There are those who will go out of their way to tell you (loudly) that you cannot possibly create a great, smoky brisket in a home oven. They will extol (also loudly) that you cannot get the flavor or texture of smoked brisket without a specialized smoker or pit. These people will then usually go on to mock (very loudly) what has come to be known as Faux-B-Que as the greatest evil to ever be foisted upon the world of Barbecue, and that an oven smoked brisket is, even if done well, never going to be anything close to BBQ.
Sadly, in as much as I know and love some of these people, they are terribly, horribly wrong.
First of all; Faux-B-Que isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Let’s face it. Not everyone has the luxury of using his or her own smoker, either because of living situations or lack of space to use one. (I doubt many New York building supers would be happy with a smoker running inside one of their buildings.) And then you have the time and maintenance issue. You have to invest the better part of a day to smoking a piece of meat in a smoker. With faux-b-que, you invest minutes and let the oven or slow cooker do the work.
True, there is no way that I have found to get an exact duplicate of a slow smoked brisket without smoke… A lot of it… Over long periods of time. And an oven smoked brisket will never be exactly like its smoked counterparts. You can however, come very close in terms of flavor and have an almost identical texture, all without owning a smoker of your own. This is Faux-B-Que at its best, and it has passed the test in a home full of regular eaters of real pit smoked meats. If it gets their seal of approval, it will pass muster for your guests as well.
While I will not under any circumstances call this barbecue, I swear to you that it is absolutely, utterly and completely succulent and delicious. If you like beef, you’ll love this oven smoked brisket. I promise you that.
Let’s get on with it, shall we?
First, lay out a sheet of foil on a large baking sheet. Rinse and dry your brisket and lay it on the foil fat side down.
Mix together a batch of oven “smoke juice” marinade (Recipe Below).
Brush the brisket liberally with smoke juice.
Flip the brisket over and brush the rest of the oven smoke juice on the other side, then wrap tightly in foil. (I think I need new baking sheets soon.)
Place your beef parcel in a low-slow oven and forget about it for 8 or 9 hours. (If you’ve got a big slow cooker, you can just drop the brisket in your crock pot on low.) Don’t worry about it. Don’t peek. It will be fine. Give the beef and the marinade time to work. You’ll be rewarded with something that should look like this:
Pull out of the oven and allow to rest for about ten minutes or until it’s cool enough to handle before slicing. It’s already as tender as it’s ever going to get.
Serve with whatever makes you happy. We chose mashed potatoes.
Remember all that glorious juice sitting in the foil? Don’t waste it! Drizzle everything liberally.
And there you have it. Enjoy!
Oven smoked brisket may use liquid smoke, but has all the flavor of a Texas BBQ. Right from your oven or Crockpot. You're gonna love this one, Y'all.
Oven Smoked Brisket
Ingredients
Brisket:
"Smoke Juice" Marinade:
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12 Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 676Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 241mgSodium: 190mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 66g
What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:
If you’d like for the outside of your brisket to have a bit os a char, unwrap and place under a broiler for a few minutes before serving. This isn’t necessary at all, but it can add to the feel of pit smoked meat.
Links to other oven smoked brisket recipes:
- Oven Barbecued Brisket, from Lydia at the Perfect Pantry
- Oven Baked BBQ Ribs, from Apartment Therapy the Kitchn
This looks wonderful!
Oh it is. IT IS!
It looks great and I will be trying this tomorrow. What I want to know is where did you find such a lean and uniform cut of brisket? Any brisket I ever bought has had a layer of fat through the center. I certain cannot find one you have in the picture.
there’s two parts of the brisket the thick part on want one is called the point and the tin, Uniformed side is called the flat. I bought a 2 1/2 pound flat today at the grocery store Angus beef, has tons of marbling and fat in it but not layers of fat just marbling etc. The flat is basically what they use in corn beef
You know, I do this for ribs all the time. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this method for a brisket. Brilliant! And it looks even better than when I use my smoker. I’m definitely going to do this!
I’m a fan of both methods. If I have the day to spend tending my smoke box, I’ll do it outside. If it’s too cold or if I have to work, the oven rules.
I’m absolutely going to try this, being the huge brisket fan that I am! I do have a large slow cooker. Can I make it in that with the foil wrap, or cook it without the foil? (And thanks for linking to my oven brisket recipe!)
Lydia, You’ll want to leave the foil on, even in the slow cooker. It makes all the difference. (And it holds o to the juice!)
The foil wont burn to the slow cooker or anything? Should I put a little water in the bottom?
