazing! I’ve been cooking for 40 years and the closest I’ve come to making brisket is corned beef for St. Patrick’s Day. I think I’ll have to give this a try! Love the fact that you don’t have to brown it first.
This sounds so good. $8 a pound for a recipe that calls for an 8 to 10 pound brisket is a bit out of the budget.
Stee — Where is brisket $8 a pound? I buy great quality organic brisket from Whole Foods for $5.99/pound, and the non-organic stuff (from overpriced city stores, to boot) is $3.99/pound. Plus, 8 – 10 pounds could easily feed 16 to 20 people. (I find 1/2 pound brisket per person is a good estimate.)
The serving size says “feeds 8-10” which is about half of what you wrote in your comment about serving size. might want to update if you have a chance.
thanks for the amazing recipe!
This recipe arrived just in time… our plans to go out of town for the weekend were cancelled at the last minute, so I was scrambling to find a recipe to bring to a Passover-themed dinner tonight. I’m Lutheran, and therefore clueless about what the requirements are… Anyway, after a quick trip to the grocery store looking for “allowable” ingredients (including beef stock!!! this was the hardest thing to find without corn syrup or gluten!), this really only took about 20 minutes to throw together last night. It looks beautiful this morning (and the little piece I had to try was delicious). I can’t wait to finish it off after work! The only complaint I have is that I kept waking up throughout the night thinking “why do I smell meat???” Thanks so much!
I am so hungry now after reading your post. I too LOVE brisket. It’s so versatile. I use a recipe (I believe from Southern Living) that is so simple: chili sauce, apricot preserves and sauerkraut. So easy and so good. I also agree with the chilling and reheating in the oven….makes it so easy to prepare ahead. Gotta love easy to prepare meals with BIG payoffs!
One cup of brown sugar in the sauce for the brisket??? What the heck was for dessert?
Stee: I found a pretty cheap, 3 pound brisket at my grocery, but it was not organic. In my family, Brisket is a special occasion meal, only…. So a more expensive version would merely add to the specialness.
Deb: I already had the brisket in the fridge and was reading over my bubby’s recipe with sadness (onion soup mix is NOT Pesadikah). So prefect timing on your post! My kid has not been into my passover substitutions thus far. At least I know she loves the potatoes and carrots I add in during the second cooking session.
The Heinz chili sauce I’ve actually never seen before, why I asked about it. It looks like others are in the same boat. It’s this stuff, for people wondering: http://www.buythecase.net/uploads/products/200/1300000112.jpg
Having just moved and waiting for them to hook up gas, my lonely crockpot will come into good use this weekend! Great timing, Deb.
I love Heinz Chili sauce! I think it’s an underrated ingredient for many, many tasty things…
Thanks for sharing
Wow, hadn’t realized that brisket prices were so all over the place! One thing I like about it is that you can serve a crowd a really nice meat dish without breaking the bank. (I feel the same about short ribs.) Cheap cuts, long braises… yum.
Agreed. I put it on top of my meatloaf and burgers. I add a little brown sugar sometimes for the meatloaf.
My kosher brisket was $14 a pound, I kid not. I can’t wait to make this recipe in my newly bought for Passover slow cooker. Thanks again Deb – I am a long time reader of the site, back before either of us had kids (I have a daughter who will be 1 on Monday).
Just in time for my first brisket! My sister jokes that making your first brisket is a rite of passage for any Jewish person!
As to price, even at Gelson’s it’s $5 a pound, and that’s one of the most expensive stores….
Lovely, one doesn’t need chili sauce, just purchase some chili flakes, 1/4 -1/2 1 teaspoon flakes(for desired flavor) or simmer in olive oil for 1-5 minutes(for other recipes) add finely chopped shallot, chopped onions both red and white, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, a stalk of celery with leaves cut in half, 1-2 carrots sliced, to make any dish/broth juices rich as all the flavors simmer together.
In place of ketchup choose tomato paste 1/2 can, to eliminate the sugar.
*beef stock(homemade)
stewed beef pieces or 1-2” portions, simmer the above ingredients with desired amount water for stock, 2 tbls tomato sauce, use a whole onion, whole carrot, bay leaf, whole parsley, 2-3 blackpepper corns, parsnip, simmer-strain! (freeze too
*chicken stock
use chicken pieces/breast for chicken salad/or a whole chicken, add seasonings, poach until tender/ stain, chicken stock, chicken salad, ect.
*to serve with brisket, boiled potatoes with fresh parsley and chopped chives!
or plain white rice sprinkled with finely chopped red onions
or roasted golden yellow potatoes with sweet potato
vegetable-saueted chopped brocoili rabe with chopped leeks, garlic and tomato, steamed kale with shallot and red onions drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.
dessert-fresh fruit salad
Looking forward to always reading about your delightful recipes.
I almost (almost) don’t want to try this recipe because I loved the last brisket recipe so much. In fact, made it last week and my husband, from Austin, TX and avowed brisket expert, wants brisket no other way from now on. Truly the highest compliment I just had to pass on to you.
I guess we’ll find out if he likes this one as much…
And speeeeeaking of Crock Pots… Deb? Have you ever cooked wheat berries or other grains in yours (in the few short months you’ve actually been using it)? You got me all fired up about Crock Pot bean cookery (3 hrs on high, zero attention and then into tupperware? It just could NOT be easier. Unless I had a staff member to wash my Crock Pot afterwards. And one to go buy the beans…) and now I cook beans in it all the time. I love wheat berry salads but the things take so darned long to cook… ?
mmm.. my husband would love to eat this.. thank you
Here in Texas, brisket is welcome anytime, holiday or not, but for Easter the special on a trimmed brisket is $1.99 a pound! Wish I could send everyone living in $5-8 per pound land a package. I agree with all your recommendations on simplifying the preparation, as I made this with the “embedded” garlic and browning in the oven, and the meal was not one bit better than other briskets I’ve made. The onions make the sauce divine, however! I was feeding a bunch of young folk, so I didn’t strain the sauce, then used my immersion blender to swirl all the onion pieces into oblivion. Just lovely onion flavor, but not evidence!
So…we are planning to make this recipe for Easter dinner. It sounds fantastic.
Is that ok? (Just kidding! =)
Actually, what I want to know is what size slow cooker you have. We bought a ten pound brisket and it is definitely not going to fit in our 6-quart slow cooker all in one piece. Would you recommend cutting it in half or thirds to fit in the slow cooker, or cooking it with the oven method to keep it in one piece?
Rebecca — I have a 6-quart and when brisket doesn’t fit in one slab (happens all of the time) I halve and stack or slightly overlap it. Sometimes I flip the pieces in the morning, when there is an hour or so left, most of the time I forget and nothing bad happens.
Carissa — I haven’t tried it but I should. I hear it is very good for Irish steel-cut oatmeal too. I’ve been cooking beans in it since I busted it out, and cannot stop. They’re so perfect (and easy) every time. It has freed me to buy dried beans as I wish again (like this week at the Greenmarket, some white beans from upstate), not having to get hung up on the cooking process.
Although I barely eat brisket as I remember it as quite a fatty part (am I remembering right?) – any other meat types you’d recommend instead?
Being “one of your people” (actually an Israeli food blogger writing in Hebrew), I liked your reference to the recipe being “…your brisket Elijah”… :-)
BTW – there’s a chance that one of the reasons that your brisket comes out very tender is the (quite) large amount of onions you use – as far as I know onions are full of acids that can be used to tenderize meat – back in the days I wasn’t eating low-fat I used to make lambchops which were marinated in “onion water” – that’s onions and water mashed up in a blender. It made the chops so tender the meat almost fell off the bone. And if you keep some of the mashed onion on the chop while grilling, it gets crispy-caramelized and sweet.
Happy Passover!
Yuval — Thanks for the input. I’ve made brisket with and without the onions with this technique (slow-cooker, resting in fridge, etc.) and it always comes out ridiculously tender. As for the fat, again, I promise that if you follow my suggestions for defatting it (scraping it off the fatty underside once it is cooked, before you have rested it — it comes right off with a spoon and then chilling the whole dish and removing the fat that solidifies on top) you’ll have virtually no fat leftover, and nobody will ever bite into a fatty piece.
The Emeril Passover Brisket is already a favorite. . .but I might just try your version for the brisket coming in my meat delivery this weekend. And I do use the full amount of Siracha (the rooster bottle) when I make the dish–it’s delightfully spicy that way! I highly recommend the leftovers with mashed potatoes. . .yum.
Brilliant idea for storing recipes on Google docs! I hoard recipes (both electronically and in hard copy) and I’ve been needing a place to consolidate and organize them all.
Hey Deb,
You kind of touched upon this with Rebecca’s question, so I just wanted to make sure that it’ll work the same with mine. The place I went to only sold brisket in 1-1/2lb slabs, so I bought 3 (4.5lbs total) for Sunday dinner. Will it be okay if I just stack them in the slow-cooker? Should I put some of the onion mixture in between each piece? What do you think?
Thanks!
Sarah — Yes, you can stack, stagger, slightly overlap them (kind of fanning them across) if you like — I have found that it barely matters the way it lands in the dish. You can smother the onions over or spread them in between. Enjoy.
Finally! Another person into making brisket and pulled pork type dishes in a crock pot! I’ve literally taken a hunk of meat and some barbeque sauce, thrown it in my crock pot on the way out the door and come home to amazing pulled pork. I haven’t made brisket too much in it and I’ll definitely try your recipe. Making me wish I could eat meat today!
Hi
I saw your seven layer cookie recipe and looked it over.
I believe they are truly named rainbow petit fours and being familiar with baking methods I would like to correct your recipe with all due respect, of course.
raspberry preserves are a more common filling aand since the fruit has already been preserved there is no need to re-“preserve” them.
Wax paper should not be used to line the baking dish parchment or aluminum foil will suffice.
I found no need to meringue the egg whites to stiff.
I also found it easier to not transfer bowls just use another one to beat the other ingredients all together.
I used 1/2 jar of preserves to avoid the slipping of layers you describe.
I substitute high cacao content chocolate chips for the bar chocolate. It melts more efficiently and used a full 11.5 oz package.
I melt it in the microwave to avoid adding any accidental moisture to the chocolate which is the cause of chocolate seizing up.
I prefer to refrigerate the cake just enough to harden back to its original texture, not 8 hours as you instruct, before cutting. If you freeze it the chocolate will certainly crack while cutting.
I cut them into 1 1/2 ” pieces.
These fix ups allowed me to make a perfect batch on my first try.
Bon Appetit!
Shari
This sounds absolutely delicious! I am definitely trying this.
I’m SO excited to see this recipe because brisket is fast becoming my absolute nemesis. My husband loves it, swears his grandmother’s was so tender that you barely needed to touch it with your fork, blah blah blah. Every time the sauce comes out great… and the meat is indeed leaden, leathery slabs. Complete with guests hiding it under the charoset. I’m used to cooking meat by temperature rather than time, but I’ve never seen a brisket recipe give a temperature. So my question is this: Am I supposed to be continuing to cook the meat long after it reaches a temperature at which it would be considered done? Or is the object to have the meat take a really long time to reach that temperature? (I’ve never tried it in the slow cooker and I could not be more psyched up to try it.)
I love using my slow cooker, but more often than I’d like I end up with sauce that’s littered with specks of cooked blood/juice from the meat. Has anyone had this experience? I was thinking maybe I need to bring everything to a boil before transferring to the slow cooker to keep the meat juices from running.
I’m curious-did you try the same recipe by just throwing all the ingredients in the slow cooker without sauteing? I make brisket that way all the time and it always comes out delicious and tender. I can’t wait to try this recipe, sounds great. Also, does the liquid go all the way to the top? No risk of it boiling over?
I LOVE your website!
I’m making this right now for the family tomorrow evening. What’s that about not trying out new recipes on guests? I think since you have tested them first it doesn’t count, but I have messed up dishes for company before…here’s to hoping this isn’t one of them! Love your site and your recipes!
sg — Oh, I auditioned this one on guests! However, I’ve made a lot of briskets and felt confident that it couldn’t be too awful. And even if it was, everyone would be polite about it. *Snerk*
Marcia — My liquid didn’t come near the top (and I 3/4-ed the recipe); it went about 1/2 up in a 6-quart. I find that caramelizing the onions slowly at first produces a more mellow flavor and onions more likely to fall apart when they’re done. (When I’ve put onions in raw, they’re very soft but they don’t fall apart as easily after 10 hours.) However, pressed for time, go ahead and throw everything in.
Instead of resting it in the refrigirator try it in a cooler. Wrap it in heavy duty foil and place it in a small cooler to stay warm. It will only last 3 hours, but will tenderize like it was in a smoke box. This essentially how the BBQ joints do it.
I made this last night for company, and everyone loved it!!! It was as easy as you said – and it was my first time ever cooking brisket! I’ve been kind of scared of it – but it was delicious and everyone raved!
I’m Hungry!
i just drooled on my computer. I LOVE BRISKET!
How do you fit a 10 lb brisket in a slow cooker? I thought I had a BIG one, but there is no way a 10lb brisket will fit. I ended up and bought a 7lb :D Cannot wait for it to be ready! Thank YOU!
Hi Myra — I split mine and stack or overlap it. It’s tight, but it still works.
Cooked the brisket all night, and it’s so tender that when I tried to lift it out of the slow cooker with a fork, it spit right in half. Heaven. I made a 3-lb brisket but didn’t reduce the onions or sauce; can’t imagine extra braising liquid will make much difference to the meat, and who doesn’t love extra sauce when it’s full of onions and garlic?! Anyway, it’s resting in the fridge right now. The onions have practically melted away in to the sauce, and I’m having a hard time not sneaking bits every time I pass by the fridge.
Hey Deb,
Hot dog chili sauce is like a beanless chili sauce. You know, like a bowl of chili that you eat with a spoon. Like for a chili dog. With onion and sharp cheddar…
Now that is a brisket I would happily stick my fork into. To be honest, I have never actually made brisket, but know my family would love it if I did.
Mine’s in the crockpot right now and it smells fantastic. I had never heard of that type of chili sauce before! I was soooo close to getting hot dog chili sauce since my grocery store carries around 20 varieties of that kind of chili sauce and only found the right kind after looking it up on my phone. A tip for other southerners – look near the ketchup, not the chili.
I just made brisket for the first time a couple of months ago, using the Pioneer Woman recipe. It was delicious, but as I was making it, I wondered why I couldn’t just put it in the crock pot. Clearly, the answer is that I could, and will!
This is the first time I’ve cooked Brisket. Mine is resting and will be our Easter lunch. I can hardly wait. it smelled incredible this morning when I took it out of the slow cooker.
Can’t talk…must find food…pictures making me hungry!!!
omg… that looks sooooo good!!! i wish i had a slow cooker!!
For kosher people, you can use Heinz Organic Ketchup, which has no corn syrup. Also, oriental sweet chili sauces, such as Mae Ploy would work fine. I made my own brined brisket for corned beef this year, and look forward to trying this way of cooking brisket.
My brisket is in the crock pot as I type. I’m just about to head to bed and the apartment smells so good already — I think I’ll be in for sweet dreams tonight. I had a tough time finding brisket in the stores — maybe it was all sold out for Passover?
Oooh, does like like a lovely fall-apart recipe. I’m sure I can find sub something I make for the ketchup and chili sauce without corn syrup- since Conservative Ashkenazic Jews also generally follow the no corn, soy et cetera rules. I wish it was just the Orthodox :)
Hi,
Is there another name for this part of the cow? maybe breast?
Looks good :)
I have tried to make a good brisket for over fifty-five years of my married bliss and have never – not EVER made one as good as this. I followed your directions precisely (something I hardly ever do!) and it absolutely melted in our mouths. Thank you so much – and I made your brownies too and they were a dream come true. I am yours forever!
My 8-pound brisket disappeared at our family ‘Passover’ meal – really just an excuse to get together and eat the treasured-family-recipe matzoh ball soup. Turns out a 3-qt slow cooker is not big enough for a 8# brisket, so I put 1/2 in the oven and was able to run a head-to-head taste test. All of it was delicious, but the crock-pot portion was so, so, so tender and perfect. I’ve already ordered my new 6-qt Hamilton Beach slow-cooker so we can fit the whole brisket in there next time (next week, maybe?). Thank you and happy holidays!
Thank goodness for the cooking method you outlined here. I made a different recipe (your was posted hours AFTER I had finished my grocery shopping for our seder and I was locked into the other) but used your slow-cooker cooking method. It was utter perfection. Thanks for the detailed guidance, it made my first brisket such a hit people were asking for portions to take home!
I made this for Easter dinner today. It was AWESOME!!!! And I have never made brisket before. I started the 3.3 pounder in the slowcooker around 7:30 this morning, and it was done in 6 hours. The only thing I did different was to use Worcestershir- infused pepper instead of regular pepper. Amazingly easy and tender! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I will pass it on!
Success. Everyone enjoyed the brisket. Can’t wait to use all the sauce this week for leftovers!!
I made this for Passover yesterday and it was a HIT. I was told my BEST brisket to date! I made it the night before and I thin it was the key.
I used Korean Sweet Chili sauce and added some Sriacha when I realized it didn’t necessarily call for sweet chili sause but it was AWESOME!!! thanks for posting.
Do you know that I am so Texan that until I was an adult, I was unaware that anyone cooked brisket in any manner other than by using a smoker? Maybe that’s Texan, maybe that’s called living-under-a-rock. Who knows. But since I’ve ventured outside of my rock, I’ve learned to love brisket in other ways too – and I LOVE this. The slow cooker is a life-saver, especially when it can turn a sometimes-hectic holiday meal into a simple one – and all the more delicious! Great job.
We just had this tonight! It was so good!! I was a bit worried about all that sugar, ketchup, and chili sauce making it too sweet, but it was absolutely perfect. Also, your beautiful photos and writing inspired me to go straight to the store and buy 8 lbs. of meat without a thought. It wasn’t until later that I realized I should’ve at least halved the recipe, as I was cooking only for two… [note to self: don’t read SK while hungry!]
AZUSA, “don’t read SK while hungry!” ain’t that the truth! (Another gal from AZ!)
I made this recipe for Easter,with a few tweaks and enjoyed it very much.However,i wasnt able to cut it into neat slices as in the picture shown.While cutting it,it was splitting into pieces- is it because I had overcooked it?How can I cut it into slices instead of shredding it?
Thanks
Amy
Amy — Was it completely chilled when you sliced it? That’s, for me, the trick to getting clean slices.
So funny–I love that Emeril Passover Brisket recipe and it’s my go-to crowd pleaser. This year I was pressed for time so I, too, used the slow cooker and basically after browning the meat just threw everything in. I didn’t use my brains like you did with cutting down the liquid, though, so I think I put in too much broth and the end result had a really thin sauce. Thanks for putting this out there–I love being able to use the slow cooker!
I made this and it was fabulous. Just one tiny piece left after I took it to my small group Easter brunch. Great call on scraping off the fat while it was still hot, then de-fatting the sauce when chilled. Also great call to let the flavors develop over a few hours. One question I had was the cutting: in order to not make a mess, I cut with the grain of the meat but then I felt bad because the pieces were pretty solid. But to cut against the grain, it would have fallen apart. What did you do? Maybe my knife wasn’t sharp enough. Or maybe you’re just supposed to cut brisket with the grain.
Anyway, I am dreaming of dinners I will make this week the bucketloads of leftover sauce I have at home right now!
I cut against the grain, always and use a sharp chefs knife. It will wish to crumble and some pieces will break, but most should stay intact if it is truly completely cold.
I made this for Easter dinner with a Kosher brisket. I used 1/2 cup maple syrup instead of the sugar, and it was delicious. I forgot to cut it while it was cold, so I just used a fork to separate it when it was done. Not ideal, but it worked out okay.
Thanks so much for this recipe – I’ve never tried to cook brisket before, and this was a cinch. So good with tarragon mashed red potatoes and sauted garlicky green beans. Impressed my gourmet parents for a celebratory Pesach/Easter/Pagan/what-the-heck-ever-it’s-finally-SPRING! dinner. Great with a Reserve Zinfandel.
I followed this recipe to the letter and it was delicious! Lots of four letter words were dropped, in the good way.
But learn from my mistakes: DON’T OVERFILL YOUR SLOW COOKER. Sheesh, what a mess (but totally worth it)!
Thank you for responding to my question,about slicing the meat.I did not slice the meat when cool- it was delicious all the same.
Thanks
Amy
Hey Deb, this was actually really good, using ketchup (heresay in my family) and cooking it in a sauce. The only problem was no burnt ends. I didn’t catch about cutting the sauce back and it made a lot. I left about two cups in the crockpot and cooked pinto beans in it while we were gone and my husband said it was a cross between barbeque and ranch style beans. I did add more broth and spices to the beans, but then I tweaked the brisket too.
Sandwiches made with the broiche rolls were excellent. Besides mashed or baked potatoes, think steak fries and cheddar cheese.
And please tell everyone “NO” to the hotdog chili sauce-it’s just totally gross!!
I made this for our Easter Saturday (stupid work spoiling holidays!) and it was fantastic! So easy and it came out beautifully. I’m usually a big wussy when it comes to large cuts of meat, but reading your recipe just made it seem so doable! Thanks!
oh… and I kept the extra sauce with the meat and I’m having it for lunch with pasta and asparagus and lots of the sauce. Super yummy.
