Barbeque Beef Brisket

Texas is considered the home of Barbeque Beef Brisket - cattle ranchers came up with a way of tenderizing this tasty but tough cut of beef - and it has spread through kitchens in all parts of the country.

For real Texas barbecue flavor, there has to be smoke. If you don't happen to have a meat smoker in your backyard, this is the next best thing.

The brisket is marinated overnight in onion and garlic spices, plus a generous amount of liquid smoke. The homemade barbecue sauce contains even more liquid smoke, nicely blended with brown sugar, ketchup and Worcestershire.

You can almost put this in the oven and forget about it - except for the enticing aroma that will let you know something's good for dinner!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 6 hours
Ready In: 14 hours 10 minutes

Barbeque Beef Brisket with Super BBQ Sauce

4 pound lean beef brisket, trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon onion salt
1 tablespoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons liquid smoke

1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup water or beer
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon liquid smoke - you can add an extra tablespoon if you want to intensify the flavor
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon celery salt
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Cut a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil twice the size of the brisket. Lay the meat on the foil and rub in the liquid smoke. Season it with the onion salt and the garlic salt, then wrap it up tightly in the foil, making a tight seal of the foil edges. Refrigerate the packet overnight.

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Put the foil-wrapped meat in a roasting pan or baking dish. Cover the pan with a lid or more aluminum foil. Bake for 4 hours.

Remove the meat from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes in the foil.

Whisk together the ketchup, brown sugar, butter, water, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, mustard and celery salt. Pour the mixture into a small saucepan and let it simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the butter is melted and the sauce has thickened. Taste for seasonings and add kosher salt and black pepper if desired.

Open the foil and pour the collected juices back into the baking pan. Carve the brisket into slices, cutting against the grain. Lay the slices back in the baking pan and pour the sauce over the meat. Cover the pan again with foil and bake 1 more hour.

Lay the finished brisket slices on a warmed platter and pour some of the sauce over the meat, and serve the rest on the side.

Food For Thought - Any leftovers can be saved for sandwiches the next day. Heat the brisket up in the barbecue sauce just until it's warmed through. Serve on hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls with extra sauce if you have it.

Good To Know - This barbeque beef brisket can also be made in a slow cooker. Marinate the meat as directed above, then put it in a crockpot and cook in on low, covered, for about 10 hours. Add the barbecue sauce and cook it for another hour.

You can also slice it before putting the sauce in the pot, then cover the pot and cook 1 more hour.

Yield 8 to 10 Servings
Amount Per Serving:
Calories 560, Fat 42g, Cholesterol 42mg