Not if it’s on low. It’ll be just fine there. If you’re really worried you can use nonstick foil with the nonstick side out :)
Would using a turkey roasting bag work just as well? I use this method with pastrami when I finish it in the oven.
It should, and it will make cleanup a breeze!
How much easier can it get than this!?! I love smoked brisket, in fact, I love smoked anything! :) Sounds marvelous and looks SO juicy!
When I have free time in the morning I use a hybrid method of this by using my smoker for about an hour with the meat (brisket, loin and ribs) on open foil. I turn once about half way into the smoking. When I feel like I have a good real smoke flavor I wrap the foil tight and transfer to the oven. The one downside is at times a bit of the smoke smell escapes and you can smell it in the house. Some will like that, others will not. Also, Colgin makes an Apple wood smoke that works well with many cuts of meat.
gracias! se lee y se ve muy rica la receta.
Hello,
Just trying this out now. I am unable to attend to a BBQ, nor do I have a smoker. I can not wait for the next 9 hours to pass. Thank you for this recipe :)
Wonderful. Thank you!!
Any suggestions as a replacement to the chipotle sauce?
Yes! You can use a bit of the juice from a can of Chipotle in adobo, or just add a drop or two of liquid smoke and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
Excellent – I have that on hand! I was trying to avoid a trip to the store :D
Do you still use a rub?
You can use a rub if you’d like, it’ll add a ton of flavor, but it isn’t necessary. I’ve got a great Texas Barbecue Rub recipe if you need one.
Did you ever measure the internal temperature of the brisket after the long bake @ 220F, just curious?
does it matter weather the oven is gas or electric?also what kind of dry rub would you suggest?
Melissa,
It does not matter in the slightest. Gas or electric will both do the job perfectly. For a rub, try this one Jerry’s Texas BBQ Rub
is the fat side up or down?
I’d go with up
Just pulled this out of the oven, 8hrs, 220. It is dry as a bone! Yuck. Sorry Jerry, but the “leave it alone, don’t worry about it”
did not pan out for this 5.5lb brisket. Followed your directions to a tee.
You’ve got to cook it fat side up. I’ve tried this method both ways and it has been a major success and crowd pleaser every time I cooked it fat side up. The one time I forgot and cooked it fat side down, I never did it again. Lesson learned.
Just came across this post and I’m going to try this method! I paid 60.00 for 2 lbs of smoked brisket, good, but WAY to expensive hopefully this is a great alternative! I’m thinking the crock pot method may keep the meat moist….any thoughts please post!
Stacey,
The slow cooker should do an admirable job. Make sure to leave the fat on the brisket (It should have at least a little bit on it) and wrap it tight to keep the juices in. I’d wager that issues with this recipe are due to removing the fat or in cooking it fat side down.
Have a 1 1/2 lb. flat cut. Want to make it in crock pot . Any idea of amounts of spices and liquids ? Thanks, looks good !
Ron,
No changes needed, but if you want you can add 1/4 cup water to the crock, then just go low and slow all day
Thanks so much fir the help. I will use a dry rub then wrap it in foil fat side up with the liquid and cook it overnight in the slow cooker . Will get back to you all with results !!
If you are presenting this as oven “smoked” brisket and not as BBQ to your BBQ fanatic friends and they are still up-in-arms about it, they are idiots. This sounds like a good technique to get something similar to BBQ pit smoked brisket, and just provides other options when one can’t devote the weekend to BBQ’ing (or other reasons). I don’t know if I can dig on brisket without the pink smoke ring, but I will give this a shot sometime to see how close it comes. Thanks.
I made this and turned it into chili! It makes for an amazing flavor.
Awesome! I’m glad you found a way to make this even better.
Well it’s 2020 now so who knows if you’ll see this but Thank You! I learned to cook brisket in the oven when i first moved to Texas 30 some years ago. It’s been about 10 years now since I cooked one and my recipe is packed away some where. I went along thinking I knew how to do it but it’s 2am and here I sat trying to find a recipe similar to the one I’ve always used. A simple recipe. Mostly I needed foil directions, temp and cook times because I marinate in liquid smoke for 8 hours. I bet I looked at 10 recipes/videos/blogs before I found yours. It really is simple and easy to get great smoke flavored, fall apart tender brisket from the oven. Thank You Thank You! Now I can get that puppy in and go to bed! Happy 4th, 2020 Corona Virus Mask Wearing Social Distancing Fun Times!!