Thank you for this wonderful Passover recipe. It was dinner on Sunday, and then left-overs tonight. Luckily I had purchased Kosher for Passover chili sauce. And while I didn’t have Kosher for Passover ketchup, I subbed a can of tomato sauce and added some extra brown sugar. Fabulous!
I made this two nights ago and it was amazing! Brisket sandwiches are great too. I had to cut the brisket in half to fit it into the slow cooker, so I also had to half the rest of the recipe. My first brisket and it wasn’t difficult. Like I said, amazing!
Hi, Deb! I just wanted to say thanks for another great recipe and tutorial. I can’t even remember if I’ve made a (non-corned) brisket before, but if I had, it must not have been very memorable. This one turned out GREAT, despite my adaptations.
I only made a five-pounder (or just under), but I did not halve the sauce–I wanted plenty to serve over German-style egg noodles. I did, however, cut the brown sugar in half, and I believe I would do that again in the future, regardless of the size of the roast (it was still very sweet, though not cloyingly so). Mine was probably also a bit spicier, as I omitted the ketchup and used a pint of my homemade chili sauce (from the Ball Blue Book). Recipe here: http://lindseysluscious.blogspot.com/2008/09/canning-class-and-best-cupcakes-ever.html
And though I adore my slow cooker, I recently moved, and I’m not sure which box it’s in. So I made this in my new LC Dutch oven, cooking it overnight (200 degrees for 9 hours), then chilling for about the same time. I brought the sauce to a boil while I was defatting and slicing the meat, then finished it all in the oven for about 45 minutes at 350. As everyone else reports, the brisket was very flavorful, and the pieces usually split in half when you tried to pick them up, as they were so tender!
My only regret is refrigerating the meat in the Dutch oven instead of a smaller, less heat-retaining vessel. It never did get cold enough for the fat to solidify, so I had to skim the oil off the top like you might do for gravy, but it was still greasier than I would have preferred. However, after refrigerating the leftovers, it was easy to get the remaining solid fat off the top of the sauce tonight before reheating for meal #2.
Anyway, thanks again! –Gina
Since you mentioned Jacob and feeding him real people food, I’m curious to know what types of things you’re giving him. We’re maybe starting real food for our daughter soon…as someone who loves food, I’m wanting to give her good stuff, not just some processed junk. Curious to hear what you’re doing.
nithya — We literally just started last week; a little oat/barley/spelt cereal in the morning and I made some (delicious, so good it’s hard to share!) apple sauce over the weekend. Today, I’m making peach sauce. Would people like it if I shared recipes? I can try to do a side blog with what I’m cooking, though the “recipes” are really simple.
My brisket came out tough :( I think the problem was putting it in the slow cooker for four hours on high–silly me, I thought that would be equivalent. But the flavor is so amazing, I’m looking forward to trying again!
I made a 3.5 pound version of the brisket with half the sauce/onions and it was fabulous – a little on the juicy side but that was expected due to my over saucing. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe!
And I absolutely think you should share your baby food recipes. Unprocessed, healthy, and delicious baby food is a rarity and I have a feeling you might have some great insight on the topic.
This was fantastic. I followed your directions to the letter, including later notes on fitting it into the slowcooker. Thank you for your responses. It was a huge hit. Next time I’ll probably throw in more onions and some sriracha chili sauce to give it a little more kick, but for now, we have yummy leftovers in the fridge and we sent some leftovers home with guests.
I, too, am a Texan who wouldn’t otherwise have thought to put a brisket in the slowcooker. Warning: if you cook it overnight, the yummy scent might wake you up at 3am, and if you can fall back asleep at all, you will dream of brisket.
Thank you!
Hi Deb! I loved your SW brisket, and assembled this new recipe this morning–it’s in the slow cooker now. But reading through comments, it says you shouldn’t use the packaged, organic brisket with spice packet? That’s what I used last time…and that’s what I’ve got in my slow cooker now (sans spice packet).
Could you or someone explain why that is bad? I know it’s brined, but isn’t that a good thing? Now I’m curious to try it with the non-packaged type of brisket to understand the difference! Thank you!
Jeena — I think they were talking about corned beef? I’m honestly not certain as I’ve never seen brisket packed with spices.
Deb, thank you–yes, it is corned beef brisket. I didn’t realize there was a different kind of brisket!
Deb, Brisket is my traditional Easter dinner with pommes anna and steamed asparagus. The spicy addtion of cayenne was a huge hit this year and everyone noticed the pre-carmeilzed onions tasted sweeter than past years recipes. Thanks for my new “official” brisket recipe.
PS I would LOVE to hear what you’re cooking for Jacob. I have a special needs son who only eats pureed foods and we’re always on the lookout for new recipes that puree well or are easy to chew and swallow.
Deb, brisket is $8/lb in the Boston ‘burbs at the major supermarket chains and only in towns that have a big Jewish community. It was $7 a pound at Whole Foods. I couldn’t find plain brisket in my everyday grocery. Corned beef we gots plenty of. I finally found it for $4/lb at the big warehouse club. Bought a 6 pounder and it’s resting in the fridge for dinner tonight.
This looks good. I’ve never done the slow cooker, only oven and stovetop or on my big green egg (takes forever but….)
The best brisket I’ve ever made is Paul Prudhomme’s Seasoned America. I make it for sandwiches and take it yearly to our UofM media tailgate. Many a famous Wolverine asks for these year after year.
Question for Deb or anyone-would this recipe work for a bison roast? I am pretty clueless about preparing meat in my own home (though I love to eat it!), and bought a big bison roast for my husbands birthday. Is a roast different than a brisket? If yes, any suggestions of a good recipe for bison-which I know is less fatty, and less moist, than beef? Thanks for any help…I have 8 people coming over and want it to go well!
I also used the sriracha sauce, but I did a half cup because I though it was a lot of heat. When I starting thinking, hmm maybe that’s not what she meant by chili sauce, I ask some family what they thought chili sauce was and sriracha was not the response. Whoops, oh well it had some heat but it was still damn good ;)
I was going to try this over the weekend and was wondering if I could toss in carrots and potatoes as well? My husband was really craving those two things along side the meat. I was thinking that I could just pull them out with the meat, blend the sauce and add them back in? Yes?
Dear Deb, THANKS for the recipe! I’m celebrating my birthday with my family tomorrow. I wanted to make something completely different for them (my mom is an excelent cook, but in the Spanish traditional way) and I thought this would be a great choice, since all the recipes I’ve used from your website have turned out great.
It seem butchers in Spain don’t know the brisket type cut, so I had to google a bit and showed the cut to him. Also, cows over here seem to be smaller than in the US, because the brisket turned out to be only 2.5 pounds! So the butcher substituted the rest of the weight from cuts from the same area, though thinner (that’s all I could get!). We are going to be 10, so I calculated 8 pounds.
I also had to substitute chili sauce, Heinz doesn’t seem to distribute it in Spain, but thank God for Google! I used 1 cup tomato sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp vinegar (I used aged white wine vinegar), 1/4 tsp cinnamon and a whole clove.
I used a dutch oven (no slowcookers around here either) but I had to cook the meat for 6 hours (and maybe it could have cooked a bit over that). I just took it out of the oven half an hour ago (yep, it’s almost 2 after midnight!) and it’s just DELICIOUS! :-) Had to add about a cup of water to the sauce because it had dried a bit, the vegetables just dissaperared when I mushed them with a fork and it tastes delish!
The grease came off beautifully. I changed it to a normal oven dish so that it would cool sooner, and it’s already stuck in the fridge. We’ll have it for lunch tomorrow, I’ll side it with rice sprinkled with caramelized chalottes. I’m really looking forward to it. THANKS SO MUCH!
I have tried all the butchers near me and several further away – including the friendly German fellow on the other side of town – and NONE of them seem to know what a cut of Brisket is when I asked (Ahhhh, the down-falls of living in Australia…).
After pulling out my iPhone and showing this page, the closest I could get was a nice looking piece of grain-fed topside … I’m assuming that should work in the same way? The only thing which concerns me is that there is about the same amount of fat on it as I would prefer on my hips. Which is to say, none. In your humble opinion, would it work in the same way?
8 to 10 pound brisket makes 8-10 servings??? Boy, you really like your brisket :) A pound per person? I get 10 servings from 5 lbs. Hmm, maybe my brisket isn’t as good? Na, I think it is…
Anyway, I don’t own a slow cooker so I have to cook it for 6 +/- hours. I just recently I made one with so many shortcuts and it turned out great. I guess it’s hard to ruin a brisket unless it’s undercooked and tough.
Hey, I love everything about your blog – every recipe I’ve tried has been perfect and your pics are gorgeous! I’m writing from my own tiny kitchen in Toronto, Canada, and I need to know… can I rest the brisket overnight? I’m cookin’ for my husband’s birthday tomorrow and trying to prep as much tonight cuz we have a 3 year old and a 10 week old :-) Thank you!
Rebecca — Do you mean when you chill it? Absolutely. The recipe says ‘for several hours or up to one day’.
This was the first time I’ve cooked brisket, and using the slow-cooker method, the sauce & meat were delicious together! However, although the brisket was falling apart in sections parallel to the grain, it wasn’t as tender as I was expecting – I suspect this may have to do with one of two things: the cut of brisket I found at Westside Market had very little visible fat; indeed, there was literally no solidified fat in the sauce after chilling it in the fridge. Perhaps this was a freakishly lean cut of brisket? Alternatively, I cooked it in the slow-cooker on low for a bit longer than the recipe states, about 11.5 hours – would this have resulted in a tougher meat?
Thanks for another tasty, tasty recipe!
nyceliac — 1.5 hours could make a difference, but it is hard to say. I’m not sure the lack of fat would keep it from being soft…
Looks delicious! This is very similar to a recipe I make, except I carmelize the onions and add them to the slow cooker/dutch oven about halfway through the cooking time. The carmelized onions taste fantastic, and they break down in cooking and eliminate the need to puree or mash the sauce before reheating.
I made had this brisket for dinner last night and it was fantastic. I have never cooked brisket before and I did not even know what part of the cow it comes from so while I was removing fat and cutting cold brisket last night my dear other half googled and we discovered that it comes from the chest area of the cow – maybe this cut has a different name in Aus – and it tends to require the long slow cooking as it is a heavily used muscle. My attempt turned out beautifully so thanks Deb for the stunning recipe. Leftovers for dinner tonight, yay!
We entertained a group of 10 this past Friday, and I served the brisket and the Roasted Grainy Mustard potatoes on this site! Yumm..many compliments. I never feel unsure when I am serving one of your recipes, and I have not tried it before.
Oh, and I also baked your brownies that you adapted from Cook’s Illustrated. I was not wild about those, but I think it was because I over-baked them. There were so many comments about over/under baking them…I think I micro-managed them a bit too much!
I always look forward to your recipes,AND seeing pictures of Jacob! I have tried many of your recipes. Thanks so much!
I’m in the middle of making this for the second time and just had to write and say thanks for the recipe. My somewhat picky boyfriend said it’s among his favorite things I’ve ever made. Of course, he doesn’t eat sweets so that eliminates a lot of the things on your blog I’ve made, but he did love the caramel pudding and actually requests it on occasion.
I would like to add my name to the hat of people who would love your baby food “recipes” even though you say they’re barely recipes at all. I think I saw on twitter that you are using Elise Bauer’s applesauce recipe, but can you let us know any others? I’d love to recommend some to my boyfriend’s preggo sister and maybe mix some with yogurt for myself.
Hey Deb. This recipe enticed me such that I just had to make it when one of my best friends was coming into town this past weekend. My only problem? I have no clue what “brisket” is. So I went to the store and poked around the meat selections, and found the only thing that said “brisket.” It was a “corned beef brisket.” Now, to my ignorance, I figured, “Well, brisket is brisket, right?” It isn’t like there’s more than one kind.”
WRONG. Good gawd, wrong. So, just in case you ever wanted to know…as delicious as this recipe looks, it is absolutely vile when made with “corned beef brisket.” =)
Cheers!
Why in heaven’s name would you half the sauce recipe even with a smaller brisket? Because the sauce is worthy of its own shrine! I was working with a 4-lb brisket and we still ate up all the sauce. OH MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY! THIS IS SO FREAKING GOOD! I think you should amend the recipe to say rest overnight in fridge, heat up, then cool down, put back in fridge and reheat the 2nd night for the best best best flavor. By the way, just to obsessively beat my drum about recycling crock pots, what do you do when your crock pot is too small for an 8-10 lb slab of beef? Why you buy a second crock pot at the thrift store for $8 and then you get two of them going at once! Recalls be damned!
Also I serve it with your PERFECT potato pancakes, just to drive everyone insane.
Deb – thanks to your blog, I’m working on my reputation as an awesome cook.
I don’t think I had ever eaten brisket before, but the recipe inspired me to host a dinner party. It was incredible! The only problem was that there was so much gravy left over and I don’t know what to do with it. I was thinking about using it as a base for a chili – any chance you can suggest a recipe that it might go with?
Wow, what a tempting recipe. I’ve been planning on trying to cook a brisket in my smoker for some time and I think I’ll adapt this.
I seem to suffer from a chronic lack of ingredients, as, when I made this, I had neither ketchup nor chili sauce in the house. I substituted watered-down tomato paste and brown sugar for the ketchup, and jarred tomato sauce with brown sugar and some spices for the chili sauce, but did everything else according to the recipe. The beef was so tender that it just fell apart with a touch; it was impossible to lift if out of the slow cooker without chunks of it falling off. The sauce was delicious and my house smelled wonderful all night and into the morning, as I cooked it overnight. I’ll definitely make this again.
Hi Deb,
Thank you for an AWESOME Recipe. I followed this recipe to tee for a brisket half the size listed in the directions and all of my family members loved it. The meat was “falling apart” tender. It was a big hit. Thanks again!!!
I finally made this. The chili sauce added just the right kick. It was SO good. Like Chloe, I couldn’t really lift it easily out of the crock pot, but it was wonderful. I will definitely make this again.
I too found that brisket was too expensive in my area, so I did this recipe with a 3 lb. boston butt (“pork shoulder” for you non-southerners), mixed the onions in with the sauce, ran it through the food processor and let it all hang out for 10 hrs in the slow cooker. I served the bbq with your mustard roastard potatoes — my fiance was in heaven! I could have used a little more heat, though — would you up the cayenne, or possibly throw in some pickled jalapenos, serranos, or green chile sauce? Thanks for (yet another) great recipe!
I know I’m a bit late to the party on this one, but I may have to rest my brisket for 4 or 5 days. I cooked it on Saturday night, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to eat it until Friday! Will it, um, die?
Made this yesterday, but in the oven rather than in the slow cooker. After 6 hours of cooking it was very tender with a bit of flaking at the sides but basically sliced into recognisable slices. Everyone loved it. I am looking forward to reheating the leftovers so that the meat properly collapses into the stew. I think next time I’ll do it in the slow cooker. Definitely a hit.
Revisited this today with the Instant Pot which made it miles easier. 4 and a bit lb of rolled brisket. I halved the ingredients for the sauce, considered reducing them further to account for the pressure cooking but am glad I didn’t. I used a cup of tomato ketchup with just a little sriracha for the benefit of my 3.5 year old. I cut the string on the brisket before putting it in but didn’t unroll it. Didn’t brown the brisket first, straight in the IP. 1.5 hours on high and full natural release. Now reheating in the oven in delicious flaky slices with the blended sauce poured over them whilst I make mash. We didn’t think the sauce needed reducing. Absolutely delicious and very easy in the IP.
Thank you for your comments about the Insta pot. Can you please tell me the size of your insta pot that you used for the brisket?
Mine is a 5.5 litre IP Duo (?). I forgot to add that I also put two stock cubes in because my stock cubes are a bit wishy-washy!
I made this 2 days ago and finally had the pleasure of trying it tonight. I made it in the slow cooker and accidentally put the meat in the fridge without the sauce. Right before I put it in the oven I re-read the recipe and quickly realized my mistake. I remade the sauce and heated it for effect then blended it together. It still came out amazing! Thank You so much for sharing your recipe, my husband and I loved it :)
Deb,
Can I slow cook this in an oven at 200?
Absolutely. I can’t tell you how long it will take exactly, but I imagine it will be around the same amount of time.
Should I use first cut brisket or top of brisket? Both are Kosher if it matters….
I am not sure that I know the difference… is top a cut?
Top of Brisket is AKA top of the rib…..Does that help?
I’m so sorry — I should know more about these things because I have no idea what I bought. It was just, um, labeled brisket. Obviously, I have a lot of learning to do about cuts. In the meanwhile, however, tell your butcher you have a recipe for a slow cooked brisket and ask if he thinks both cuts will work. He/she will know better than anyone.
I used your recipe with a caribou brisket–delicious! Thank you!
So disappointed. Made this for Rosh Hashana yesterday (well, the night before) and my slow cooker must cook way too high bec after the 10 hrs on low the meat was already falling apart and difficult to cut. Of course the sauce was still good, but overcooked brisket is dry brisket. Oh well, I guess I’ll keep this recipe in the oven for now (which I have made many times from Emerill and loved). Happy New Year anyway!!
Jenn: i totally understand. I used the slow cooker and had it on low, but after it cooked on low for 10 hours it stayed on a warm setting for about 1.5 hours and i think it overcooked it :-(. I have it in the fridge now to cool and i’m HOPING the brisket won’t be too dry. I tried the sauce and it is YUMMY.
This is a terrific recipe and will be one I make again. I made it as directed, although halved the recipe and had to use a pot roast as brisket is not readily available in my area. I always make my own chili sauce, essentially ketchup with small amounts of garlic/onion powder, chili powder and cayenne, and a bit of horseradish. I baked it slowly in the oven (225 for about 7 hours or so) and tried not to be too tempted to serve it immediately instead of chilling it overnight. Fabulous recipe. Thank you Deb.
trimmed or untrimmed? i have never cooked a brisket before and based on my discussion with the butcher it sounds as if untrimmed is more flavorful.
Hi there!
I just made this brisket for my hanukkah party and the guests went nuts! I served it as brisket “sliders” (sliders is in quotes because the buns weren’t THAT small) with butter pickles and horseradish. Amazing! Your better potato pancakes were also featured and were a total hit. My brother even pulled me aside to say that they were better than grandma’s. Eep!
Thanks for all of the recipe inspirations. And, happy holidays!
I love your blog but have never made anything from it; just drooled over the pictures and recipes. I made your tangy brisket for dinner for the meeting of my parents and my fiancee’s parents for the first time. Both mothers are amazing cooks so I had alot to live up to but it turned out amazing and I got rave reviews. A 10 pound brisket barely fit in my crock pot and I had to freeze half of it because it made entirely too much. 10 pound brisket definitely makes way more than 8-10 servings. I am always looking for fun ways to use my crock pot so keep the recipes coming.
This is the most phenomenal brisket I’ve ever made. I don’t know how you could make it better. It’s so easy and the taste is amazing. I plan on doing it again in a few weeks and having friends over to prove to them that it’s that good.
I made this for dinner last night. I set it up in the slow cooker Sunday night, a little worried about having to do more prep Monday morning before work, since I normally can’t do ANYTHING in the morning that isn’t directly related to getting my ass out the door to work… But it was easy, every step of the way. It smelled so fabulous Monday morning, it was all I could think about at work. It was really wonderful, such beautiful sauce and the caramelized beef, mmmm mmmm mmmm. I’ve had my slow cooker for years and hardly ever use it, but this recipe has won me over. If everything I make in it can be this good, I will use it all the time!
How do you manage to get such a large brisket into a slow cooker? I cannot imagine all the ingredients plus the meat fitting in.
fran — If yours is too big, you can cut it in half and stack or overlap the pieces.
My brisket is resting at home in the fridge- I’ve been thinking about it constantly all day, after the little taste I had this morning when I pulled it out of the slow cooker. I cannot wait for dinner tonight!
Is it ok to put potatoes, carrots, etc. in the slow cooker with the brisket or will they turn to mush?
I’d just put them in towards the end, maybe just the last hour.
I have been making Emeril’s Passover brisket recipe for several years and my family and other Passover guests adore it. It isn’t really harder than yours, but I might give yours a try this year. My only problem is whether or not I can get the large brisket I need into a six quart slow cooker. By the way, Sams Club has amazing prices and great quality brisket. If you don’t need Kosher, this is the way to go.
Jane — I regularly halve and then stack/overlap the brisket parts with no problem when the piece is too big. Halfway through, I might rotate the pieces.
I used this recipe last week to make pulled pork and it turned out phenomenally! I cut an eight pound pork shoulder in half and crammed it into my rather small slow cooker. I used a sweet chili spring roll dipping sauce I had in the fridge instead of chili sauce, reduced the brown sugar to compensate for the additional sweetness in the sweet chili sauce. It turned out great! After cooking the pork, I simply shredded it and served it on some nice buns with a quick homemade coleslaw.
This looks great–I’m planning on making this for my lil Seder this year. I’m thinking of using a 4-lb brisket and using the slow cooker method. Would you recommend adjusting the cooking times or leaving it as is?
The most awesome brisket recipe – LOVE
My mom has finally relinquished Passover and while I spent the better part of childhood and adulthood traumatized by her brisket, I thought I’d give yours a try for the holiday. So, I’ve made it and just tasted the sauce and it is really spicy. I like it but I know several of my guests will find it too much. Any suggestions for how to remedy this? Aside from cooking something else?
Ever since my mom passed 2 years ago — and I can no longer call her on the phone for advice on the mouth watering brisket that won the heart of even my brother’s surly grandfather-in-law — I’ve been searching for her brisket recipe. I think my search has ended. This one looks and seems like it will smell and taste exactly like the one I so long for. Thank you – and I just love your site.