Nichola,
Yup, it’s 2020, and I saw it! I’m glad we managed to help with times and temps. Stay safe!
Was wondering if this method would work with a dry rub? Put the smoker juice on and the add the dry rub?
Sara,
Absolutely! Just dry rub first, then allow to sit overnight, then add the smoke juice right before you pop it in the oven.
Tried this last night. My brisket turned into a roast? Lol. Mine was a bit bigger at 8lbs I cooked for 10 hours. Should’ve broil burned the top maybe? I dunno.
Josh,
It’s possible that it was because of the size difference, but more likely it was due to moisture content or the quirks of your particular oven,
Also note that you’ll never get the same texture in an oven that you will in an actual smoker, Because the brisket is wrapped in foil, it holds moisture in, rather than slowly drying the outside of the cut.
In any event, I’m glad you liked the recipe (Thanks for the rating!) and yes, maybe next time you could try using the broiler at the end to get a bit of a sear on the outside. Let us know how that turns out if you try it. We’d love to know.
Looks great, but what is smoke juice?
I have done quite a few briskets on my smoker but on days like today, with a lot I wanted to get done around the house, this recipe was perfect! I had about a 10lb piece of brisket so I had to double up the recipe. I also did it on 225 instead. Cooked it in the oven for 9 hours, then opened the foil and broiled it to get the crispy char finish, let it rest for about 20 minutes, and it was great!!! Perfect for when we want brisket but don’t want to have monitor the smoker to keep it at temp! We left the thick half unsliced and are going to try reheating it low and slow for about 2 more hours tomorrow after work. This was delicious!!! Thanks for the recipe! I got it bookmarked for future reference!
Thanks Again!
Chris,
Sounds outstanding! I hope the reheat goes just as well.
I want to make this for a house full of people i am having over. I have 4 10 lb briskets. How long should I cook them for? I plan on wrapping each separately in the oven.
Cheryl,
At a guess, I’d say 8 to 9 hours would still work fine, but it really depends on the brisket, the amount of fat it has on it, and how done you want to make it. I’d start with a LOT more of the liquid mixture and cook them in a deep roasting pan to avoid spills.
Good luck!
recipe for oven smoke juice?
It was already in the recipe. I’ve updated the instructions to read more clearly.
Have you ever tried SEARING all sides of the brisket first, then adding the smoke juice, etc., etc.? After cooking some 8 hours, the sear may soften, but you could still crisp it up under the broiler afterward. What do you think, Unca Jerry?
I haven’t tried it that way yet, but If I do, I’ll be sure to post an update!
Word of warning to the rest of the planet. 220 degrees is FARENHEIT. That’s about 100 degrees Celcius (ie: in the measuring system that 95% of the population of earth uses)
What about marinating it over night in the smoke juice and/or starting it on a charcoal
grill and finishing in the oven? What do you think?
Dorothy,
I’m sure both those methods would turn out fabulously. Let us know if you try it and tell us how it went!
There are degrees °F or °C? thanks
Agostinho,
That would be about 100 C
Yesterday I fully cooked my brisket. I was wondering if I can cook it some more with the smoke juice marinade.? Would it take on the smoke flavoring?
Thanks
Jeanie,
You could, but I’m not sure how much more flavor it would add. If you try it out, let us know how it went!
I found this recipe and it’s the best. Now I use it every Sunday! Thank you
Dennis,
So glad you like it. Keep cooking, my friend!
I followed this recipe exactly, using a 4 pound brisket cooked for 8.5 hours. The result was a very tender and juicy brisket. The only change that I will make in the future is to season the brisket before brushing on the sauce. I thought the meat was a little bland.
Angela,
Feel free to season it up as much as you like! Brisket tends to be a little on the bland side regardless, so I tend to season mine after carving, but feel free to make this recipe your own. That’s the fun of cooking.
I am trying this today, I sure hope it turns out as great as all the comments. I am hopeful that this will be a hit today!!!
Jenny,
We hope so too!
That brisket is the bomb, everyone loved it, can’t wait to try it again…Thank you
Cindy,
So glad it worked out for you. Enjoy!
How long do you do the ribs for using this recipe?
For ribs, I don’t know. I would assume about 3/4 the time, but I’d check them after a while to see if they’re ready or not. After all, we all like our ribs done differently.
If you’re cooking a brisket by “time”, you’re doing it wrong. No two briskets will cook the same way every time. Cook to temperature. Pull it from the oven at 195° for slicing, or 205° for pulling/shredding.