I made this for our seder last night and it tasted wonderful. One problem was the meat fell apart when it was reheated. That didn’t stop anyone from gobbling it up. Perhaps I had too much sauce and not enough brisket (5 lbs) and cut the slices too thin. I will make it again because the flavor was perfect with the kugel. Thanks for another winner!
I have been looking for the perfect brisket recipe after a few disastrous attempts. I made this brisket last night for our seder dinner and it turned out perfect! I was actually dancing in my kitchen with glee from finally conquering my fear of the dry/tough brisket. My in-laws loved it, my husband was proud and even my toddler son who’s not a big fan of beef couldn’t get enough of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making our seder dinner wonderfully delicious!
Made this for Easter yesterday- a 4 lb roast for 4 adults and two 7 year olds. TO DIE FOR (and rise again!). THought I’d have plenty of leftover- wrong! Everyone was still moaning over it today- yummmmm! Thank you! Served it w/ sauteed greens (black kale, beet greens and red chard), roasted new potatoes, and my mother’s PA Dutch pickled beets and eggs (plus a few other Passover items brought by my bf- matzoh & the apple mix and horseradish dish). The perfect holiday for a pagan, Jesus loving, Budhhist, Jewish-Wanna-Be. Another hit from SK!
Yum! Thought I loved the recipe I’d been making all these years, but this one is the best! Cooked an 8 lb.brisket for 9 people, there were 2 slices left over!!! Our guests were moaning with enjoyment. Your instructions were perfect, and I wouldn’t change a thing about this recipe! Love your blog.
This has been our favorite-in tacos with slaw and greek yogurt on top. Baby is too little to stare us down-but it’s coming soon.
Deb, this brisket recipe is the one I’ve been searching for! I made it for Passover last month, and people are STILL talking about it. Unfortunately, it was gone by the time I sat down, so I just got to lick the sauce at the bottom of the pan. I made it exactly as written, except I had to substitute a kosher for Passover beef bullion for the beef broth because that’s all I could find. I just found you a few months ago, and I’ve been spreading the word to all my friends and family whenever they compliment my food!
I doubled this recipe for my father-in-law’s 75th birthday dinner, and boy, did everyone love it. Perfect for a crowd, but you may have to borrow an extra slow cooker or two. I will search no longer for the best brisket recipe. Thanks, Deb!
I had been wanting to make this for a really long time. I’d never cooked brisket before. The problem was, I don’t cook for a crowd very often, and brisket is usually sold in huge hunks. Then the other day I found a pretty 1.5 lb hunk. Yay! Of course, I had to modify the heck out of this recipe. I eyeballed the sauce measurements, and since I didn’t have chili sauce I used a dash of hot pepper sauce and some oyster sauce (cause it’s kinda sweet) and a dash of apple cider vinegar. No slow cooker either, so I plopped the thing in a dutch oven at 250 for four hours. The sauce needed no straining or blending–I skimmed the fat but otherwise left it as it was. Yum! I served with garlic mashed potatoes–perfect! Served 3.
I need to double this recipe. Can I do this in the oven with one of those oven bags?
I made this two nights ago (for Rosh Hashanah). It was the first time I made brisket, and the first time I used a slow cooker. It was fantastic. Thanks for the inspiration! I felt like a real Jewish momma!
Made this for the 3rd time yesterday. I accidentally used cocktail sauce instead of chili sauce. It still worked great, but not quite as great as the Heinz Chili Sauce. LOL. My family LOVES this recipe Deb!
OK-my official new brisket recipe. So easy and wonderful. Instead of getting 2-10 lb. briskets, I got 3 seven pounders, so I tripled the sauce recipe. I cooked each one in its own oven bag at 350 degrees for 3.5 hours. They came out perfectly. I stored them overnight in their bags, skimmed off the fat from the gravy, carved the meat and put it all into a large steamer pan. (I only used two of the three portions of gravy.) So delicious. My guests preferred this recipe to my standard one. It tasted a little more hamish because of the chili sauce and ketchup than my normal fresh rosemary, thyme and red wine version. A definite winner! THANKS SO MUCH!!
I looked over all the comments and could not find an answer to my question. Does half the size of the brisket mean half the cooking time in the slow cooker?
No, I wouldn’t halve the cooking time. A small piece of brisket takes just as long for the slow-cooker’s heat to work through it. That said, you might find you can take it off a little early by checking in between 8 and 9 hours. But 10 shouldn’t overcook it.
I made ‘brisket pizza’ last night with some left-over brisket – and it was amazing! I mised some of the sauce with some tomato past for the pizza sauce and then added jalepenos, red onion, capsicum, pieces of brisket and cheese on top of a puff pastry base and it was amazing! It was a brilliant use of left over brisket (this had been in the freezer for about 6 weeks). Yum yum!
I finally made this last night after talking myself out of it for over a year. What was I waiting for?? I was a bit scared because after I took it out of the slow-cooker it seemed a bit tough… but 3-4 hours of resting and another hour of slow oven cooking somehow turned it into a tender beefy dream! Hahaha. I served it with a nice spring salad and your apple cheddar scones. The sauce was just delicious, and I shredded the beef kind of like pulled pork. Love your site, as always! Can’t wait for that cookbook!
The good news? The brisket was delicious. The bad news? I had a 2-1/2 lb brisket that was just a little too big for my baking dish, so I used my large roaster. It’s dark colored, non-stick. The juices burned the bottom of the pan, and my efforts to get them up only ruined the pan. So, I made a poor decision. But I think I’ll try this recipe again in the smaller dish. Or use this as an excuse to buy a slow cooker. :)
Sorry to be dense, but want to clarify portion size for various sized groups. Top of recipe for an 8-10 pound brisket says, “8-10 servings”, but later down you say figure 1/2 lb/person (which with my advanced math would be 16-20 people). Am thinking of doing a trial run of this for a party of 6 this weekend in anticipation of a larger group (12-15) for Passover. Advice?
Love your site, looking forward to your book!
WOW!!!This looks awesome I have to give this recipe a try.
Hi Deb-
I’m a bit confused. I’m at the point where I removed it from the sow cooker and I put it in a casserole dish into the fridge. But, what do I do with the saucy juices left in the slow cooker? Don’t I want that for later? I am planning on starting in on the brisket tomorrow so I don’t know what is best to do with the pot sauce until then.
Pour them in! They go in with the brisket too. If you end up with more than you can fit in the casserole dish, save it in a separate container and serve it alongside the brisket.
Holy sh**! This brisket is ridiculously amazing!!! I’m making it for Passover and using close to 30 guests as guinea pigs, but after tasting it I know I don’t have to worry- this is seriously unreal!! Thank you!!!
hi! making this for passover right now! Deb, maybe it’s just me, but I could not fit 2 4lb briskets plus onions and sauce into my 6 quart slow cooker :-(. I am doing half in the slow cooker and half in the oven. Maybe make a note in the recipe that an 8lb brisket might not fit in a 6 quart slow cooker? It would have saved me some grief! Thanks and I love your blog so so so tremendously much.
HI,
I planned to make this in the slow cooker overnight but once I got started(at 8:00 tonight) there was no way my 10 lbs of brisket was going to fit along with the sauce and onions, even stacked and shoved in. Instead I put it in the oven and cooked it for 4 hours- it is not tender but I am afraid to cook it much longer, plus, I am exhausted. Can I save this recipe? Cook it longer when I reheat for the seder maybe? I have no luck with brisket! help.
Hi Erica — You should be able to cook it longer. Usually 350 for 3 to 4 hours is enough (?) for me but I don’t know that I’ve ever done a full 10 pounds.
Thanks for the great recipe, Deb! Made your brisket for a seder with my in-laws last night and it was perfect! No one even complained about it not being exactly like dear old grandma’s. :) Using the crockpot was SO easy. I did find that the brisket wasn’t quite as tender as I wanted after 10 hours, so I gave it another 45 min and it was perfect. For those who had trouble getting it to slice without shredding, make sure it’s very well chilled, use a sharp knife, and make the slices thick. Mine were close to half an inch thick. Even so, there was still a bit of shredding along the edges, but no one minded a bit. It’s a side of effect of it being so tender!
I’ve got this brisket in the crock pot right now–smells wonderful. But I wish I’d thought to ask whether to put the fatty side up or down when cooking. Does it even matter in the crock pot? For what it’s worth, I left the fat side up, just to make it easier to get to when it’s time to scrape the fat off.
I don’t know if it’s that brisket is unheard of, or just unpopular as a cut of meat here in Australia, but I’m getting blank stares when I ask for it from the butchers around here. If I were to substitute this cut of meat, what would you recommend?
This was just phenomenal. I have tried many brisket recipes in the past but this was definitely my favourite! Had it for dinner with rice and lunch in a bap. Every bite was delicious. Thanks!
PLEASE PLEASE more slow cooker recipes!!!
So excited about this recipe! I am hoping for your expert input, as I don’t cook red meat or in my crock pot very often: I put my brisket in the crockpot 7 hours ago and now this morning, I see that it has accidentally been on high all this time! So I turned it off because it feels super tender. My plan was to serve it tonight for a Shabbat dinner. Have I totally ruined this or will it still be edible if I proceed with the rest of the directions? :( Ps I am late to the smitten kitchen party and am in heaven browsing through all your recipes! Thank you!
Hi Adriana — I would go by how done it seems rather than the cooking time. I find that slow cookers can really range as to the speed that they cook. Hope you enjoy it!
I just now finished a meal that included this amazing brisket and your pickled coleslaw, and it impressed not just my own parents (who are surprised that I’m learning to cook), but also my girlfriend’s mom. Thanks for earning me hell of points with my future mother-in-law! I will continue turning to your recipes when I want to woo, coax, flatter, or otherwise impress people. Good luck and Godspeed.
@Mellie. here in Australia you can get brisket from any Asian butcher, especially from Vietnamese butchers. Its true that its hard to find here from commercial butchers, so head to your nearest Chinatown and you will find it everywhere, and its cheap too:-)
INCREDIBLE. Thanks for a great – and simple – brisket recipe!
Sounds amazing! I realize the brisket I bought is only 3 or 4 pounds, though. How long do you put it in the slow cooker? Is there a general time per pound rule?
I could not resist sampling the spicy onions before I placed everything in my slow cooker. Delish. Just had Texas beef brisket for the first time while in Austin a few weeks ago and now realize what I have been missing. Excited to see what this tastes like on Monday night.
I know this is an old recipe – but thought I would shed some light on my brisket findings. My butcher sold 2 cuts of brisket, a whole brisket for $5.99/pound and a first cut, trimmed of all the fat for $8.99/pound. He said with slow cookers to make sure to use the cheaper one with all the fat. I assume this is why a lot of people are seeing the different prices also.
Making brisket for the first time! My slow cooker is old and wonky, what is the texture of the meat supposed to be after 10 hrs at 200 degrees? Mine is still pretty tough and I was expecting it to fall apart.
Hi Leanne — Never checked the temperature (d’oh!) but if it still seems tough, I’d cook it longer.
It’s possible that if you leave the brisket in the sauce in what you think is a working outlet that is not actually a working outlet, it will not go bad.
I cooked the brisket and ate it after leaving it in the slow cooker for nine hours, and it was just fine. Something about the vinegar sauce, perhaps?
I’m not condoning anyone else do this, but after my mother told that if the meat had gone bad, it would smell rank when it cooked, and then it didn’t, I couldn’t bear to throw out a $20 brisket that tasted pretty amazing.
Deb, It was so good to hear you speak at the CT stop of your book tour and kind of meet you in person. I forgot it was coming up and dragged my husband and kids with me at the last minute–thanks for letting us skip the line and the cookies! My daughter had her very first out of the house successful potty trip at the library so the cookies were a great prize. :)
I’m making your brisket for our Chanukah dinner on Saturday. Also wanted to give you a heads up that your brisket recipe isn’t listed under your “Jewish” section. And I think you should tackle donuts for Chanukah this year.
I just turned on the slow cooker with this recipe inside. I subbed the Korean sweet and spicy chili sauce, and agave for the brown sugar. (2/3 cup agave to 1 cup sugar is the standard ratio.) I’ll report back on the result, but I have no doubt tomorrow’s dinner will rock! Love your site.
I made this last night for Hannukah and we accidentally forgot to put out knives. It didn’t matter at all!! :)
I made this for Hanukkah this weekend and everyone from age 16 months to 88 years old loved it. Typically a tough crowd, it was a huge hit!
Happy New Year, Deb! I have been reading your blog and making your recipes for years and always enjoy them. I also bought your book (love it!) and have given your book as gifts to friends. I don’t know if this is the best place to post this, but I am curious about why you changed the brisket recipe for the book? I have made the recipe here numerous times and it is ALWAYS a hit. I tried the one from your book when I had a house full of relatives here last week and it just wasn’t any where near as good. I thought it lacked the depth and richness of the recipe here. I was intrigued by the new recipe because it was so much simpler and it was late at night and so I tried it. Also, I sprinkled the meat with sea salt, as directed, but used coarsely ground salt and it was way too salty (my mistake, I’m sure). We didn’t even eat the leftovers, which is unheard of! I just had to ask why you changed it because I was curious. Thanks for this wonderful site and your beautiful cookbook. I am a fan for life!
Jerri — Ah! They’re actually two totally different recipes. That one came first; it was actually one of the first recipes I finished for the book. I ended up being so enamored with my MIL’s cooking technique that I didn’t want to have to wait until the book came out to share it. So, I dug up this recipe. We didn’t like it nearly as much (I guess, just a matter of taste) but it was good and I felt was a good way to share the cooking technique, of course, much in advance of the publication.
I’m a vegetarian who joyfully lapses once or twice a year. I made this for a dinner party last night & woke up thinking about brisket for breakfast. It was perfect in every way. I served it with herb & white cheddar grits & a side of pickled red cabbage. My boyfriend loved it so much he went out & bought your cookbook for me. (Woo hoo!!) Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Cooked a 2 lb in a Dutch oven at 350 for 3 hours. It was a bit too dry. Any recommendations?
I don’t have access to heinz chili sauce where I am.. can you (or anyone?) suggest an alternative??
jj — Try this, which is a hack on it. You can add these ingredients to taste.
Just wanted to add a handy and delicious tip. When I made this recipe I had a lot of extra sauce left over so I added it to a standard Chili recipe and it was amazing. It added so much flavour and made a chili dish that resembled baked beans.
wow 2/2 responses to both my questions. you really are as awesome as I think you are. Thank you!
Took Deb’s suggestion and started the brisket the night before and when I woke up this morning (on Super Bowl Sunday 2013) my entire house smelled like heaven! I used nearly a 5lb brisket, halved the sauce and slow cooked it for 10 hours! I used a fat separated before putting it in a baking dish. I did sneak a small piece and it was absolutely delicious. Am going to shred instead of slice and make Deb’s fabulous brioche burger buns to serve the brisket on. Thank you for sharing this outstanding recipe! Cheers!
I’ve made this recipe several times – it’s my favorite brisket. I just got your cookbook (nice!) and read the recipe for Maya’s brisket. I’m intrigued but also thinking don’t fix it if it’s not broken ;-). So what do you think between the two?
Are there different kinds of “brisket?” I called Whole Foods and reserved a 10 lb brisket. When I got there, I was shocked at how big it was. — 24″ long or so. They tried to convince me your recipe spec was wrong. I wound up with a 5 lb one, but it’s still enormous — not at all like the relatively dainty thing in your photo. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Lisa — I used less the day I was photographing this recipe, but the recipe was tested using the large piece recommended.
Made this for dinner and just wanted to tell you it was ah-mazing. I don’t have a slow cooker, so this was braised in the oven. It was still absolutely fantastic, and I can’t wait to make sandwiches with the leftovers!
Deb this is an amazing recipe question for you; can you slow cook this on high for 5 hours instead of 8 hours on low?
Tara — I haven’t tested if but if that has worked for you with other brisket recipes, no reason it wouldn’t here.
I made this once and it came out absolutely fantastic… but I made it again in a different slow cooker and parts of it came out very very tough. The brisket wasn’t completely covered by liquid in the second version. Does it need to be? I thought that it didn’t matter in a slow cooker. Should I double the sauce next time to make sure it’s completely covered?
Victoria — You might want to double the sauce but you’re right, it should have been fine. Might your slow-cooker run a little hot so that it cooks things faster? I find that temperatures range a lot between machines.
Oh, I so wish you would change the serving size or the amount of meat required for this recipe. Surely, they both can’t be 8-10. I spent $60 on a 7.5 lb brisket at my local Whole Foods (ouch!). I figured there would be leftovers to use for another meal, but we will be eating brisket for days. I definitely could’ve gone w/ less meat & spent less money.
It’s quite possible. I used a REALLY old slow cooker (I inherited it from my grandmother, and it’s got to be 30 years old). A new one is on my list for “things I want, when…” Until then, I’ll double the sauce like you suggested. Thanks Deb!
Hi Deb,
I was looking for a new brisket recipe as I always like to try new recipes. A friend forwarded this one to me and I can’t wait to try it. I do have a slow cooker, but I just got a pressure cooker and think this recipe would be great in it. Have you tried it? Any advice or thoughts on cooking time?
Thanks!
I love this recipe! It’s my go-to for brisket now. The cooking and resting is genius, before this my brisket was never *quite* right.
I never have chili sauce on hand, so I use mild barbecue sauce in its place. Also: smoked paprika instead of plain and chipotle powder in place of cayenne add a nice smoky note.
After reading this recipe there is not doubt that I’m making brisket for the second night of Passover. There is also no doubt that I need to go out and buy my THIRD slow cooker. (We keep kosher and I already have one for meat and one for dairy during the year, so now I need a third to use for meat during Passover!)
Unfortunately I don’t have kosher for Passover chili sauce on hand, so I’ll probably double the ketchup instead. I’ll also sub prunes and dried apricots for the sugar as I have in previous brisket recipes as they add some nutritional value in addition to sweetness.
Hi Deb,
I am hosting my first Passover seder tomorrow night and was very excited to find this recipe. I JUST put the brisket (an 8 pounder) in the slow cooker and had to cut it in several pieces to fit in the slow cooker. I am a little concerned because the meat and sauce are literally to the very TOP of the slow cooker, even pushing this lid up a tiny bit. Will the volume of the meat reduce while cooking? Will filling it to the top ruin the meat or cause it not to cook?
Hi Deb,
I apologize if you already answered this, but: do I put the brisket in the cooker fat side up or fat side down?
Thank you!
Shari — It shouldn’t matter.
Rachel — You definitely, definitely want your lid closed. You might try wrapping it with foil.
Deb, thank you for posting this amazing recipe. I had a small bit of brisket so I reduced the recipe by about half. It was my first brisket but it will definitely not be the last! It was so good that we’ve already eaten the leftovers (incidentally, it goes great with egg fried brown rice & peas – without the Asian seasoning). This is going to be a staple dish in my house.
I served this for Passover last night and all agreed it was the best brisket they ever had! Not only was the sauce absolutely delicious, the brisket was incredibly tender. I got a 4+ lb brisket for 9 people based on the 1/2 lb per person rule and it was practically gone by the time I sat down at the table! (fortunately I made a turkey breast too, and there were a few non-meat eaters). I would make a larger one next time for leftovers. Cooked in the oven as it didn’t fit in my crockpot, initially at 350 but then turned it down to 275 when I realized I would be out of the house when it would probably be done, so ended up cooking for 5 hours. When we carved it cold, it seemed like it was hard and not tender but was incredible after re-heating, which took well over an hour at 300 – maybe because we had so much else in the oven?
I agree with Judy above that after taking it out of slow cooker I was skeptical it wasn’t done/was dry but it worked out perfectly.
I actually ended up putting it in the freezer to get the fat to the top in a short amount of time, which worked in about 1.5 hours. I used barbeque sauce instead of chili sauce because I couldnt find kosher for passover chili sauce. Didn’t matter. Sauce was delicious. 4 pounds was plenty for five people, with leftovers. Still, people went back for seconds and said they didnt usually like brisket but this was great. I think the piece of meat was a little too fatty, but it was tasty and extremely easy. I just put leftovers in the fridge and will probably skim the fat again tomorrow. Overall, another reliable recipe from smitten!
After more years than I care to admit trying what seems like one recipe after another, I can say that all other recipes will be tossed: this is the only way I’ll ever make brisket again!
No way almost 11 pounds of meat was going to fit into the crockpot, but the oven at 350 for 4.5 hours worked perfectly. Your tip about not bothering to brown the meat was right on.
Kudos on the best brisket recipe ever.
Yes. I don’t know if anyone will read this, but I used 10 lbs of meat – it all fit in the slow cooker, but after 10 hours overnight on low the piece of meat near the top cover was only 140 degrees. To me that means it basically sat at a bacteria-growing temperature for hours. (The pieces of brisket below it were at 180, so ok, but I don’t know enough about how contamination works to trust it.) Painful to throw out so much meat/money, but the idea of making my guests sick tonight is beyond horrifying. I just went out the store, bought another 10 lbs of meat, and am cooking it in the dutch oven as I have done many times before. I LOVE this recipe and so does everyone I’ve ever made it for – I just won’t do it in the crock pot again.
@Lisa, they may have given you a point cut or whole brisket(not trimmed of fat/with points) instead of a flat cut. I always do flat cuts.
Hi Deb, can you please tell us the slow cooker model you use? I am trying to find one that is big enough for a serious brisket and none of the ones I’ve seen are anywhere close, even the 6.5 quart ones. Thanks!!
CJ — Mine is no longer made, but I’ve had few issues cutting a brisket in half and “stacking” it in the slow-cooker if it’s too big.
Thank you, Deb, for a great recipe! I looked like a rockstar chef at Passover this year. :)
Just finished the crock pot stage and had to try some before putting it in the refrigerator and I have to say…. mother of god this is good.
Hi Deb!
I want to make this but I only have a 3 pound brisket. Do you have any suggestions for what to reduce for the meal? Should I half the brown sugar, ketchup, chili sauce, etc? Thanks!
Thanks for the great recipe! I’m a big fan of yours. I actually used this method and sauce for a pot roast as a friend gave us a giant roast and a slow cooker and my husband dislikes traditional pot roast recipes. I’m usually a vegetarian, but for a variety of reasons have started eating a little bit of meat, and this was my first attempt at a pot roast/slow cooker meal. This was a hit! We’ll be using some leftovers in tacos tomorrow night.
Hello favorite cook-o’-mine! Seriously every recipe I have made from your site/cookbook has been absurdly, mouthwateringly good… but I just made the brisket from the cookbook for company tomorrow night (it’s “resting” as I write), and when sampling it– gah– soooo salty. Like the kind of salty that makes your mouth pinch. I used kosher salt, I used amount in recipe… Wondering if I should boil it? Dilute sauce when reheating tomorrow? Serve over blandest potatoes ever made? Help? Thank you!
Hi there! This weekend, I cooked brisket for the very first time using this recipe – and my oh my it’s delicious! Thanks for sharing all your wonderful food ideas.
Hi Deb,
I made this for the first time weeks ago and it was a huge hit. I plan on making it again for a baby shower this Sunday. How far in advance can I prepare the dish? I was actually hoping to make it tonight (Thursday)! (And yes, I realize that the chances of you reading and responding in time are super low, but I figured I would try. Thank you!
Karina
Love this recipe! Like Anne and others above – I had never cooked a brisket and tried your recipe first. It is very good – the meat is SO tender. I used a sweet jalapeno relish and added some sun dried tomatoes to the onion mixture (I was trying to use up stuff in the ‘fridge). Delicious! After resting etc, I left one-third whole and didn’t slice it. That one section is going to make the best pulled beef sandwiches! My only “complaint” is that it smelled SO DARN GOOD in the crock pot over night that I kept waking up and wanting to eat it right then and there!!! :-) Thank you!
Hi Deb,
I just checked your FAQs and it says that the best way to ask a question is to tack it on to a recipe so here goes. My family is dipping its proverbial toe back into the slow cooker waters. After many attempts and not being wowed we had give up. But life (two toddlers, full time work etc) has gotten in the way and we feel we might need this crutch in our life. I am starting with your black beans from your cookbook and this brisket is also on the list. Your recipes have always been perfection for us. Do you have other slow cooker suggestions? Other places you trust to look for inspiration? Please hold our hand as we try this again! Many many thanks in advance!
I finally tried this recipe after having it bookmarked for two years, the main motivating factor being that I just got married and my husband has a slow-cooker. It was delicious, especially as a sandwich on toasted buns with pepperjack cheese.
Hi Deb,
For the ketchup and chili sauce – can that be replaced with the same quantity of BBQ sauce? Also, if cooking this in the oven, what kind of dish to you suggest using?
Thanks!
Allison — I think you can. Slightly different flavor profile, but still delicious. I’d use a Dutch oven, if you have one; if not, your heaviest baking dish with a lid; if you don’t have a lid, just use two layers of tight foil.
Brisket was on sale. I wanted to use my slow cooker. Pintrest and Google both pointed me here (silly me, I should have checked here first!)
I used two briskets that added up to about 9 pounds. Besides that, followed everything in the recipe exactly. I put the slow cooker on before we went to bed and then let it cool in the fridge all day the following day. The meat was very tender. I put about half the sauce in the blender and it was more than enough to reheat the meat with, so I’m freezing the rest for a later date. Next time I may cut back on the brown sugar, it was just a bit too sweet.
As for sides, I think mashed potatoes, egg noodles and potato pancakes would all work. Red cabbage with apples would also be nice.
I’m looking forward to the leftovers…probably on a sandwich.
Hi Deb, Two quick ones…
-What happens if you/your butcher trims the fat before cooking? Still okay?
-I live in a teensy apartment – can I set the slow cooker on my balcony (there’s a plug out there) overnight so my place won’t smell like brisket forever? I’d rather it smell like your momma’s apple cake :)
Have the best day ever.
Rollie
When you put in the slow cooker, is it fat side up or fat side down?! Time is of the essence and Happy New Year!
Kristina — I don’t find that it matters at all.
I’m not surprised this thread is STILL getting comments, as this recipe is a total winner. Thanks, Deb. The first time I made this, my family ate until they were uncomfortably full (but no regrets!) and this time my wife can’t stop talking about how darn good the house smells. (She also loves your pickled coleslaw and demands that I make it for her several times a year. I am happy to oblige.) THANK YOU!
Just put it in the crockpot. How will I know if its done? Going to check it at the 8 hour mark ….
Thank you for sharing your recipe. Mine turned out wonderfully! Only a couple alterations were made: I used 1 cup of dry red wine (Amarone) as well as the 2 cups of no salt beef broth. The chili sauce I used was from Thai House, and it’s a sweet red chili sauce (purchased at Costco). I used my slow cooker on low heat for 10 hours. Tender, tangy, sweet and delicious! Thanks again!
I made this recipe and it was LOVED by all. The ONLY change I made was that I forgot to buy chili sauce so I added another half a cup of ketchup and doctored that with some red hot sauce and extra cayenne and some chili powder. My brisket was closer to 7 lbs once I trimmed it of excess fat and I had to cut it in half to get both pieces in. The other thing I noticed that I will make sure I do differently next time is to make sure that I cover it when I reheat it. It was being held for 2-3 hours at 300 and the sauce was reducing so much that there wasn’t quite enough! And I found that the sauce REALLY mellowed in spicyness from the 24 hours that it rested so I will be adding MORE cayenne next time.
Hello – brisket recipe in your book calls for 4-5 pounds, this one 8-10. Yet the recipes say they serve about the same number. I’m preparing to cook one or the other for a big group this weekend – just wondered If the book one would make enough. Thanks for any guidance!
Ah, the estimate in the book is from me, this is from Emeril. Sorry for the confusion. It’s so hard for me to say, to be honest — if it’s being served with a lot of other things, people might just have a slice or two and it will serve 8 to 10. If you’re nervous, or there are “healthy appetites” at the table, estimate needing more per person. Hope that helps.
sorry if you’ve already answered this. I don’t have a slow-cooker, so I want to make this in an oven. I saw that David L asked if he could cook at 200 in an oven, and you said it would take the same amount of time–is that referring to the 10 hours in a slow-cooker? Could I do something in-between, like 8 hours at 250? Thanks for the help!
Karen — Yes. You can also cook it at 300 or 325 for fewer hours. It’s very flexible, but as low and slow as you have time for is ideal.
I knew it was going to be amazing, because every recipe of yours that I’ve made has been excellent! I wanted a new brisket recipe. We love ours, but it was time for a change – albeit small! This recipe is great- my only change is to shorten the cook time, maybe an hour or 2, I like to slice the brisket vs shred – but the flavor is so delicious I’d eat it in a paste! Super easy, super delicious, thank you!!!
Hi Deb,
I’m also curious about Mike’s question (283):
“I’ve made this recipe several times – it’s my favorite brisket. I just got your cookbook (nice!) and read the recipe for Maya’s brisket. I’m intrigued but also thinking don’t fix it if it’s not broken ;-). So what do you think between the two?”
Hi Frances — Check my response in Comment #275. This brisket is sweeter, is the biggest difference.
Hi Deb – should I use regular or Hungarian paprika? Making your cookbook recipe (the book is gorgeous). Can’t wait to dig in – thanks!
Hi Kate — Thank you. Whichever you prefer in food; it’s totally up to you.
I am not a meat eater however on occasion I cook a brisket for my husband. This occasion is an early Valentine’s. My go to is Nach Waxman’s recipe but I wanted to try Maya’s Sweet and Sour from your cookbook. I bought my brisket this morning, mixed all of the ingredients and put it in the oven.
The aroma wafting through my home was delicious. Three hours later I remove the pan from the oven and the sauce is burnt and solidifed, permanently attached to my dutch oven. I gently remove the brisket with only a few scorch marks. Quickly mix another batch of beef broth, vinegar, brown sugar, etc., pour it over brisket in nice, clean pyrex and pray for the best. Stay tuned I will let you know what happens after Wednesday’s meal.
Hi Deb, this is the best brisket ever. Made it for Christmas dinner (party of seven) and again yesterday, but there are only two of us now and it will take forever to eat it all. Is there any reason why this won’t freeze? Thank you!
Hi Deb, have you ever tried freezing this brisket? I have a large crowd coming for Passover and I am trying to get a head start on all of the cooking. Thank you!
Dana — I haven’t, but I’d expect it to freeze well.
Did you try freezing this? How did it turn out?
I am planning to cook two 4-5 lb pieces of brisket. I saw from earlier comments that this should all fit in my 6.5 quart slow-cooker.
In the event that it is a tight fit, is it okay to “squeeze” it all in there and now have any extra space?
Also, if I do end up cooking it in two batches, should I cook each 4-5 lb piece for a shorter amount of time? If so, approximately how long?
Thanks in advance!
Elyssa — There’s no reason you cannot halve and stack (or slightly overlap) a piece of brisket if it’s too wide for the cooker. If I do this, I make sure I flip them at some point. Cooking time stays the same even if halved.
Hi Deb:this is the second time making this. It is very good. How long do you wait before you put in fridge to chill. , I’m curious as it is so warm when it comes out of the crock pot even after defatting.
glenda — You can put it in while it’s warm.
Thank you for this recipe – it’s just fantastic and very approachable for a novice like me. I made it for Passover last year and it was a HUGE hit. Going to make it again this year for the second-night Seder I’m hosting. However, things have gotten very crazy at work and I’m going to need to do the cooking on Sunday night, which means letting the brisket rest in the fridge for almost two days instead of one. Will there be any negative consequences to letting it rest for this long? Thanks again!
Josh — Nope, it will be just great.
Hey Deb, I love your blog and book. I am interested in starting a blog for my neighbourhood (in Canada, you can tell by my spelling!). I am a gardening, nature loving freak and want to drum up interest for tree planting, clean up, etc. Can you tell me how you got started?
Fantastic recipe — wowza. Big hit with my family and friends last night. And it is the entree that keeps on giving in the days that follow, too, as you rightly pointed out! I link to your recipe in a post that I’ve been working on recently — http://bit.ly/1hHhMSK Also very happy to link to your wonderful capture of Bea Peltre’s chocolate/buckwheat/almond cake that I’ve made a zillion times out of her cookbook.
I just made this for passover on monday, OMG none left, it was perfect! thanks for a great recipe! best brisket ever!
This was the jam. NY was crushed out of brisket and the biggest I could find was 2.5lbs, for 2 people it was fine but am planning on doing it again with the quickness with a 6lb. Too good and must have copious leftovers. I was recovering from the flu and a bit out of it and kind of guessed at the reduced measurements. 1/2c-ish broth, 1/4c-ish for the ketchup/chili. Sauteed 1-1/2c garlic onion shallot – didn’t have brown sugar, I have NO idea where the hell it went, or onion powder. Used smoked paprika. Everything else I had. Ran the sauce through a blender. Served with rice and seared baby green beans with mushroom and garlic. What I truly wanted was just a big fat bowl of mashed potatoes with the brisket and sauce on top. Dreamy. ACES recipe – totes a permanent fave.
This recipe aligned my chakras. Thank you for this holy addition to my cooking repertoire. I just have one question; I used chicken broth for this at the behest of my mother because she refused to buy shady beef stock at the grocery store (I don’t blame her). Is there a way of conserving stock from this brisket with all the sauce mess?
Deb- one of the things I love about this recipe is the way the puréed onions thicken the sauce. I want to try the cookbook brisket, but I wonder if the sauce is super runny. Planning my Rosh Hashannah menu already!
By far, my go-to recipe for brisket. Made it twice for Pesach and am making it again this week for Rosh Hashanah. Everyone loves it!
Tag this as Jewish too!
Thanks!
Thanks!
I really enjoyed this brisket. I made it for my dad’s birthday, and since my dad is a mashed potato hater (can you believe they exist?), I served it with boiled baby potatoes tossed in butter and lemon juice. It was amazing! I love the technique of cooking the meat ahead of time, refrigerating it, and reheating it later. It tastes better, it slices more neatly, and it makes fat removal so much easier. I’m going to do this with all my braised dishes from now on. Thanks for teaching me a great new recipe and technique, Deb. You never disappoint!
I made this last night… in the oven… and fell asleep… and the brisket, which was only a piddling 5 lbs… and had just been subjected to 4.5 hours in the oven…
Performed beautifully!
How is it possible that this recipe can’t be screwed up?
I’m planning to make this for a Christmas Eve dinner, to honor my Jewish heritage along with Christian traditions. I can’t wait! Thanks for the detailed instructions. I know this, like all your recipes, will turn out fabulous.
So good. Just ate this tonight. It was hard to refrigerate overnight but it is worth the wait. Thank you for the clear, easy to follow instructions. Best brisket I have ever made!
What does “do not overfill your crockpot mean”???? I mean it’s full… how bad will it bubble over b/c I’m going to bed and it’s on LOW/10hours.
Laura — I prefer not to have my crockpot much over the imagined 3/4 full line, just to account for any simmering.
Ok, so I’m going to leave it over the glass top stove, so if it overflows… well it should be easy to clean up! I absolutely loved the process of getting the brisket ready for the crockpot. My husband sliced the onions while wearing goggles b/c they were so strong. It was pretty funny! I didn’t measure the ingredients exactly, but I got it pretty close! I’m so excited to get this out of the crockpot in the morning and let it rest before reheating later on! Thanks so much for the recipe idea. Oh, the guy at Safeway swears I’m crazy for not grilling this hunk of meat for 6 hours… he says I’m going to be sorry. I love my butcher, but he’s not very creative! Oh, and I was wondering… I paid about 40$ for about 7.5lbs… is that typical?
I will def follow the 3/4 rule from now on deb! Def an excellent recipe, and a wonderful meal. I bought 7.5 lbs, and it fed 8 adults and some children with very little left over (which makes me sad)!! Thanks so much. This site is great!
Hi Deb! I just wanted to say thanks for this delicious recipe. We’re having our own winter of brisket over here, and my family thanks you. Much appreciated!
I love your blog! This recipe looks incredible and I love how you simplified it. I’m curious if you have ever tried Grandma Selma’s brisket recipe from Food and Wine? Curious on your opinion if you have! Both look kind of similar
grandma selma’s brisket recipe
Kelly, this is the recipe I have always made…especially since my mom’s name is Selma! I am trying Deb’s recipe this time as I love the idea of the slow cooker…soooo much easer than Grandma Selma!
I can’t wait for it to be done as it smells yummy.
My family loves carrots with brisket, and I want to put them in…I don’t know at what hour though…Deb?
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/grandma-selmas-brisket
Here is the recipe!
Hi Deb! I have been following your blog for years and continue to get inspired by all that you do. I absolutely HAVE to make this brisket this year for Passover , but I live in Israel and have been unsuccessful in finding chili sauce. The only thing close, in terms of name, is Asian, and I know that doesn’t have the same taste as Heinz’s chili sauce. Any suggestions as to an alternative?
Thanks so much!
Chili sauce is really just a variation on ketchup. You can find recipes for it homemade online. This was the first result. I think you’ll be fine, no matter how you doctor it. Hope that helps.
Thanks so much! I’ll give it a try!
Yael– I have used sriracha for 1/4 of the chili sauce and the rest ketchup, it is nice and tangy!
Deb, I am also making this for Passover. My first time hosting a Seder and I will have upwards of 20 people, sheesh. I have made this recipe many times (substituting sambal oelek for half of the chili sauce and the rest ketchup) and I absolutely love it. I live in Texas and don’t even care about our dry, weird, grey brisket anymore. I only want THIS brisket. I don’t have a question, I just wanted to thank you for this recipe and for your whole website. It has made me a better cook.
Thanks Mari, sounds like a good idea!
Hi Deb, Made your brisket last year and was a huge hit. Making it again this Passover but only using a 3.75 pounder bc we’re a small group. I will reduce ingredients but do you think I should reduce time in slow cooker? If so, how long should be good? Thanks a bunch!
For smaller briskets in a slow-cooker, you can check in at 8 hours, but for the most part, I find the time estimate to be the same to get the muscle fibers broken down enough to make for tender brisket. Hope it goes as well this year!
We tried this recipe for the first time this year. The flavor of the meat and the sauce was very good but the unfortunately meat came out very tough and was hard to cut. Not sure what went wrong.
Hi Deb!
Just made the brisket from your cookbook to serve 18 at seder last night and it was a hit. I’d never made a brisket in my life before, so it may not have been the smartest thing to do it as an experiment for the first time with 10 pounds of brisket at a holiday where I was serving 18 people, but your recipes have never steered me wrong before, so here we are. The flavor was absolutely delicious. And I’m gonna have to try the recipe on this page next.
Here’s my question for you, related to method, after making that brisket and reading the comments above. I found the brisket really hard to carve. (It was also slightly tough, but the consensus was that that was probably because my slices were a little too thick.) The slices just would not stay together as I sliced. Based on comments #342 & 343 above, you’d said it should be ok to rest the brisket in the fridge for up to almost two days, so that’s what I did – I had two 5-lb briskets so I made them in two “shifts” in my slow cooker and rested one for almost two days and the other for a little less than 24 hours so they were definitely cold. Could they have been overcooked? Not having experience making brisket before – how can you tell if a brisket is overcooked? If I were to check it in the slow cooker before the 10-hour mark next time, how would I be able to tell that it’s done?
Alternatively – could this carving issue be because of something really dumb, like just not being a good carver, or not using the right knife? Like I said, I’ve never done this before. (I used a long, sharp serrated knife. And I actually had to google to make sure I was slicing in the correct direction – went perpendicular to the grain.)
Anyway, the flavor was incredible and we had hardly any left. I’ll definitely be making one of your briskets again for seder next year, but our seder may be growing to include even more people, so before I buy even more briskets (at $9.99/lb !) I’m really hoping to make sure I know what I’m doing!
Sorry for such a long comment – thanks so much for any help you can give me!!! Happy Passover!!
Also, by the way, wasn’t sure where to leave this comment because it’s not related to brisket, but my parents have become “indirect” fans of yours, too. It’s at the point where, each time I cook something that’s new to them, my mom asks me if if came from “that cookbook or that website you like” – meaning yours – and it’s followed by the comment, “I keep meaning to check them out.” She never cooks, but she loves everything I make from smitten kitchen. Neither of them eat red meat, but I caught my mom leaning over to sniff the slow cooker of brisket a couple of times the other day. My dad, who doesn’t really like to try anything new, usually greets my announcements of whatever I’m cooking with “yeah, I just don’t really like [insert random ingredient].” He then cleans his plate, not realizing that he’s eating it. Recent examples: your peach-and-sour-cream pancakes in the book (claimed to not like sour cream in pancakes, also claimed he didn’t want pancakes that day), the mustard milanese chicken (claimed to not like mustard with chicken, also “what is this stuff” on the chicken and “you didn’t fry it, did you?”), the fennel salad that’s presented with the mustard milanese chicken (claimed to not like fennel). In fact, he went back for seconds of each of these things so there were no leftovers for the rest of us even though I’d made extra. Just thought I’d share :)
Julie and Jill — Both of you mention concern about overcooking, so I’m grouping you. :) It’s of course hard for me to tell from this side of the computer whether the brisket was under- or overcooked. In general, I’d say if it was tough but not falling apart, likely undercooked and if tough but also falling apart (i.e. those crumbling slices), more likely that it was overcooked. Slow-cooker recipes are tricky, and I’m beginning to wonder if 10 hours in one might be much more cooking than 10 hours in another, even though this is what’s always worked for my MIL and I (on different machines, brands, etc.).
For slicing, I actually like to use a chef’s knife. When the brisket is cold, it a sharp one should cut right through with clean slices. A serrated knife, closer to what most carving knives look like, can tear and pull at the meat unnecessarily.
I hope this helps. And thanks, Jill — it means a lot!
Thanks so much – will sharpen up the chef’s knife and try the brisket again, checking it earlier, too – I think my husband will be super excited that I’m going to be working to perfect this :) The smell and flavor were just incredible, and despite worry about toughness, it may have really been more a function of poor carving because judging by the amount left over, our seder guests were pretty happy with it (and when my grandmother left town yesterday, she requested some to take home!! and she’s the most intimidating to cook for, so I was pretty proud). This may just turn into the year of the brisket. YUM. Thank you again!!
Which cut of brisket did you use? I’m cooking for 4. Thanks!
I live in Australia, where brisket is not a cut that butchers stock so I’d never tried it before, but inspired by your drool-worthy pictures I bookmarked the recipe for future. Last weekend I found a specialty butcher who sold brisket and…I’ve been pretty much eating straight brisket since it cooled enough not to scorch my mouth. I think I’ve had a transformative experience.