Salts, vinegar, acidic foods etc will burn through foil. Cover the brisket with butcher’s paper or parchment first. Then foil.
Our 18 lb brisket has been in the oven for almost 15 hours and it’s at 190° internal right now. Can’t wait to dig in and take a few slabs to work tonight.
Its delicious! Thanks for the great recipe.
John,
Good tips all. The original recipe called for a super trimmed brisket by weight, so the directions will work in all but the strangest of cases. If I’m cooking a full brisket on a smoker, it goes a minimum of 12 hours, and usually longer. (Start at 4:30, finish when it’s good and ready to be finished, stoke coals as necessary.)
I doubt I’d cook a whole brisket in my oven, honestly.
Admittedly, this is my first oven whole brisket but it’s a keeper recipe. We usually use our smoker but decided to change things up a little. My temp vs time comment was directed more so to those stating their brisket was dry in the end.
Yeah, I’ve had briskets finish at different times. Some as quick as 10 hours and the occasional one that took 24 but they’ve usually been moist unless I dropped the ball and let it get away from me. Still made for great chilli and spaghetti sauce though lol.
We tried your recipe for my wife’s sake. She hates using the smoker but loves brisket so we figured we’d give yours a whirl. We’ll be doing this one again for sure.
Thumbs up!
Okay so I just realized I bought a 3 lb corned beef brisket…
Will that work the same?
Megan,
Unfortunately, the answer here is no. Corned beef is completely different, as it has been salt-cured.
But you could try This recipe for corned beef and potatoes instead.
How log to cook a 3lb brisket?
Most likely 6 hours, but I’d keep an eye on the internal temperature.
I am trying this at 12:00 midnight tonight.
I put some mosquite wood chips on aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. Then I marinades my brisket with your recipe, then set it fat side up in a grilling pan, and set that directly on top of the wood chips.
Then I wrapped the whole thing up tightly in aluminum
Now I’m thinking it won’t smoke because the dripping will fall into the chips.
What do you think..?
Margo,
I’m not sure this would work as described. First, you’ll need holes in the foil to make smoke, and you’d want to have that inside of a closed pan unless you want to set off every smoke detector in the house.
I’d suggest placing the chips in a heat proof dish next to the brisket and putting the whole affair into a roasting pan with a lid.
I have a large electric skillet. Would I do the exact same thing with the foil, etc.? add any liquid? same 220 degrees? thanks
Louise,
I would say that is would… Probably …be the same since the skillet (as long as it has a lid) will act like an oven in this case. But I’d check to make sure the bottom wasn’t getting overcooked.
Hello,
I plan to make a brisket for Labor Day and am trying to get ahead since it’ll be my first time in the oven. Is there any particular advice you can give in general? And is there any advice you can give to make it have a little layer of bark? I know it’s nearly impossible because it’s in the oven and not smoked… just wanted to check. Thanks!
Nataley,
Advice on this is tricky. It depends on the size of the brisket, the amount of fat cap, and so much more.
If it’s a trimmed brisket piece like the one used in the photos, the recipe will work well. If it’s a whole, untrimmed brisket it will be a different experience altogether.
As for bark, I haven’t found a way to do that consistently in a home oven (without highly modified vent hoods, which I have… But that’s another story.)
In general, I’d go about an hour per pound at 220 degrees, but you can speeed things up by going to 250 or 300.
If you have a whole brisket with fat, draping in foil and making a triple batch of the “smoke juice” mixture and brushing it on might help.
I’d need to know specifics to offer more assistance, but I hope this helped!
Going a bit different for Thanksgiving, planning on an oven smoked brisket, your recipe looks like a winner. Have a 6 lb brisket, 1/4 or so of fat. Should I allow the brisket to warm to room temp before the marinade is applied? Would it hurt to marinade it overnight?
Tim,
Don’t bother warming it. It really makes no difference. And yes, you can marinate overnight
Jerry, I am planning on 16# of brisket for Christmas. Should I cook it longer than 8 – 9 hours at 220? I also plan on X4 the recipe. Will 4 Tsp of liquid smoke be enough to make it taste “smoky”?
Georgia,
I don’t think you’d need to cook the brisket any longer than that. But if it’s a full brisket, you’ll need to trim the fat to use this method, or you’ll end up with a brisket confit. (Which might not be bad, but definitely won’t taste like smoked brisket.) 4X-ing the marinade should be about right for a brisket that large.
Good luck!