Great recipe! Tasty & easy. Thanks
Deb — Do you think that not quite doubling (one and a half?) this recipe and cutting the brisket and overlapping in a slowcooker will change the outcome? I am making this tomorrow and have accidentally invited 15 people. Thank you!
Bronson — Not at all. I stack brisket all of the time. I sometimes swap the top/bottom pieces mid-way, but I’m not sure it’s actually necessary. Good luck!
So I made this for Rosh Hashanah and it was fantastic, and then yesterday I made the snap pea and cabbage salad with the miso dressing from your cookbook to have with burgers, and then today my husband and I had the same brainstorm: the SALAD (which is very slaw-like) over the LEFTOVER BRISKET (shredded) on BURGER BUNS. If anyone makes it this far down the comments, that’s your reward.
Deb, I never use onion or garlic powder and dread buying it just for one recipe. Do you really think I need it or can I just throw in a bit more fresh onion & garlic?
also favorite brand of store-bought beef stock?
ellen — Of course to the fresh garlic. I mean, I was specifically going for a dry spice vibe here, but no reason to buy it if you don’t wish to own it. I don’t have a favorite storebought beef stock. In a pinch, I use Better than Bouillon, which is as good as most.
We made this a couple of weeks ago in a crockpot overnight. It was delicious and my husband (who was skeptical about cooking brisket in the crockpot and not the smoker) said it was the best brisket he had ever had. (And he likes to smoke them a lot.) I highly recommend!
Have you ever frozen this brisket? I’m having family for Thanksgiving…Always nice to serve brisket for another night. For 5 1/2 lb brisket would you adjust amounts of onions and catchup & chili? A friend says she adds dried fruit to her brisket…what do you think? Maybe not in slow cooker??? I am using slow cooker…Your thoughts…thanks
Lyn — I haven’t but would expect it to freeze well. You could scale the recipe down, but there’s also not any harm in having extra sauce.
I found a 71/2 lb brisket today at Costco….I’ll make over weekend and freeze…Then serve day after Thanksgiving….I’ll report back to you…Thanks for getting back to me…sounds Delicious!!!
I would like to try this recipe for Thanksgiving. I will need to buy a slow-cooker, which I’ve been putting off, but now have a reason to purchase! Will all slow-cookers accommodate an 8-10 lb brisket? Will the less expensive models be adequate? Must I use a first-cut brisket ? Recommended cut?
Thanks.
Merril, I use a 5.5 quart crockpot, which just perfectly fits an 8 pound brisket. Any larger and the juices would overflow.
Chiming in to Lyn’s question above, we always make this recipe and freeze half of it in individual portion sizes and it reheats beautifully. Thank you for this recipe, Deb! It’s so good.
I am planning to make this for my annual Christmas party this year, a sit-down for 50 people. Can this be successfully prepared and frozen, then reheated before the meal?
I have made so many of your recipes and have never been disappointed. Three other recipes made the cut this year. Thanks for being such a big part of my success as a hostess!
Just read the comment posted before mine and there was the answer! Thanks
I love this, but the thought of putting 1 cup of sugar on meat is unbearable. Any suggestions?
Deb, I’ve not eaten meat in more than 25 years, but the aroma of this brisket nearly tempted me to do so. I would like your advice on the consistency, though. I could not fit two 5 lb briskets in my slow cooker (despite several messy attempts), and ended up cooking them separately. The first cooked for 10 hours, and because it was so soft that it shredded when slicing (against the grain), I decided to cook the second one for 8 hour, but experienced the same issue with the meat falling apart. I ended up running out to buy slider rolls before my guests arrived and re-purposed the meat in a different form, and the meat eaters at the table loved the flavor. But what do you think caused this problem and how can I prevent a repeat occurrence?
Susan — Did you slice it while warm or cold? I like to slice it while cold for cleanest cuts (as mentioned in recipe). Good, well-cooked brisket should fall apart.
Hi,
I’m not a big fan of sugar in general. What do you recommend as a substitute for the brown sugar?
I’m making this dish next week and can’t wait!
-Pete
Hi Deb,
I have made this recipe several times in the last few years and am gaining a reputation for “my” amazing brisket, so thank you very much! I’m making it again tomorrow for guests, and this time I want to throw in carrots and potatoes for an easy one-pot meal sort of thing. I’m cooking in a dutch oven. Should I add the potatoes and carrots after the rest? Or should I throw them in at the end of the first cycle to precook for 30min or so? Not sure if they will be cooked enough from the reheat, but definitely don’t want them too mushy. What about lengthening the re-heat cycle?
I made my first brisket using this recipe. In Smitten, I trust.
Deb,
LOVE your tangy brisket!!
I have friends & family that don’t eat meat.
How do you suggest I make it with chicken? Thighs?
Thank God for the commenters. I had no idea that there were different kinds of brisket, and when I went to the store yesterday, I told the guy that I needed brisket. He gave me corned beef brisket. I actually have it cooking in my crock pot right now.
Needless to say, after reading the comments, I called the store, and they are giving me the brisket I originally asked for for free, but boy. Had I not read the comments, I would have served something…interesting.
Now I’m off to pick up the correct brisket.
Phenomenal! Thank you for this recipe!
My guy and I were hankering for our respective mom’s brisket from days gone-bye.
Sooo…when we had this version, it wasn’t what we were expecting, but both admitted it was tasty.
One day later? EXCELLENT. Really delicious. Planning on using more leftovers for sandwiches. My mouth is watering just thinking ’bout it. :)
Thanks, Deb.
P.S. This was my first ever crock pot dish. Nice way to break it in.
Just wanted to report that I used a 3 lb brisket and made half the sauce. Cooked in the slow-cooker on low for 8 hours before refrigerating. Excellent brisket. Served with mashed cauliflower and sautéed collard greens. Thanks for the recipe!
My oven is broken & I don’t expect to replace it until after the holiday. This recipe looks perfect for my Seder dinner. My question. I will have to put the meat back into the slow cooker for re-heating purposes. Do you think this will be a problem? Any suggestions?
I made this for Shabbat dinner this weekend–I cooked it in the slow cooker overnight on Thursday night, and then was going to re-heat it for Friday-night dinner. But I ended up getting home super-late on Friday night, so we saved the brisket for last night. By the time the re-heating was done, it was so tender that it was actually hard to keep it together enough to slice it.
My husband practically passed out when he took the first bite. This was SO GOOD. Thanks for such an awesome and easy recipe!
Deb, just love this recipe….my go to for a few years now for Passover and everyone LOVES it!! thanks!!and I love your book too, have made about half the recipes in the book!!
question for this year….I usually make 8 lb brisket cut into two 4lb pieces but this year making 10 lbs (two 5 lb pieces) which I know will NOT fit in my slow cooker (I maxed out at two 4 lb pieces). Can I use two slow cookers and put a 5 lb piece and pour half the sauce in each slow cooker, or should I double the sauce recipe and halve it (so there is more sauce)? and cooking time,,,,still 8 to 10 hours for both or less time with the smaller size? Thanks so much!!
I am planning on making this for a big family gathering… I am worried that 10lbs of brisket won’t fit in my standard slow cooker… Does it all fit??
Allison — I have a 6-quart and it’s tight, but it’s completely okay to cut it in half or thirds and stack it, just keep it below the fill line.
Thank you!! And does it all fit in a standard size baking dish for serving? I apologize – I’m cooking for 35 (first time) and am trying to cover every base possible ahead of time! I (and my three sons) adore all of your recipes, by the way!
any ideas where I can find stock in manhattan (preferably UWS)? All I can find is broth…
Do you use first or second cut brisket?
Deb – your brisket recipes (well, all your recipes) are marvels. So thank you for making us all cook better and eat happier. A few notes, if I might, as the author of The Brisket Book: A Love Story With Recipes.
Brisket is always (Deb points this out) sliced AGAINST the grain. Period. And when it is cool, it should slice easily. Don’t slice too thin.
Braised briskets do freeze well. Some cooks/chefs believe they taste better after they are frozen.
I’m also a New Yorker and find prices vary greatly. But some of that has to do with Costco vs Whole Foods vs grass-fed from my butcher. I believe that since brisket has gotten more popular, prices have (sigh) risen.
Grass-fed will always cost more.
Brisket Rule: You NEED at least 1/4 inch of fat on your brisket to braise it and keep it tender. And grass-fed is the leanest type – so do not buy it/cook it if it has no fat at all.
Brisket Rule, re: Onions. Deb said this and Kenji Lopez-Alt told it to me when I was writing my book: brisket and onions are the perfect combination of protein and sugar. You cannot use too many onions.
Brisket Rule: Someone asked about how much liquid to add. The rule of thumb for a braised brisket cooked in the oven is that you do not want to drown it. The liquid should cover roughly half the brisket.
What cut to buy? 80% of all briskets sold in supermarkets/Costco are “first-cut.” (It’s complicated, but “first cut” does not mean better than “second cut.”) Brisket is also sold as “the flat” and as “the point.” Both cuts have some marbleized running through them.
Brisket Rule: The mantra for a successful brisket (bbq or braised) is “low and slow.” I don’t think you will ever see an oven temperature over 350 and many brisket cooks/chefs go for 300-325.
Brisket, by the way, only looks like it would be hard (I almost said “tough”!) to cook. It has – if you follow a few simple rules – the easiest piece of meat to cook. It is extremely forgiving. It will go from tough to tender if you have patience. Love it and it will love you back.
I am making a 1lb brisket. Does that change the cooking time in the oven? Thanks!
Deb – I made this for our Passover meal and all I can say is – delicious! I had slightly less than 10lbs, cut in half and stacked in the slow cooker. Cooked beautifully and it, indeed, made buckets of sauce. Kudos all around!
This is a fantastic recipe, I cooked a 9 lbs brisket last night for passover and got raves and requests for seconds from all. The spices were what I had in the pantry and … wow. Other commenters have noted the amount of meat and getting a pot or slow cooker big enough, that was my biggest issue and not a fault of the recipe at all. thank you.
Have you subbed BBQ sauce for the chili and ketchup? Thanks!
looks amazing!did you brown the brisket first before slow cooker as my curtis stone new slow cooker has a powerful browning component? thank you for sharing diana miller in toronto
Since introducing this brisket to my husband’s family during Passover in 2012 it’s been my holy and anointed job to prepare it for every Jewish holiday. Sometimes I wish I got to bring the noodle kugel since the ingredients are much cheaper but that’s neither here nor there. My father in law forwarded me a batch of brisket recipes yesterday and I looked through them all and determined that none would produce the mouth watering gravy that makes this brisket so special. But what nearly all of these other recipes did have was some sort of potato/carrot medley. I’ve never messed with this recipe since it’s such a winner but am wondering if you’ve ever incorporated veggies into the process (besides the onions, of course) and, if not, how you might recommend doing it.
Long time reader (and maker of all things smitten kitchen), first time poster. I was going to make this for Rosh Hashanah dinner–wondering about adding carrots and maybe potatoes during the warm up phase. What do you think? Will they cook enough? Should I add them to the slow cooker instead? Thanks!
Finding kosher beef stock near me can be a challenge. Is it ok to substituted the beef stock with chicken broth?
I would think chicken or vegetable stock would both be fine substitutions.
I just made this and subbed mushroom broth and it came out great!
If I want to make a brisket half this size (for just my husband and myself), how would I adjust the cooking time?
Cooking time is pretty much the same, but more likely in the lower end of the range than the higher.
This recipe looks so amazing! However, I hate the taste of ketchup. Does it taste like ketchup, or is it one on those times when it’s like a secret ingredient and just adds to the deliciousness?
I’d say secret ingredient with 99% confidence.
Do you ever add vegetables to the slow cooker? Last year I made a braised slow cooker buffalo brisket and I am almost certain I used this recipe but I also added carrots and parsnips. Only now I am second guessing whether it was this recipe. In any case, think I can add root vegetable?
I haven’t done it because I don’t like it when the vegetables fall apart but I have definitely seen it in other recipes.
I’ve been making this brisket since 2011. My friends and family look forward to it on Rosh Hashanah and Passover every year because it’s amazing! I made it two days in advance this year. Right now the recipe reads that it can rest “up to one day.” I scrolled through the comments and it looks like it’s fine to let it rest longer, so why not add it to the recipe? Happy New Year, Deb! I’m such a fan!
This is the best brisket I have ever had. It’s everything Deb promised. Wonderful…
Deb, I can’t thank you enough for this recipe. I have had a brisket obsession for almost 20 years where I almost never make the same recipe twice, no matter how good, always believing there is a recipe “just a little bit” better waiting to be discovered. This is it!!!!!!! Although I liked your MIL’s slow cooker brisket recipe that you adapted in your cookbook, this tangy spiced brisket is my hands down favorite. Despite the ingredients being simple and the recipe easy, there is a complexity in the flavor profile that I loved. Purée-ing Carmelized onions into the gravy gives it a wonderful thickness (without flour!) which also makes this recipe stand out. It was melt in your mouth tender, but it did fall apart more than I like after 10 hours in slow cooker (I used a very good sharp knife, cut it when cold against the grain). No one really minded at all, I got rave reviews from all my guests–but next time I will try cooking it a shorter time in the slow cooker to see if I can get cleaner slices. Thank you so much for the one recipe I will finally stick with! Shana Tova.
Amazing!!!!! I am a horrible cook and tend to burn everything. I followed your recipe minus the preserved lemon because I could not find it and used pickled mango and it came out amazing. My guests requested seconds and it made me so happy. Thank you so much! The recipe was easy to follow and instructions were very clear!
I think you may have lost your way, friend.
Hi, this looks amazing! Two questions, can I use a silver tip roast instead? And what size crock pot is recommended?
I use a 6-quart but if you have bigger, it’s welcome here. I often cut the brisket in half and stack the halves; cooks just fine but if you’re nervous you can switch them bottom-to-top etc. at some point in the middle. I am not familiar with a silver tip roast but if it braises well, you should be fine.
Does the sauce thicken in the reheat? Or should I consider boiling it down before putting in oven? Mine is very thin and onion dissolved after slow cooker method? Need for tonight!!
You can boil it down for thickness if needed. It will definitely be jellied from the fridge, though so it will have more body than it did going in. Sorry for the late response.
I have a question. I bought a much smaller piece of beef 2-3 pounds. How do I adjust the slow cooker cooking time appropriately?
I find it to usually be about the same, but often closer to the shorter end of the cooking range.
I’m new to your site. This dish looks delicious. The title, tangy spiced brisket…Iooking at the ingredients what makes this dish tangy? I guess I’m wondering if the vinegar was left out?
Thanks so much and look forward to making this for a gathering!
Chili sauce, largely. It’s not intensely tangy, but it’s there.
HI SK- I am a long time fan but rarely comment. I wanted to share my experience for the many more who will come and try this recipe (and you should!).
I purchased my first brisket from my local store 3.5 pounds. Came pre wrapped in a bag so hard to inspect. I followed your directions except a few ingredient subs. I decided on slow cooker after reading many comments. I set the timer for 10 hours. I checked at 8 because it was a smaller piece of meet. It was still very tough. I checked at 10 not wanting to over cook and the edges were just starting to show signs of flaking. I set the timer for another 2 hours and fell asleep. By the time I woke up it had been almost 13 hours. I pulled the meat out and it did seem somewhat tender but nothing like pork or chuck roast. I followed instructions and put in a baking dish in the fridge with the sauce. I took it out this morning, noticed it had very little fat but I skimmed it off and sliced the meat while cold and threw it back in the sauce in fridge. I finally put it in my oven, covered at 300 degrees for 40 minutes. Put some of the brown sugar, ketchup chili sauce mixture I saved on top of the meat and broiled for 8 minutes and yes is it ever tender and delicious!! I think the lack of fat may have been a sign of a tougher part of the brisket and maybe why it needed to cook for so long! Also think something magic (lol) happens when you put it in the fridge overnight! Thanks for the recipe I will try the southwest version next.
I like Brisket as well as this looks great. I concur, Brisket could do no wrong. I assume I should discover more occasions in my life for brisket. I will certainly need to try this dish. Maybe in sandwich kind. Perhaps on an onion bun.Yum Yum!
I realize this post is several years old, but I was wondering if I could cook this all day, then refrigerate around 10pm, and not reheat until 7pm the following day. In other words, can I do the final step in the oven after 20 hrs in the fridge? Thanks!
Absolutely. You can do the final step after two days, even. Your brisket will thank you for the nap!
Deb, thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. I have a question about your cookbook brisket recipe, but didn’t know where else to put it. I made it for my husband and I and we absolutely loved it. But it’s just us 2 and wanted to freeze some of it, but unfortunately we mopped up all the sauce and didn’t leave much left. Can I put the marinade ingredients together and cook it down to make extra sauce when we have our leftovers? Do you think that would be fine? Thank you!!
Absolutely. I’m glad it was a hit.
Truly a delicious brisket! Good instructions, relatively easy recipe, just takes some time! As I prepared to reheat it today, I added in carrots, then covered the dish in foil and baked at 350F for around an hour (it was bubbling and the carrots were finally tender). Served with mashed potatoes made with Yukon Golds, plenty of of butter and cream. Great flavor and very satisfying (especially when my sometimes finicky family professed their tremendous appreciation for such a delicious meal).
This one’s a keeper!
My favorite part about your Southwestern Brisket recipe was the sear-and-then-slow-cook idea, so you get some char but without losing the ease of the slow cooker. Is there a reason you didn’t use the same method with this recipe?
For some reason, this step is less common with Jewish-ish brisket recipes, but absolutely no reason you cannot do it here too.
I do sear the meat before hand with some salt and pepper and it gives it a nice crisp finish on the outside layer.
Made it last weekend! It was soooo delicious! I will definitely use this recipe again but next time I think I might cut on sugar…just a bit.
Yum. I made this and it came out great! I love brisket! However, when I’ve made brisket myself in the past, it always comes out dry. I tried this out in my electric pressure cooker (I have an Instant Pot) and it really worked. Here are the adjustments I made for my 5 pound brisket+electric pressure cooker: I used all of the onions, about 1/2 of all of the “sauce” ingredients, cut the brisket into 2 pieces and put it all in the electric pressure cooker. I cooked it for 50 minutes on manual, quick release, but found it wasn’t done yet. So, I rearranged the pieces, put it in for another 20 minutes + quick release. The whole thing went into the fridge over night. Then I scraped the fat off, sliced the meat and reheated for 1 hour submerged in the sauce in a tightly sealed pan around 350 in my convection oven. Yum. It was tender but the slices were still intact (it didn’t completely fall apart), which was perfect for me and easy to serve. Thank you!!!
Thank you for posting this! I have made this in the oven and wanted to try using my instantpot so was scrolling through trying to find the cooking times and came across tori post!
Looks delicious! Does it freeze well…you know…if we manage to not eat it all in one sitting?
I’ve made this many times and this is hands down our favorite brisket recipe! I’m hoping to make it for Passover this time, and most beef broths i’m finding are not Passover Kosher. Is there a good substitute for beef broth that would work?
You can always make your own? Or, vegetable stock would probably work as well.
Hi Deb! After studying the comments and failing to figure this out online, I have a follow up question about brisket freezing. I know you said you haven’t frozen this dish yourself, but since you said you thought it would be fine, I’m wondering how and at what stage you would go about it. First, would you freeze it before reheating it for the final step? Second, would you freeze it before the final de-fatting? Third, would you freeze it uncut? Fourth, would you freeze it with or without the sauce? Your advice would be most appreciated as I attempt to prepare for seder in advance.
I’d freeze it uncut, after cooking, and I might leave the fat on just for better insulation.
Fwiw, I’ve frozen it already sliced and in the juices for months and it’s tasted just fine! I’m making mine today (a week ahead) and then slicing and freezing it. I’ll defrost overnight and then reheat for an hour or more. It just get better and better the longer it cooks-like magic!
Twice a year (Roth Hashana and Passover) the same question comes up…do I buy a single (flat) or a double brisket? Deb, what do you recommend and why?
Hmmm…I’ve always found it best to separate the meat from the juices when refrigerating, otherwise it seemed to sop it up. You didn’t have that experience? Sounds yummy, no matter what!
Not at all. I think the opposite of sopping it up would be it getting very dry, the enemy.
This looks delicious! Maybe I won’t do a turkey for Easter after all. Would you suggest trimmed or untrimmed brisket?
I am intrigued by this recipe and very excited to make it this weekend for Passover. Deb, what type of chili sauce do you use? I am not familiar with the ingredient. Thanks
Sounds great, thank you so much I will make this soon, your almond crescent sound wonderful and so easy,
Happy Passover
Hi, this looks divine. I usually get a 7 or 8 lb brisket and it’s way to big to fit in my crockepit in a single layer. Do you fold yours over to fit into your crockpot? Will it yells the same results if so?
I have been making briskets for decades, and this one is the best ever. But I have the same question. I have a large crockpot and 2 very large ceramic casserole dishes, and 8-10 pounds of brisket will not fit as a single layer in any of them. Therefore, I do it in the oven in 2 separate casserole dishes, dividing the onions and sauce between the two. Works great, but I’m curious why this issue isn’t addressed in brisket recipes. Does it really cook the same stacked up in a crockpot or casserole dish?
I’ve cooked up to about 8-9 pounds in my 8 qt slow cooker. I stack them with some onion mixture in between and then pour the sauce. It works every time! This year I have around 11 pounds and it wouldn’t fit so I have it in the oven. Truth be told, the slow cooker way tastes better but I only have one cooker and I was greedy haha!
I cut my brisket in half and put them on top of each other to fit in my Crockpot. Put a thick layer of the onion & garlic mixture between the halves. Worked great.
This is the best brisket ever!! I’ve been making it for a few years now and it’s become the “expected” Passover brisket. Last few times I split it into my large (7quart) and smaller (4? Quart) crockpot as I added potatos and carrots. I’m making this right now and this time I put both pieces in my large crockpot without the potatos etc. I layered the brisket, onions and sauce and then another layer with the second piece of brisket. It just barely fit but got it all in there. I have just about 10 lbs of brisket in two similar size pieces.
Made this tonight for an early Passover sedar. It was truly delicious, melt in your mouth tender and super easy. Everyone wanted the recipe. I don’t usually cook with ketchup but this was a keeper of a dish. Made it in the oven- baked for four hours and was perfect. Thanks!!
Hi Debbie,
I started making the brisket last night and cooked it for 2.5 hours. I will finish it tomorrow before my seder. However I am concerned because the sauce is completely watery, and the brisket so far does not have much flavor. I think I made a mistake and used beef soup rather than beef stock. Could this be the issue? Do you think reducing the sauce and perhaps adding more salt to the meat could help the problem? I am worried and wonder if I should start over, but would be such a waste of meat.
I think the sauce would reduce while it’s cooking, so if you only cooked it for 2.5 hours vs 4, you’re not getting the benefit of the reduction time. The sauce wasn’t really that thick – but it did have “sticking power” if you know what I mean. I don’t know how freezing will affect that – you might have to take the sauce and reduce it in a pan on the stove.
I made this and it was really fantastic. I can’t wait to make it again.
Quick question though – I have a crock pot that I think is “average” sized – maybe 4? I could not fit an 8 pound brisket in (it was cut into about 4 pieces). Do you make this in an extremely large slow cooker, or is there a secret to getting that much brisket in? (Maybe cut in smaller pieces?)
I am making this now and am using an 8.5lb brisket. I too have what I think must be an average sized slow cooker. I had to cut my brisket in half. I layered it…brisket, onion, sauce, brisket, onion, sauce. I couldn’t fit all of the sauce in the slow cooker. Meat, onions and sauce are too the top of the slow cooker. Hoping for the best! Saved the extra sauce to add back tomorrow when I heat again in the oven. But I too would like to know if this method is ok?
I made this tonight for our seder, I had a guest who is celiac and needed something without gluten. Everyone raved about it! Savory, yet not too sweet, it really was a hit!
Yes it was!
A friend brought this up my Seder last night. After years of brisket experience, I vote this BEST EVER.
I was nervous to try a new recipe for Passover but this was a hit with everyone!
I marinated with half the garlic and dijon mustard the day before. Cooked lower and longer. next time will try as per your instructions.
Thank you so much! Will definitely make again
Hi SK, just wondering if you have ever made this with half or even none of the brown sugar?
many thanks,
Liz
I haven’t. I would definitely not do none. I think you could drop it by 1/3 without compromising anything.
This looks amazing and I’d love to try it. Quick question – can it be frozen?
Absolutely. Make sure you freeze it submerged in the juices; don’t leave any behind.
Hi, I love all of your recipes. If you were going to cook a brisket half the size, how long would you cook it for? Thanks!
We had this at a friend’s house and my kids went bananas for it.
Now I want to make it in the slow cooker. My brisket is very long. Can I cut it and layer it in two or three giant pieces, spreading onions and pouring sauce between the layers? Or do I get voted off the island for a faux pas like this? I realize the time will have to be increased. But I’m fine with that. If you answer me, I will think you are FABULOUS.
Absolutely — I layer mine all the time. The time may not need an increase, just might be closer to the upper end of the range.
Hi! Thank you for sharing all these amazing recipes. Can you make this brisket in an insta pot? Thx for your guidance!
You can but I haven’t tested times yet. If you have another brisket recipe for the Instapot, the settings should work for this one too.
If using a 2-3 pound brisket, would you recommend adjusting the amounts of the other ingredients as well or leave the same? thanks
No harm in having extra sauce so you don’t have to reduce it if you don’t wish.
thanks so much. can’t wait to eat the final result tomorrow!
hello! ive made this dish several times and it always comes out great. i made it today, but it seems like the sauce might have burned in the oven. is there a way to fix it?
Hi-I just finished the crock pot part. Do I cover the baking dish that goes in the fridge? Thanks!
I love your recipes Deb! So here’s my issue: I bought a whole brisket I’m going to make this and a brisket chili recipe. I was wondering if I should use the flat or the point? Should I trim away the fat or leave it on and discard after cooking? Any help is appreciated as I’ve never made braised brisket before. Thanks!
I would use the flat, it’s just personal preference. Leave the fat on unless there’s a huge amount, and slice it off after cooking and cooling. It’s super easy, good luck!
I plan on making this for a party this weekend. What do you think would happen if I wrapped it in bacon? Big mistake?
I personally wouldn’t, it’s moist enough without it. I don’t know if the bacon would crisp up or stay soggy since it’s in so much sauce.
Thank you so much! I’ll keep the recipe as-is. Throwing it in the slow cooker tonight (Thursday in Mongolia), for a dinner party on Saturday. Love that I can do this ahead of time!
I wanted to test the Tangy Brisket recipe once before Thanksgiving to make sure I was confident in the result. First, I used a 4 pound brisket that I stacked (per Deb) in the slow cooker and set on low for 10 hours. The step to remove the fat was a challenge because the meat still seemed very tough as did the fat layer…had to be very aggressive in the scraping of it. Next, I refrigerated the two pieces with sauce at least 24 hours, then skimmed, sliced and reheated. The sauce was plentiful (I made the full recipe) and SO wonderful, the meat had benefitted from its day in the refrigerator, but it was still a little tough. I’m wondering what I might have changed? Slow cook it longer next time? I will be using an 8-10 pound brisket next. Also, just ordered an 8 qt InstantPot in case that was the issue.
Made this in half the above quantities for a big family dinner in the slow cooker today, put it on in the morning for 8 hours on high, took the meat out & rested it for half an hour or so plus reduced the sauce a little on the hob in a saucepan before serving. Was absolutely delicious, tender, falling apart & so flavoursome. Served it with mashed potatoes, cabbage and some roasted veg. Everyone had seconds, still lots of beef for sandwiches tomorrow :)
Made this the first time (and my first brisket) and it was awesome! I felt the sauce was a little runny but I didn’t purée the veggies in it the first time so I’ll give that a whirl this time around. I love that it’s super easy, takes little effort, and yet comes out like you slaved for hours!
This brisket is incredible! I made it for Christmas dinner and then left in the fridge for a few days while I was away. Came home and busted out a few brisket grilled cheese…. OMG!!!!
So easy, so so so easy to make
Also, I cut this recipe in half and it worked great. It tastes almost like meatloaf in terms of flavor.
Fantastic recipe! This is my “go to” for brisket, saved on my Pinterest page.
Deb, I have your Smitten Kitten COokbook and I love your recipes. But I made the brisket tonight and was so disappointed. I followed what you did to the tee but the meat was so dry, I had to throw it out. Your meatloaf on the other hand, is to die for. So I happened to come across this modified recipe from what you have in you book and I’m seeing your brisket was the same size as mine but it looks like a heftier thicker piece of meat. which may explain why mine was so dry. I cooked it for 10 hours in the crockpot on low so I just can’t figure out what’s going on. Also, did you purchase a Choice piece of brisket. I’m trying to see whether it was just in the cut.
Thanks, Karla Carreiro
I can’t figure it out either — that recipe is one of the most-made, most-beloved recipes in the book, I use the same cooking times in my crockpot (of course) and nobody has told me yet that the cooking time doesn’t work (which is so, so rare!). Doesn’t mean it didn’t go poorly for you, just that I don’t know what I’d change. Too dry could mean under or over, it’s always hard to know with brisket.
Any chance you’ve adapted this recipe to use a Sous Vide????
No, I don’t have the machine.
Hi Deb!
I’d really like to try to make this, in addition to my mom’s brisket that I always make, for Passover this year. I wanted to see if you think this recipe could be converted to a pressure cooking recipe in the Instant Pot. Thoughts?
Thank you!
Rachel
Absolutely. I haven’t done it yet but my guess would be similar to short ribs — 35 minutes. But I’d cross-check it with another IP brisket recipe to be safe.
Thanks so much, Deb! I’ll be giving it a shot and I’ll let you know how it goes!
Wondering if you had success in the instant pot?
Yes! I’ve made it twice in the instant pot and it has turned out wonderful. I have it chilling in the fridge now for Rosh Hashanah dinner tonight! I follow the recipe as written, but put it in the instant pot for 75 minutes, let the pressure release naturally for about 15-20, release the rest manually, and then go back to the recipe as written.
Hi Deb! I really want to make this for Passover, but I need chili sauce without corn syrup. Do you have a suggestion for substitution? This seems like a perfect recipe otherwise! I can’t use red wine due to some guests with migraine tendencies.
I use Kosher for Passover ketchup in place of the chili sauce, because I can never find Kosher for Passover chili sauce. So, I use a total of 2 cups of ketchup, instead of 1 cup of ketchup and 1 cup of chili sauce. It always comes out amazingly good and I don’t notice much of a difference with this substitution. Chag Sameach!
Thank you, Deb, for this amazing recipe, which is always a staple in my home this time of year.
Do you figure a pound per person? I always thought rule of thumb was 1/2 per person. 8-10 pound piece of meat seems really big – especially since its $6.99 a pound.
Do you use first cut or second cut brisket?
My biggest slow cooker insert is 6 quarts. Deb’s must be bigger, because 8 pounds of brisket just barely fit. And because the pot was overfilled, the brisket came out tough. (Next time I’d halve the recipe.) Also: if you can’t find Heinz chili sauce, which I assume is mild, beware. I used something Chinese with a rooster on it, and the brisket is too spicy. Like if they served brisket at a Thai restaurant and you asked for spicy rather than medium or mild.
Darcy,
I’ve made it twice. Neither time was impressed with the results … despite all of the glowing reviews by so many others here. First time, ~4# brisket in a pressure cooker on slow cook. Was tough with a lovely flavorful sauce … and plenty of it. Second time, 8# in an 8 qt InstaPot that I bought to specifically to see if I could achieve a better result. Still tough. Not sure what to change, but doubt I will make it again.
I’ve found that some things just don’t translate well to the Insta Pot. I would suggest trying it once the way Deb instructs. The only change I make is to drain off most of the initial sauce (with the meat juices) and add fresh sauce for the reheating. The resulting sauce has more punch. Yes it takes time to make it in the oven, but some things are worth that investment. :)
Started making this two days ago and followed the recipe exactly. Other than my sauce not bubbling in the last step (no biggie, just boiled down some), it was a breeze to make. It’s divine!
This brisket was divine and worked perfect for our first time hosting a Seder! The only thing is that we have tons left over. What do you think about freezing it?
Do you leave the full fat cap on or is it trim brisket with just marbling?
If the piece is really fatty, I’ll trim it down to 1/4-inch or slightly less. (1/4″ is usually for when I’ll brown the piece first, so it melts off more, so on the scant side here where we don’t.)
Hi there,
My brisket is only four pounds, how long should it go into the slow cooker?
Usually the low end of the time range is still correct.
Deb can I use a pressure cooker to make the brisket?
Yes, absolutely.
This is the BEST brisket recipe EVER. It’s my go to. You need to use a crock pot on low for 10 hours.
Deb, this sounds so great! I’m making it tomorrow morning in slow cooker to serve Sunday. I have a 4# piece of meat which is why the overnight method won’t work. I figure five hours on low should work? Thoughts? Also, my non-Jewish brisket eating husband says that brisket should be grilled. Any idea how this would fare on the grill before served?
Thanks!!!
Nope, it should take just about the same amount of time to cook, regardless of the size of the brisket. However, for a smaller piece, you can always check in at 8 hours if you’re worried.
I’m confused about the sauce and then the liquid ingredients. If you set aside the sauce ingredients (spices, veggies), can’t you just put them in the bowl you’re using for the stock, ketchup, chili sauce and brown sugar instead of another bowl? What do you mean by ‘set aside’? They get mixed together at some point, right? Am I missing something? Sorry. Just need a bit of clarification. Duh.
I just mixed it all together in one bowl and it worked out fine!
Yes, probably that works too!
For a 4 lb brisket should I halve the sauce ingredients or leave as is since we like things saucy? Thanks.
You can leave it if you want things extra saucy.
This is the recipe that converted me from the chili sauce and ginger ale brisket recipe I had used for years. No question it is the absolute best oven roasted brisket recipe ever! I make double the sauce, roast it the day before, chill, slice and shingle in another dish, then add the second batch of sauce (with additional slivered onions) for the warming. That way the sauce has even more punch with the finished brisket. There is usually very little left over. Yum!
This is hands down the best brisket I’ve ever had! My daughter made it Sunday night for Rosh Hashanah and it was perfect. She blended the gravy and onions and poured it over the cooled, sliced brisket. Definitely our new go to brisket recipe!
She also made your sunken apple tart which was just as delicious as it was beautiful.
Oh mama! This was so good! I’m not sure that I’ve ever really had brisket…except maybe at a restaurant in the south, but this was amazing! I made it in the Instant Pot last night (1.5 hours high pressure, natural release) and let it rest for about 18 hours in the fridge. Heated it up in the oven and had for dinner tonight! It was to die for. I want to buy some egg noodles for the leftovers!
Amazing recipe. My husband cleaned his plate. And we have leftovers…. for now.
Hi Deb,
Ive made this before and it was awesome, but this time around something went wrong. I used a 5lb brisket, and cooked in the slow cooker for 10 hours and the brisket came out slightly tough :( did I overcook it? under cook it? how should I revive it?
Hard to say without trying it. Brisket is tough before it softens, and then again if it overcooks a lot. Did it seem the later?
Mine’s not tender after 10 hours. Fat layer is still solid, not scrape-able. What now? More time on low? Bump it up to Medium? Instant Pot it?
Needs more time, you could do it in the oven, not sure exactly how I’d program the IP for it at the point where you are but 325 to 350 is fairly good for braising in the oven and you can check for doneness in 30 to 60 minutes.
I have never made brisket before, When I discovered your brisket recipe, I figured you knew what you were talking about. I made it using the slow cooker method. My New York husband declared it one of my best meals ever. You deserve most of the credit. I will definitely make this brisket recipe again.
Ok, I get that I’m late to the party on this recipe, but I wanted to put in my two cents! The recipe turned out delicious (thanks Deb – I never doubt you) for Rosh Hashanah this year, but I attempted 8 1/2 lbs of meat and the full recipe for onions and sauce and it didn’t all fit into my 6 quart slow cooker. I lost about 3/4 of a cup of sauce before cooking and after 10 hours, the seal on my lid was the only thing keeping the liquid in. I dealt with the spillage as I removed the lid, about another 1/4 of a cup of liquid. I’m doing the recipe again right now with 9 pounds of meat and I think I’ll do it in two batches. As you can see, it’s not stopping me cooking it!
I always make a large quantity, which is why I do it low and slow in a large roasting pan in the oven, covered by tightly crimped aluminum foil. This way, you can lift the meat out when done, slice it, then put slices back in the pan with the sauce and refrigerate until time to heat and serve.
I love this recipe for brisket and have been making it often so first off wanted to thank you for this family favorite!
Trying to cook in advance for a meal i am making in two weeks time and cooked the brisket in the crock-pot last night. Would you recommend freezing it straight away or giving it a day i the fridge to sit first? Also would you slice it before freezing or only once I defrost it to serve in two weeks time? Thanks in advance for your help!
This was amazing! First time I’ve ever tried making brisket and it was a huge success. I think my piece of meat was a little smaller than 3 lbs so I ended up with tons of sauce, but decided to siphon off a container to use for the cabbage rolls I’m trying tomorrow. Also, I went for spicy garlic chili sauce (Sambal Oelek) rather than Heinz so it really had some kick. Did an experiment with half and added sour cream to make it a little like a tangy stroganoff sauce – soooo good! Will definitely do again, thanks!
I made this, followed the recipe exactly but halved all ingredients as I only had a 5.5 lb brisket. Before I even had my plate filled, my husband said “this brisket is YUMMY”! Now, his usual comments of “fine” and/or “good” occur after I have asked him a couple of times how he liked something. And he was right, this is one of the best briskets I have ever eaten. Thanks for sharing this great recipe. I will definitely make it again.
This was fantastic for a celebration dinner party that I had for 6. I avoid extra sugar when I cook so I used another commenter’s suggestion of tomato paste instead of ketchup. Instead of processed chili sauce, I added a tablespoon of chili oil into the entire sauce. And I used only 1/2 cup of brown sugar. My two briskets totaled 5.5 pounds and I kept all of the other measurements per the recipe. I did the slow cooker method for 10 hours, then left the meat and sauce in the fridge for 2.5 days before slicing and reheating at the 300 degrees. I did use my Cuisinart to pulverize the sauce. The brisket was very, very tender and the sauce was so good you could eat it by the spoonfuls. Everyone raved and asked for the recipe. My husband and I ate leftovers two days later and it was even better! Highly recommend this recipe – was fabulous.
I, too, used a can of tomato paste instead of ketchup. I added a couple of tbsp. of Sriracha instead of “chili sauce.” I used 1/2 the brown sugar and added 1/2 small jar of no added sugar apricot preserves. It was sweet, tangy, and fantastic. I think using a full jar of apricot preserves in place of all of the sugar would work equally well.
HELP! Slow cooked for 10 hours on low, my brisket is not very tender and the fat pad is still solid – no scraping off possible. What do I do now???
I found a bag of cooked meat in the freezer marked brisket…no date, no nothing. Turns out, it was this recipe made probably within the last 5-6 months. OMG so delicious! All that gravy! Served it over polenta. My holiday wish is that everyone find a mystery bag in their freezer marked (better than mine was) tangy spiced brisket.
Love this brisket recipe, but I have one improvement: I always take the brisket out after around 90 minutes in the oven and slice it and return to the pan to cook until tender. This makes much neater slices than slicing after fully cooked and chilled.
I’ve been making this brisket for years, and this last time, for the leftovers, we got some side dishes from an awesome soul food restaurant. Deb, I know you say it’s perfect/traditional for Passover. But oh my it was wonderful with sweet potato casserole and collards on a regular Tuesday night!
This is my entire family’s favorite recipe for brisket, hands-down. Even my brisket-guru aunt approves. And it was my nephew’s first meal in the US when he came home from Korea – and is now his comfort food. I accidentally swapped in Thai sweet chili sauce for regular chili sauce, and I double the onions and spices – we are a family of strong seasoning feelings – and there’s no going back. Thank you so much for this!
How many days can you keep it in the fridge after you’ve cooked it before reheating?
For serving at a party/for guests, I’d say 2 days is nice. But it keeps for 5 to 6 before I’d probably toss it.
Started this tonight for dinner tomorrow, in the instant pot. I sauteed the onions in the pot, then what I should’ve done is take them out and followed the directions in the recipe. In an ill-advised attempt to save thirty seconds, I stirred in the sauce then nestled the meat in, and was greeted with a ‘burn’ error on the pot. Ended up taking everything out, putting in the meat first, then adding all the sauce. Things worked okay then, at high pressure for 90 minutes, then natural release, and the brisket was perfectly cooked and just as described (and a bite of it was delicious before it went into the fridge to rest). Looking forward to it tomorrow!
Wow wow wow, we made this for our Passover Seder and it was AMAZING!!! Everyone at the Seder absolutely loved it, and I’m just amazed at the lip-smacking brisket this recipe produced. We didn’t have a slow cooker so we cooked it in the oven at 325 for 4 hours we stored the sauce separately than the brisket so that we could skim some of the fat off the sauce easily; and also so we could slice the brisket easily after it chilled. Then we reheated it all together. Will DEFINITELY make this again.
Every year my Unitarian Universalist church has a potluck Passover Seder to honor the Jewish history that has contributed to our Unitarian heritage. I’ve been making this brisket for the past few years (along with your potato kugel and your matzoh crack!), and everyone raves about it! I get comments like, “I haven’t had brisket this good since the one my Bubbie made,” and “This is the best brisket I’ve ever had!” The only bad part is there are never any leftovers for me to take home! I buy the whole brisket at Costco, so I bake it in a huge roasting pan, but when I’ve made a smaller piece of brisket, I do it in the slow cooker and it’s wonderful!! I pass on to you all the kudos I get! Thanks, Deb!!
I have a small brisket (2.7 lbs). Could I use this recipe just cutting everything in 1/3?
This brisket has become the brisket to which all briskets in my family are compared (thank you!), but my slow cooker died and I got an Instant Pot. Do you have any guidance for the instant pot? Have you ever been able to try this in one?
If I plan to half the recipe, do I cook it for half the time as well? What other changes would I make, if any? Thanks!
This is my go to recipe for the last three years! It comes out perfectly when I do it in the slow cooker the day before, and warm it the day of!
If I make a 4-5 lb brisket can I just have the ingredients ? Will the cook time be adjusted at all? Thx!
Since making this a few weeks ago, the family has requested it for Thanksgiving instead of turkey. They lived it THAT much!
This was perfect as written. Melt in your mouth. I used the oven and rested it overnight. Perfect, special recipe.
This sounds wonderful and I would like to try it. Just wondering how large your slow cooker is? An 8-10 pund brisket is huge. Do you have to cut it to lay flat?? Thanks much!