I did not see this the first time I tried it, and I ended up with brisket confit. It was absolutely amazing. I made a 12# full packer and didn’t trim any fat. Cooked for 9 hours at 220F. Stuffed my face when I took it out at 3am, and the rest ended up on “warm” in a slow cooker for the next few days, mixed with BBQ sauce that caramelized around the edges. Fantastic & wife loved it too!
L,
So glad the happy mistake ended well for you!
I got raves from my church group with this recipe. I used an untrimmed very large brisket from Costco (it said it was “prime”. It had a lot of fat (it was not the flat brisket but one with a big lump on top). It was a pain to trim off all the fat after cooking, but boy was the brisket tender.
I didn’t have the chipotle sauce so used some green enchilada sauce (LOL).
After the brisket had come out of the oven and rested, and I had cut off the excess fat, I got a charred effect by sprinkling brown sugar on the surface and putting it under the broiler about 5 minutes, then I took it out and added a barbeque sauce and broiled it again 3-5 minutes. Gave it a bit of a “burnt end” effect, which we Texas like.
This brisket recipe looks amazing. I am going to give it a try this weekend. Thanks for sharing it!
Dad Life,
I hope you enjoy it!
Would this also work with a pork shoulder?
I made it for Father’s Day! It was delish!!! The meat was soft and melted in your mouth. I followed the instructions and used some tips in the comment section.
I didn’t have molasses, so I used honey instead. I added another teaspoon of honey since molasses is sweeter and thicker.
Salt and peppered the brisket and seared each side of the meat. And then I smothered it in the sauce.
Wrapped the entire brisket in foil. Fat side up. Opened the cooker/foil once every two hours to add more sauce on top of the brisket.
Used a thermometer to check the temperature of the meat. I brought the meat out at 200 degrees.
Smothered brown sugar on top of the brisket and broiled for 5 minutes, brought it ou and let it sit.
Took the sauce in the cooker and added corn starch to make it into a gravy.
Served the brisket with gravy. It was delish!!!!!
Was the brisket smoky enough? Was it too smoky? Am looking for a oven roasted and smoked brisket recipe for a friend who does not have a smoker. Thanks.
I made the brisket using the marinade as identified above. Nowhere near smokey enough. Very tender though, although that’s not surprising given it was wrapped.
Jeff,
You can always add more liquid smoke if that’s your preference, or maybe some chipotle or ancho chili powder
Hi Jerry,
I live in a city and am trying to recreate smoked brisket without needing outdoor space, but I am not a big bbq sauce fan (sorry, world). Do you think this recipe would work if all I did was dry rub it and then wrap it in foil, or is the smoke juice key to keeping it moist?
Thanks so much!
Bee,
Just dry rubbing it will definitely work, but a dash of liquid smoke before cooking gives it a lot more of that”smoked” flavor. Either way, a brisket should always come out moist and delicious if cooked low and slow, and I’m sure that it will turn out great!
Hi Jerry
Didn’t come across your recipe until I was looking for a marinade after I had cooked my brisket Sous Vide style at 60 degrees C for 24 hours.
I made up your sauce and then another 2 hours wrapped in foil in the oven @ 100C.
Mate it was magnificent,best marinade I have tried for brisket.
One problem now everyone wants it seven days a week.
Hope you Guys are all doing o.k. with the Coronavirus or as my Grandson calls it the big sick.
Lots of love to you all from Australia.
Awesome!
Wow. I never leave a comment but this was so good. Smoker is small and snow is deep so I stumbled across this. What a find. So tender and juicy. It was Smokey enough to make you wonder. Thank you for a bright spot in lockdown.
Absolutely delicious! 9 hours at 225°F and it was wonderful! So glad I found this!
How about adding a dry rub so the brisket develops a bark as in the smoker? Will it work?
Mark,
You could try a rub, but it won’t make a bark unless you uncover the brisket and expose it to dry heat for at least a half-hour. But doing so might dry the brisket out. Feel free to give it a try and let us know how it goes!
hi
I bought a whole brisket from costco, would you please advise me how to prepare an cook it since it has so much fat. should i trim all the fat or onle one side of it? thank you
Maddie,
If you’re going to cook a whole brisket in an oven, I would definitely trim most of the fat. Even then, you’ll want to be sure to have a drip pan or two handy. There is a TON of fatty tissue in a prime-cut brisket, and it has to go somewhere when cooking.
If you don’t need all of it for one meal, you can always trim it down into smaller portions, as I covered in This post.
Also note, you’ll be looking at a longer cooking time, probably about 2-3 hours more.
Is there any reason not to use a rub just like one, often, uses when using a smoker?