Made this yesterday for Christmas dinner and it was amazing. So so good! It was my first time cooking brisket. I was really nervous because I do not typically cook with cups of ketchup and brown sugar, and I was afraid the sauce would be sweet and uninteresting. But I trusted Deb and she didn’t let me down. The sauce was great, even by the standards of food snobs. All the steps worked perfectly, just as Deb said. The only thing was that after 30 minutes at 300, our meat was still not even close to warm enough. Another 10-15 minutes at 400 got it good and warm though. Everyone raved.
Also, forgot to say I used a 6.5 pound brisket and made the full sauce recipe. We cut the meat in half and stacked the pieces one on top of the other in the slow cooker and coated the tops of each one with the onion mixture and the sauce. This worked perfectly. I don’t think anything much bigger would have fit. We also got tired and did not blend up the sauce. Still wonderful.
Hi Deb! I love this recipe and would like to cook it. What kind of slow cooker do you use? I’m visiting your blog the first time after reading your book and don’t know what to buy.
Greatings and love from Germany. Miriam
Thanks — I actually don’t have one anymore; my InstantPot is both a slow and pressure cooker and I don’t need two machines. But I found that almost all slow-cookers with decent reviews were fine and that there was no benefit (for me) to buying an expensive one.
You have an appliance that’s both?! I didn’t know such a thing existed. I have not purchased an InstaPot because I just can’t make myself buy another appliance. But I WANT one. So what is it that you have?
I thought all InstantPots had slow-cooker functions. I have this model. I’ve written more about the pros-cons of it in this post.
I used a 9.11 lb brisket. I was nervous there wouldn’t be enough sauce. I used 4 med onions -cause we like onions- and most of them shriveled into hardly anything. I’m wondering if I should sauté more onions? I cut the brisket the next day and then freezing until Passover. Any suggestions about the onion situation would be good.
Thankyou
Wow, that was amazing! I pretended we are Jewish and served it with your potato kugel. 😉 I had to roll myself away from the table. So yummy!
Hey there, I made this a few years ago and it turns out amazing. Thanks for the recipe Deb! Unfortunately, I didn’t take any notes at the time. I’m guessing I still need to salt and pepper the brisket too – maybe even the day before it goes in the slow cooker. Thoughts on this?
I’ve never seasoned mine the day before, but I do often add seasoning to taste.
Hello!
Any suggestions for a non-spicy version? Cooking for whole family, which includes 12 month old twins!
Thanks!
Hi! I usually use that old Jewish standby of onion soup mix, can of coke etc etc. But I want to try yours. I have no beef broth (and can’t get any – COVID) Can I use chicken stock instead? Or water? Or?? Help!
Chicken stock is fine
Hi Deb (and everyone!)
In the mad rush of shopping in times of COVID, I could only get my hands on chicken stock. Is this an easy swap for the need stock. Also have vege stock if you think more appropriate
Thanks!
Chicken stock is fine
Deb – I’ve been making this recipe for years on any occasion, usually a Jewish holiday, that calls for brisket. I think it’s time to ditch the Heinz chili sauce with its high fructose corn syrup. Can you create a substitute or is there one on the market? This year I made this recipe in my Instant Pot – 1 hour 30 minutes to a perfectly tender brisket. Try it!
Hi Susan
I substituted the chili sauce for a table spoon of chili olive oil for that reason and it was perfect.
Hi Deb! Is white sugar an ok substitute in quarantine? I’m out of brown sugar and molasses. Thank you!!
I’d definitely think so
This recipe cured my fear of cooking brisket! Because I was only cooking for two, I had a smaller piece of meat (about 1.5kg) and used half quantities for sauce. I cooked this in the oven and made a few alterations such as:
olive oil instead of vegetable oil
chicken stock instead of beef stock
One tablespoon of chilli oil instead of chilli sauce
Rice malt syrup instead of sugar (we try to limit our sugar intake)
cooked it the night before, then the next day sliced it and reheated it and it was perfect. Husband loved it. Hopefully I can be with my family for Rosh Hashana and this will be my contribution.
So, if I buy a 12 pound brisket, would you suggest the same amount of liquid? Is it ok to cut it into two pieces and cook in two crockpots? I’ve made this several times but not with that much brisket.
It’s okay to cut it and divide it between two. But it might be better to make extra liquid, just in case.
trying to decide which brisket to make for RH this weekend. (happy new year! shana tova!) so which brisket recipe do you prefer? this one? or the one in the book? and why?
based on the new braised chick pea recipe, i think you prefer the one in the book? am i right?
thx for your help!
thank you!
I like them both but I am partial to the book’s version, which is more deeply tangy/sour/nuanced. I have heard over the years that people might prefer the book’s version with more liquid, especially if you want extra for serving and leftovers.
Deb do you use the point (aka double aka first aka fattier) cut or flat (aka single aka second aka leaner) cut for your brisket?
Oops point cut = second cut. Flat cut = first cut. Everyone has a different way of referring to brisket cuts!
I can’t have garlic or onion (I know!). What can I substitute for that part of the sauce? I’m used to it not being in things re: flavour.
Hi there, I am dying to make this but I am having trouble deciding what to pair it with side dish wise. Any recommendations? Thanks!
coming here to ask the same! did you end up making it, and if so, what did you go with? i was contemplating celery root mash….
Catholic but compelled to make this brisket. Only two of us so I’m going to freeze half after slow cooker stage. Wish me luck!
I’m excited to try this… but do you really mean an 8 to 10 Pound brisket? I don’t know how to find one that big?..
Thanks,
Karen
You can use a smaller amount, just scale the recipe down.
I couldn’t find one at all in my rural grocery store. I asked at the meat counter and, lo and behold, he came back with an 8 pound brisket in hand. It was almost $10/lb mind you (is that normal???. But I now have it in my possession and getting ready to give it a try. I haven’t cooked in the slow-cooker in a lonnnng time so I hope all goes well or I’m out $80 😬
We made this brisket (half the recipe) sous vide and it came out beautifully. The meat was tender but not falling apart, almost like roast beef. The chef said he could have cooked it to fall apart stage but wanted it like this. It was delicious. That sweet and sour tangy sauce says Jewish brisket to me. Thank you so much!
Hi! I split a 1/4 cow with my BFF and now have a behemoth brisket (it’s 8-10#) glaring at me every time I open the freezer.
Do you have an Instant Pot conversion?
Made this last night and it was delicious!!! The whole family loved it. Thank you for the recipe!
What size slow cooker do you use to fit a 10 pound brisket?
Made this in my Instant Pot for Thanksgiving! Whoa! It. Is. Divine!
The Instant Pot guide say that for every 1 lb of brisket, cook for 20-25 minutes. Ours was on the colder side when it went in so we opted for the full 25/lb and it was perfect!
Also: we love sauce, so after reading the comments suggesting as much, I made the full recipe for sauce sauce even though I only used a 4 pound brisket. It was actually way more sauce than we needed! (Not complaining–froze some of it for some future stew meat–just letting y’all know that halving the recipe for a smaller brisket should be plenty!
Does it go in the fridge covered or uncovered?
I cover it
Thanks!
Hello! Like most folks we’re ballin’ on a budget this year. Do you think this could work with short ribs instead of brisket? I’m going to try and give it a whirl tonight!
Absolutely. (I love short ribs more than brisket any day!)
Thanks for the quick response! They are in the oven now, fingers crossed. Hope you have a beautiful holiday!
The subject if cuts of brisket have come up several times and I think I can help. A “whole” brisket fresh iff the cow is at first cut of the cow as a long piece of meat with a second smaller piece of meat attached by fat. Most butchers separate these two pieces before hitting store shelves. The larger bottom piece is the first cut and as far as brisket goes, it is the leaner (an I use this term loosely) brisket cut. The smaller top piece is the second cut and tends to be the fattier of the two cuts. You cook both the same way, both will come out tender if cooked the correct way…but if you like some fat running through the meat that is not a crazy amount, go for a second cut which tends to be a little bit cheaper. And by the way, my best and most tender briskets have been second cuts. As a side note, if your only option is a Kosher brisket, be prepared to spend more per pound…but make note a non-kosher brisket is just as good and just as perfect so save your pennies if Kosher is unnecessary. My most important advice is do NOT trim ALL the fat off of the fattiest side of the brisket when it is raw…absolutely have some trimmed, as it moistures, flavors, and tenderizes the meat. Remember, you can always trim off some fat after it cools in the fridge and before you slice it and put it back in the juice before it’s second reheat prior to serving. I an a butcher’s daughter from a father who was a gourmet cook! I hope his and my knowledge here helps and brisket maker!! Lastly, never ever throw away left over juice once you have devoured the brisket…you can freeze it…and whip it out to add to ground beef or ground turkey to flavor a Shepherds Pie, a meat pie of any type, or a meat knish…I have just given away my epicurean secret! Enjoy all. I hope I helped!
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes! I made this for the first time last week using the slow cooker for some Italian friends, who gave rave reviews and took home all the leftovers! I’ve got another brisket cooking, this time in the oven to see which method we like best.
Loved this recipe! I reduced the stock to 1 1/2 cup because I used an instant pot. I didn’t have chili sauce so I mixed 1 cup of strained tomatoes + 1/4 cup brown sugar + 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar + a pinch of pepper flakes. Cooked it in an instant pot for 35 minutes and natural pressure release. It was delicious! This is a keeper! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Deb—in this recipe and in the one for brisket in your first cookbook it’s not clear for how long the brisket is cooked in the oven—the text says to take it out an hour ahead and heat the oven to 300 but the next instruction is about serving it. I’ve read both multiple times and can’t see what I’m missing?
The oven cooking instructions are a few lines up:
The 300 degree part is just for reheating. I note that it usually takes about 30 minutes to rewarm. Hope that helps.
Haven’t tried this yet what about that 8 to 10 lbs brisket. That’s over a foot and a half long, sure won’t fit in my crock pot.
You can halve and stack it in a slow-cooker.
Can this brisket be made in an instant pot? What would be the adjustment from a crockpot to an instant pot?
Freezing – please advise the best way in steps to freeze and thaw the brisket when making it in advance.
Thank you.
It’s probably too big for a IP unless halved, but you can use the meat/stew button at high pressure for 70 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the pressure manually. Check the brisket; it should be tender and easily pull back with the tines of a fork. If it is not cooked to your liking, return to the pot for another 5 to 10 minutes at the same setting — meat/stew at high pressure.
You can freeze it. Just make sure it’s as submerged in the sauce as possible.
Between Maya’s sweet and sour and this one do you have a favourite?
I like Maya’s but I do sometimes double the non-brisket ingredients these days, just because I’m always happy to have extra.
Deb, I had spent a couple of decades seeking the perfect brisket recipe for me. I never had a brisket really fail, they were all very good; it’s just that I wanted to settle down with my one and only true love forever brisket recipe. And then you first published this one and I was, ahem, SMITTEN. I knew it was ‘bashert’—this was THE ONE. It is easy, it is oh so tender, and the sweet tangy flavor is unique enough to make everyone say “wow”, this one is SPECIAL. I have stuck with it for every holiday since you first published it, however I strayed once to try the recipe in your first book—which was great, but yet, it was THIS tangy brisket that remained the best of the best in my heart. My only issue was that, as in all tender briskets, it would fall apart when I tried to thinly slice it, even though I did so after overnight chilling and with a really great slicing knife (forget my electric knife). A couple of years ago I tried applying Nach Waxman’s sliced brisket trick to this recipe and it worked like a charm. Now, I initially set the oven to 375 and cook the covered brisket in its sauce and caramelized onions for 1.5 hours (I know, everyone’s screaming “too hot for brisket! “), but I faithfully follow Nach’s plan, removing the brisket from the oven, turning the heat down to 325, letting the brisket rest on a carving board for a while, then cleanly slicing the not yet done brisket letting the perfectly even thin slices lean to slightly overlap. I then use spatulas to move the perfectly sliced brisket all in one piece back to the baking dish (Le Crueset for me) helping the sauce to make its way between all the newly cut slices. I then let it cook covered for another 2 hours (at 325) and Voila—perfectly melt in your mouth tender swoon worthy tangy brisket sliced to perfection. Thank you Deb for this perfect recipe that my family looks forward to at every holiday (with thanks to Nach Waxman for teaching me how to slice it like a pro). I would love to try this slicing trick some day with the slow cooker version of this recipe, but I have not been sure at what point to take it out of the slow cooker to slice before returning it to finish cooking. Any ideas?
I’m a vegetarian and the obvious substitute is jackfruit. But I live in the boondocks and can’t get it. Do you think extra firm tofu would work?
I think so, but also do note these “brisket-” braised chickpeas, one of my favorites for vegetarian high holidays.
Hi. I’m planning on making your Tangy Spiced Brisket for Passover in my oven and have 2 questions.
1. If the idea is to slow cook it, shouldn’t the oven temperature be lower, like 300?
2. What is the purpose of onion powder and garlic powder?
thanks!
Have made your tangy spiced brisket many times in my slow cooker with great success. However, the last 2 times it was tough, not tender. What am I doing wrong?
Did it seem over- or under-cooked?
I think under cooked
This might be an odd thing to check, but we found the same with our tri tips then realized my husband (always the husband’s fault ;-) was inconsistently slicing it without paying attention to the grain. So it wasn’t the meat, but was the way he was slicing it. Just a thought…..
Quick question: what are your cook time recommendations for a 4 pound brisket?
I’d check it 1 to 2 hours early, adding more time if needed, but it should be otherwise about the same.
Deb, I was told this was my best brisket ever. Moist, tangy and lots of sauce. Loved by all. Thank you for always having wonderful recipes I can rely on. Your recipes are my first stop when I am looking for ideas.
Absolutely marvellous. I left out the cayenne but otherwise followed the recipe exactly and we all stuffed our greedy faces. Everyone from the 2-yr-old on up loved this, we’ll certainly make it again when we want to impress! Thanks Deb, I got many many compliments on your behalf
This was such a big hit during Passover that I’m making this again for Rosh Hashanah this week. I’m thinking of throwing in a sprig or 2 of Rosemary to add some earthiness, but I’m afraid to change the flavor profile. Whatever I decide to do this time around, this recipe will be a holiday staple!
I”m really curious what size slow-cooker you use that will hold an 8-10 lb brisket – before it’s cooked – in one piece. The brisket I made for Passover was 8 lb, and it was HUGE.
Sharon’s question is similar to mine. In Arizona, they sell the entire brisket because many people use them for BBQ brisket. So the butcher will cut in half but always wants to know which end I want. Flat or pointed? Does it matter? The recipe sounds great BTW!
I make mine almost exactly like this except I add a can of beer to it. But the procedure is the same. Been making it this way for years.
Hi Deb!
I love your recipes and your humor! Your site is the best. My mom has bombed the brisket for the last few Jewish holidays so I volunteered to make it for Rosh Hashanah this year (it will be my first brisket)… your recipe looks perfect! This will be our first time ever in a slow cooker, so I have a couple questions:
My mom cannot get past the fact that there is no step to sear the meat before cooking. I saw you mentioned in another comment that you didn’t detect a difference, but I wanted to double check. If we did decide to sear in advance, i would that change the cook time?
Is it OK if the brisket is folded over/kinda stuffed in the pot? Ours will be pretty full since we are cooking 2, 3.5lb pieces. Any recommendations for the layout?
Thank you so much! 🙏
Absolutely wonderful. I realize this was posted more than 11 years ago, but it’s new to me. I made this for Rosh Hashanah and will toss out other brisket recipes. It is excellent! Only made tiny changes – instead of the spices listed I seasoned both sides with Penzeys Justice and good black pepper. Lightly seared both sides of the brisket in the same skillet used for caramelizing the onions before putting it in the Crockpot. Since I had to cut my 6 pound brisket in half to fit the pot, I layered 1/2 of the onion mixture between the pieces of meat. Skipped the ketchup in favor of a little more chili sauce, using the whole 12 ounce bottle. Won rave reviews and I will make this again. Thank you!
I’ve made this twice now for Rosh Hashanah and it’s been a hit both times! Thank for making me look good! 😂☺️ In fact I doubled the recipe for 23 people last night to rave reviews!
Did you cook it all at once? Currently have a 15 pound brisket that *almost fits in my roasting pan. Did you leave it in the oven for longer or make it in two batches?
I’ve made this probably about 6 times at this point, always with the oven method. I’ve also halved the recipe. It is consistently AWESOME, just knocks it out of the park. Whole Foods doesn’t seem to carry a tomato-based chili sauce like Heinz’s, but sweet chili sauces work just fine here IMO.
Hello! I’m making this instead of the turkey this year! One question. What the max resting time? I’d like to crock pot this overnight Tuesday to Wednesday morning then rest it till Thursday afternoon. Would that work ok? It’s my first brisket! Thanks!
Absolutely. I find it’s even great after 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
Ive made this before in a Dutch oven it was perfect! But now I’m making this for a large group and have a 15 pound brisket (gasp!). Should I leave it in the oven at 350 for longer than 3-4 hours then? I’m afraid with under / over cooking!
Do leftovers taste good enough to make it worth the effort of making enough for freezing? I am considering 1/2 recipe bec. it’s more than enough for our family of three. But if it freezes well, I could make the whole recipe and freeze leftovers. But I’m not good with eating leftovers if they don’t taste nearly as good as first servings….TIA for advice!
One more question about this brisket….I halved the recipe. So I halved the sauce on a 4# brisket as well. I baked in oven about 4 hours. There is not a lot of sauce now that it’s out of the oven. In hindsight, maybe I should’ve made the full sauce. I was just worried it would be too watery. Should I make a little extra sauce for the reheat? Or will it just dillute the yummy sauce that cooked w/all the meat juice and fat for the 4 hour braise in the oven? What to do here so I don’t end up with dry brisket on the reheat??? Would love help on this!
Either more sauce or water (or broth) would work.
If there isn’t time to rest it — is starting in the morning and eating it in the evening — what’s the best procedure for serving?
Would the brisket recipe freeze after removing from the slow cooker, for 4 days, and then continuing with thawing, and warming up in the oven for supper that day? I do a corned beef and cabbage dinner in my crock pot a couple of times a year, and the results are divine, but I have never done a recipe for brisket.
Thank you.
P.S. love your website, have tried many of your recipes, with excellent results.
Best. Brisket. Ever. I think it’s due to the three-stage method of slow cooking, refrigeration, and then baking. It was delicious on day two, and the leftovers were even more magical on day four.
Used a five pound brisket but full amount of sauce ingredients. Didn’t have any chili sauce and didn’t want to add a cup of brown sugar, so substituted a can of regular Coke. Used an immersion blender on defatted sauce.
Perfection!
I’m cooking for two and have a 2 1/2lb brisket. How long in the slow cooker do you think? Looks awesome!
It’s usually about the same time, but you can check at 8 hours to be safe.
My family LOVES this recipe, as do I, but being diabetic I’m trying to figure out how to make this lower in carbs. I’m wondering if I can substitute the brown sugar for a low carb version of brown sugar (Swerve or Lakanto brown), and if I could use low carb ketchup. I don’t want to ruin meat that’s $12 a pound!
I always sear my brisket first, but noticed there is no sear for this recipe- was it forgotten?
This one does not but you can if you wish. It will cook for exactly the same time.
I’ve never had the chili sauce, and people should be very careful of the bouillon if they don’t want the brisket too salty. But basically it’s great, and on repeat over here (usually in smaller quantities, our local store sells 3lb briskets). I’d do the cool and reheat thing if I was hosting passover or something, but basically we can never stop long enough not to just eat much of it right there. Thank you, this is like acquiring a new jewish mother in law :-).
I’d like to keep it simple and NOT drag out the crock pot. What if I use cast iron LeCreuset pot, and cook at 275 for 5 hours? Sound about right! Thinking of trying this. Btw, will reduce by half as I’m cooking for two, so will use a 4lb brisket.
I’d welcome feedback/opinions.
This brisket is very similar to an old Emeril LaGasse recipe. Passover Brisket. Been using it for years. Excellent. Haven’t tried yours yet though
What cut of brisket are you using: Flat-cut (first cut), point-cut (second cut) or fat cap? The one time I made brisket it was flat-cut and despite long, slow cooking was dry and tough. Second cut is less lean so maybe more tender. Cost of beef right now I want to get it right.
I’m not sure why, but nowhere I buy brisket labels it with these terms. I would say that there’s often fat on top it and it’s got some marbling.
Thank you so much for the brisket recipe 🙏
I’ve made it many times and it was amazing
I just replaced water- stock for half bottle of good red wine 😉
I hope you’ll forgive me, Debra 🙏🥰
Do you think slow cooking on a burner could work instead of a slow cooker? (I don’t have one for Passover and want to make it using that method rather than the oven if possible). Thank you!
I think you possibly could do it on a burner, but you’d need to keep it very, very low and it would take 3 to 4 hours, like the oven.
Hi! Excited to try this! Also have a 4 pound brisket – so half the sauce ingredients but keep the same cooking time (10 hr slow cooker) ?
Yes, although you can check in a little sooner, just to see, it usually takes a similar amount of time.
Help! If I half my brisket portion (3-4lbs) how should I adjust the slow cooker time? Cooking this tonight so greatly appreciate any insight :)
It usually needs the same amount of time but there’s no harm in checking in 20% early, just to see.
Can’t wait to make this!! I am making a much smaller brisket – should I cut down on the cooking time in the slow cooker? Probably half the size?
No, it will still need most of the cooking time.
Not sure if anyone will see this, but if you do, help! I made this overnight in the slow cooker, but not all of the meat was submerged in the liquid. The part that was is now tender, but the part that wasn’t is still tough. I need to put in the fridge today and planning to serve tomorrow. Is there anything I can do tomorrow to soften up the tough piece??
You can flip it over in the liquid when you rewarm it, so the dry part has a chance to hydrate. It should adjust.
I made this along with the potato kugel for Easter. Both we’re delicious. I also had some meat not fully submerged in the crockpot. I flipped it over in the crockpot a couple of times and it turned out great. Careful when you flip, if you spill it’s a hot mess.
I made this for second night seder and haven’t tried it yet. My sauce/braising liquid reduced too much. Any suggestions on what to add to dilute or extend the sauce? My house smells great!
I added an additional 1.5 cups of broth to the sauce and it was fantastic. I had a 5 lb brisket and braised it at 300 for about 5.5 hours. I made it 2 days early and it got rave reviews from even my picky eater. I used the first cut but did not have the butcher trim it. The brisket have a large fat later that made for a super tender final dish.
I’ve made this multiple times and it’s always a great hit! I’ve tried it once in the oven and it tastes so much better in the slow cooker. Thank you for this recipe I have shared it multiple times!!!!
Hi Deb, I love your recipes and make many of them on repeat. I’m wondering if you have any suggestions about this. I made this recipe and followed the directions exactly, but the end result was not falling-apart – the pieces were a little stiff. I think the problem may be that, in order to fit all the brisket into the slow cooker, I had to cut the meat almost in half and stack the two pieces. I did put sauce and onions on the bottom half before adding the second layer of beef (also covered with onions and sauce). It was an 8-pound brisket, and I have a Cuisinart 7 quart slow cooker. Should I use a smaller piece of beef next time? It was still good, and the sauce was delicious, but I’m trying to figure out how to make it softer in the future. Thanks so much!
When I have to halve and stack, I usually flip the top and bottom pieces once midway, and then again near the end. Did you rest it overnight and slice it cold? I suspect you already know how to slice against the grain, but I hadn’t thought about this in a while until I was at a restaurant where they had not on a meat and it was so much woodier. I was surprised how much of a difference it made. Anyway, just spitballing/troubleshooting off the top of my head.
Oh I’m having a surprisingly tough time with this one today. Started it overnight in the instant pot on slow cook “Normal” setting — I think it went 9 hours (approx 4.5 lbs). Didn’t seem done — fat cap was not loose. So, I threw it in the oven at 350 for a while. I thought it was done, so took it out to chill, and when I took it out to skim the fat off the sauce, I turned it over and realized there was still a pretty solid fat cap on the other side. Ugh. So, I threw it back in the oven. It’s either going to be way overcooked or just right, and at this point I have no idea how to tell. Any advice? I’m so bummed, this is my first non-awesome SK dish. Last time I made this (in the oven) it came out amazing.
Bummer.
I’ve only used the IP as a pressure cooker, not slow-cooker, so I’m not sure how it compares to the slow-cookers that most of us grew up with. Maybe it runs hotter or cooks faster? Not sure whether Normal = high or low on a slow-cooker, either.
Thank you for the recipe, it turned out great!
Couldn’t find a large cut of brisket, so used two small pieces, about 1,2 kg overall. After reading the comments, I only halved the sauce ingredients. It is indeed very tasty, but still, a bit too much.
I used a multicooker for the meat. First overnight for 8 hours on 80 degrees C. But it seemed tough in the morning, so I increased the heat to 90 degrees C and cooked it for 2 hours more. Very tender meat!
Served it with white rice and mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans).
I love this recipe so so so much. I’ve made it in the oven, slow cooker, and several times via pressure cooker as well. It’s always great and because I keep being a little low on something in the pantry, it’s been a little different every time. Thank you for this!
My husband’s favorite! Mine too. Definitely use the slow cooker. This makes a great alternative to the ubiquitous Easter ham. But don’t wait for a special occasion. I make it several times a year and the leftovers are great for sandwiches or just as is.
If you have a 5lb brisket to you 1/2 the ingredients for this recipe? Thx
Yes, you can halve everything.
Can this recipe be cut in half? Is so, how?
No need to respond…I read your response in a previous post. Thanks!
Absolutely. Just halve everything. Check the brisket at 8 hours instead of 10.
Forget the passed-down oral tradition that was your grandmother’s brisket, there is no better brisket recipe than this one. As I prepare to make it again for Rosh Hashanah, I am reminded how good this is! Be sure to make extra to put into the freezer.
Soooo…here I am at 72 years old, questioning my way of making brisket…do you trim off the fat to about 1/4” before putting it in the pan (slow cooker), and when putting it in the pan (slow cooker), fat side up or fat side down?,,,or does any of this matter?
Trimming fat to 1/4” is optional, but makes sense to me. I always cook fat side up so fat runs down thru meat while it cooks. Just my opinion here. Can’t recall if SK directions specify or not. The slow cooking of fat lends all that flavor. Either way, you will have plenty of fat to drain off after cooking and before plating.
Looks fabulous: what cut of brisket do you use? This looks quite thick.
Lesley, you can cut your slices as thin or thick as you want (but this recipe makes
such a tender brisket that your carefully sliced slices often fall apart which is fine, no one cares.). I have read all the virtues of first cut versus 2nd cut but if you have a good piece of meat, I think the cut makes minimal difference. In terms of shape, I like the flat over the point, but I usually buy whatever is available and try not to overthink it. This is the best brisket recipe you will ever make. I have tried SO very many brisket recipes, many of which I enjoyed a lot,, but I have always returned to this one, and my family is so happy when I do. Enjoy!
This looks so good. My husband usually does a brisket in the smoker, but I wanted to find an alternative. Making it today for dinner tomorrow. Looks so good.
I love love love all of your recipes and they NEVER FAIL to be delicious and user friendly.
Very curious- I have an instant pot, have any of your readers tried making this in an instant pot? Thanks so much in advance!
I don’t have a slow cooker so I made this in the oven for the holidays. It was delicious but very, very rich – too rich for me — but my family loved it. For the oven method, be sure to choose a pan size that keeps the brisket deep in the sauce throughout the cooking process. If your pan is too large, the sauce will spread out and dry up before it’s done, leading to the dreaded dry meat. For easy cleanup and handling, cooked meat with sauce in a large, deep foil roasting pan which I set inside an empty, extra large (turkey-sized) roasting pan. For the oven method, make sure that you budget about two extra hours to let cool off completely before putting it in the fridge. It still needs to chill for several more hours after that Next time I will definitely make this the night before in a slow cooker.
Hi! I’ve just prepped the brisket and it’s started cooking in the slow cooker. Quick question: this is not the same recipes as Maya’s sweet and sour holiday brisket in your book right – because I’m following Maya’s from your book and the ingredients are different.
Also do I put a tight fitting lid when I transfer from the fridge to the oven after cooking it in the slow cooker?
I’ve made both versions, and honestly, they are both outstanding! However the Tangy Spiced Brisket is my absolute hands down favorite brisket of all time. It has become my go-to for every holiday. I kinda sorta remember Deb commenting several years ago that Maya’s Sweet and Sour is her favorite. But honestly, you can’t go wrong with either one. And yes, a tight cover on the container you are reheating in the oven, to make sure your wonderfully moist and tender brisket does not dry out.
OMG! This was so far beyond my expectations! I bought a 12 lb brisket and have never cooked one before. Followed this recipe exactly as written and can’t think of any way I’d want to change it. I had to cut it into 2 and used 2 slow cookers overnight as suggested. Only problem, I awoke at 4 AM to that amazing smell and feeling so hungry! Thank you for sharing this!
I’d love to know how, in the name of all that is holy, you can get an 8-10 pound brisket to fit in a slow cooker! Mine is barely 5 pounds and squeezing it in the sides still come up over the sauce. And yes, I’ve got the exact same size slow cooker you show here. Can’t wait to try it though!
Hi Deb!
I’m so excited to make this recipe! Do you recommend using a flat or point cut of brisket?
So, I made this about 5 years ago and then tried the Cabbage Roll recipe but didn’t really have a “favourite tomato sauce”, so just took the leftover brisket sauce and added a jar of passata and it was amazing. Best cabbage rolls ever. So now, every Christmas, I cook a brisket so I can have the leftover sauce to make cabbage rolls.
This year, no brisket in our grocery store, but a bottom round roast that looked tough and was cheap. Sliced it in half to be about the thickness of a brisket and it did the trick. Amazing beef with buttered noodles and again, have sauce for my cabbage rolls :) Thank you, Deb – you and Jamie Oliver are my top online chefs :)
I made this for Hanukkah this year and I am in love!!! Was so tired of the “ family” brisket recipe that never really seemed that good when I did it, I was looking for something new. Found this total gem on your site and this baby is my new best friend! I don’t have a slow cooker so roasted the brisket in the oven. It was about 5.25 lbs so did it about 4 hours. Perhaps could have done 3 1/2. I think what sets this recipe apart is the cooking down of the onions and the wonderful seasoning you then add to them. Plus putting them on top of the brisket makes so much sense! Made this two days before our dinner too. Loved that I could make it so far ahead of time! When I took it out of the oven to de-fat a bit, I took a few bits for a taste. Holy cow- this is a winner!! My husband has not stopped raving about it. We just finished the leftovers tonight. Family all loved it. This is now and will always be my brisket recipe. Thank you Deb!!
Made this for Hanukkah — don’t have a slow cooker so had to use the oven but still came out tender and super flavorful. Only change I’d make for next time is to reduce the sugar — maybe by 1/3? — as it was a little too sweet for our tastes. But overall a very nice recipe, thanks!!
Do you have any tips for buying brisket? What cut to buy and what to look for?
will whole brisket work ?
do i sear the meat before putting in slow cooker? and now a more religious question, hope it’s okay to ask? you all celebrate passover, and i know you would not eat a ham, so is this the kind of main course you’d have? just wondering, as i get tired of ham for easter, would love to try a traditional seder meal …
You can sear it if you wish. I don’t for this one. I love ham, but yes, brisket is the main course.
I have tried MANY brisket recipes over the last 25 years. This one is my go-to favorite for so many reasons——-always tender and delicious; crowd pleaser: thick sauce (if you puree sauce in blender with the cooked onions) that doesn’t run all over the plate; limited number of ingredients, all of which I always have on stock; easy to make; and importantly NO SEAR REQUIRED!!!!! I have tried it both ways and there is no difference other than the time and mess involved in attempting to sear the meat beforehand. This brisket is fool proof, make it exactly as written. The only change I have made is 9 hours in the slow cooker instead of 10 when making a brisket under 8 lbs (I think my Crock Pot brand slow cooker may cook hotter than other slow cookers).
This is still the best brisket, ever. Tangy but def not spicy-hot. Melts in your mouth. Even a terrible slicer like me can slice this pretty well after it has been chilled. Look no farther.
The flavor of this dish is brilliant! Loved by all when served at a couple of dinner parties.
The only suggestion I have is after the slow cook and BEFORE the overnight rest, carve it after cooling. Toss the slices back in the sauce and that way the sauce absorbs into far more surface area. Heat as suggested before serving.
We also have someone in our household who can’t tolerate high fat proteins(BRISKET). So I make it with tri tip roast – browned then slow cooker for 6 hours.
Deb, this looks wonderful. Can it be made in an InstantPot?
Yes, absolutely.
Which cut of brisket do you recommend? I’m never sure if I should use first cut (the leaner one) or second cut (the fattier one) or even a whole brisket. Also, did you use a kosher or non-kosher cut of meet? Any idea if that might affect the ingredients of your recipe (salt, etc) Appreciate your insights! Going to the store shortly.
I use unkosher meat. I more often use leaner; both are fine here.
Hi Deb, For cooking this in the oven, and since you recommend using a slow cooker, what about using the oven at a low temp of 180-200 in order to be similar to the slow cooker? Wondering if you’ve tried this, or how you think it would compare to the 3-4 hrs at 350. Thank you!
When I make mine in the oven, I just do the 350. Sometimes I do 1.5 hours at 375 then 2 more hours at 325 but I find it all comes out the same. I do not find that most home ovens keep a steady temperature of 200 well.
I have been making brisket for over 20 years and tried your recipe. It was a huge success and everyone loved it. Thank you.
This recipe was delicious. Sweet with a bit of spice. I want to leave a not because I had read that some thought it was a bit tough and mine was also after the second baking. First time in the oven was for 4 hrs., we could of eaten it then it was so tender. Following the recipe , I put in the fridge overnight to be reheated for the next day. I set it out to room temperature and put in oven at 300 for 1 hr.. It was just warm and very tough so I turned up the heat and cooked for another hr., then it was back to being tender again. My oven temp is accurate so I think the reheat temp, 300, should be higher. That might explain why is was tough, just not heated enough on the second baking. Just a thought. Be prepared to have to cook it longer on the final baking.
hmm, I never considered it a “second baking”, I always saw that as a “reheat”. I never experienced the meat getting more tough after reheating at 300 anywhere from 30-60 minutes , but sometimes it does get more tender. I usually refrigerate the meat overnight after roasting, slice it while cold in the morning (placing the sliced brisket back in the gravy, allowing the gravy to seep between each slice), refrigerate agin until time to reheat (submerged in gravy) before serving. To make ahead, freeze the cooked sliced brisket IN the gravy. I have learned that cooking time is dependent on brisket size—cooking a small brisket for the full time directed makes it almost too tender to slice neatly (but still amazingly good).
Is this really sweet? A cup of brown sugar sounds like a lot, esp with both chili sauce and ketchup added as well. Could it be decreased or omitted without affecting the sauce too much? Thank you.
2 unrelated people I know made this brisket for Passover. I was lucky enough to be at one of their Seders. I make a good brisket, but this was the best I’ve ever had. I’ll make it in the slow cooker myself — what a treat. Thank you.
Hi Deb,
I made this last year and it was a hit! I’m using 2 crock pots to make 2, 10 lb briskets this year (hosting a huge crowd) and wondering if I can reheat in the crock pots instead of oven? I’ll need my oven for other things as we get closer to dinner. Have you ever used crock pot to reheat? If so what setting and for how long? Thanks!
Here in Arizona, the butcher won’t cut the brisket. They only sell the entire brisket which can be very expensive. Is there another cut I can use? Thanks, Deb. Shana tova!
Cynthia, do you have a Costco there? They have cut portions, usually large, but much smaller than a whole brisket. They tend to have smaller cuts around the holidays. You can cut it up and freeze what you are not ready to cook. But I agree, a whole brisket would be overwhelming to me!
There’s not a holiday that goes by when I don’t make this brisket. Leftovers go in the freezer with the label: delicious brisket. It NEVER disappoints.
I have been making this brisket since 2011 (it is 2023 now) and I can honestly say it is the absolute best. My parents live in Florida and gave the recipe to the club chef who made it for the holidays there. It was a huge hit!
This was phenomenal. Best flavored brisket I’ve ever had. Multiple family members wanted the recipe. For fear of undercooking it, I added some hours to the cook time at a lower heat and the result was perfectly tender, melt-in-our-mouths level magic. I cooked my 7 lb. brisket in the oven at 350 for 3.5 hours and then for about an hour more at 300. The next day after slicing and fat removal, I put it back in the oven and cooked it at 300 for about an hour, then for another hour or so at 250. Total cook time was close to 6.5 hours over two days–this cut can handle any length of cooking!
I made this for the first time this week, as my first ever brisket. I had some struggles with it, which I want to share for anybody coming along later. The recipe itself is A+.
My partner bought a 4.8lb cut, which I put into my InstantPot as a slow cooker in the evening. I couldn’t fit it as one piece, so I ended up with three pieces stacked. It might be something specific to the InstantPot and wouldn’t happen in a regular slow cooker, but the next morning after 10 hours, the top two pieces were not done and the bottom one seemed pretty hard. I put the cooked one in the fridge with half the sauce and then used the IP to pressure cook the other two pieces for 35 minutes total. At that point, all the pieces did the flaking with the fork that I believed was how I knew they were cooked.
Everything sat in the fridge for about 7 hours, and when I took them out to cut and reheat, the cutting was not great – they felt not soft. I had a crowd of people coming and I was freaking, but at this point I was committed, so into the oven they went. I did about 45 minutes at 300, and the meat softened a lot during that final warmup.
Anyway, the sauce was a big hit and everybody loved the brisket, but next time I make this I will either just use the InstantPot as a pressure cooker, or get myself a real slow cooker, because this was too much of an emotional journey for me.
Followed this recipe exactly according to the instructions and I am very disappointed! When I put the 9 lb brisket into the slow cooker, it seemed like kind of a tight fit, but I assumed that because so many people had commented positively, it would probably work. After 10 hours of cooking overnight, the meat was still only 150F on the interior when the recommended temp is 190-200. After doing a little research, it seems that there is a food safety risk to over crowding a crockpot like this and cooking at low temps. Because the meat sat so long at lower temperature range where bacteria can grow easily, this presented a food safety risk. Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to throw away the beautiful and expensive piece of brisket rather than risk the health of ourselves and our guests.
I take some responsibility for this, since the overcrowded crockpot seemed like a bad idea and I went with it anyway. However, the recipe does not work as described and your readers should be aware that they should probably not attempt to cook a brisket piece larger than maybe 4-5 lb if using a slow cooker. A larger piece that takes up most of the space in the crockpot will not cook evenly and will stay uncooked on the inside after 10 hours on low. For those wondering, we do own a high quality crockpot in perfect working condition so this is not the issue. If you’re going to attempt a larger piece as the recipe suggests, you’ll probably want to take the meat out of the fridge an hour before cooking, preheat the slow cooker, and start it on high for an hour or two before switching to low. I can’t guarantee this will work but you might have more success than I did!
Unfortunately, the failure of this recipe ended up costing us a lot of money, wasting time, and forcing us to make a last minute change to our dinner plans for our guests. I hope this comment helps others avoid what happened to us. Smitten Kitchen, please do a better job of testing your recipes!
Thanks for your detailed review. I am so sorry it didnt work for you. Given your situation, I would have taken the same risk and assumed the larger pcs of meat would shrink ok during cooking, and that they would cook OK, during the long cooking period.
You offered some good reminders- Hope you aren’t beating yourself up over this. Even the best cooks have goof ups, sometimes.
This was amazing. exactly the sauce flavor I was looking for. question. My 6? 7? pound brisket overfowed the six quart slow cooker, (the biggest I could find in store today). What size slow cooker do you use? thanks!
My seven pound brisket was cooked for 9 hours in a Dutch oven. Oven at 220’F.
Amazing! The smell was intoxicating as it roasted. A bit a lemon juice to zhuzh up the sauce the next day.
The not spicy, flavorful sauce went over well with my kiddos.
Thank you Deb (and Padma as the business of daily life has kept me from more frequently frequenting SK, saw this on “Tast of the Nation”).
And we look forward to using left overs in tacos.
A full pond of brisket per person! I’ve made this recipe twice, to rave reviews both times, but half the meat would serve 8 to 10 people.
A lot of brisket is fat so it ends up being less meat
I’ve mad this a few times over the years. Forgot where I originally got it from. Thank you! Ive modded it a little to make a little more “mole” style, with anchos, poblanos and Anaheim chilies. Delish!
Ive also been dialing my over lower and slower before serving. I find going at 90-120 mins at 250 to be more tender.
I’m confused by the “chili sauce” …
What exactly is this? Hot sauce? The only chili sauce I have is more like a paste- Thai chili.
I’m trying to find a substitute but I don’t understand the function of this ingredient- is it simply to add spice?
I think it’s Heinz Chili Sauce or similar. That’s how I interpreted it and what I used.
Yes. I was asking for further details as I don’t use Heinz products since they are GMO and contain high fructose corn syrup.
I looked the product up. It’s basically ketchup with garlic powder and undisclosed “flavorings”.
It’s usually something like this and it’s (illogically!) pretty mild. If you’re looking for a homemade version, one of these recipes could work:
https://www.food.com/recipe/chili-sauce-192123
https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/heinz-chili-sauce/
I would probably just throw them all in with the brisket vs. making a whole sauce first. It will all be the same in the end.
This is the best brisket recipe ever! When reheating I like to add some carrots and newly caramelized sliced onions.
I’d like to make this a week or two before Passover. How do you feel about freezing everything and then reheating?
We can’t have that much sugar, carbs have become a real problem as we age, what do you think about leaving out the sugar? Would it be worth using the rest of the ingredients or is this a recipe for the under 60 set?
Thanks!
Does this come out very sweet with the one cup of brown sugar? Oh,d that be cut back? One kid hates sweet sauces
Meant to say *could that be cut back
ah, must do brisket again someday, though I’m the only one in the family who really loves it (daughter will eat, grandson will not). I do have my grandmother’s covered (and deep) aluminum roaster, never had a brisket go dry in the oven when I use it. I follow a recipe I got from a friend that starts with 5 lb of onions (for a substantial brisket). Maybe I’ll improvise and do a fusion of that and your recipe.
Hi! I love this recipe. I’ve made it a few times and always end up with a quart or two of extra sauce. I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong or there’s a typo in measurements. If anyone has any tips, I would really appreciate it. My hunch is that I’m getting the wrong size of brisket. But I’m getting one that can fit in an Insta pot. Though it’s much lighter than what is indicated here.
Some brisket lets off more liquid than others. You need the liquid or it won’t braise. And you want it to keep the leftovers moist. But if you want to ake it more of a sauce for serving, you can reduce it on the stove.