Name: Slow Cooker Beef Brisket
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 480 min
Total time: 495 min
Ingredients: 1.5-1.8kg (3-4lbs) beef brisket; 1 tsp salt; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 large onion (chopped); 2 tbsp spicy smoked paprika; 2 tsp dried coriander; 1 tsp cinnamon; 1 tbsp garlic powder; 2 tsp salt; 2 bay leaves; 200g / 1 cup passata (or canned crushed tomatoes); 2 tbsp molasses (or black treacle in the UK); 4 tbsp brown sugar; 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

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Fall-apart slow cooker beef brisket is melt-in-the-mouth and steeped in barbecue flavour. Serve the joint as a Sunday roast and celebrate all things Southern through a selection of side dishes or shred the meat and pile it in a mile-high pulled beef sandwich. This hands-off recipe is only 15 minutes prep and the slow cooker does the rest.

Did I get you at ‘pulled meat sandwich’? This double juicy pulled pork sandwich is a pork joint marinated in chili paste, maple syrup, and barbecue sauce then slowly simmered for 8 hours in the trusty slow cooker.

Close up shot of beef brisket slices with gravy layered on top each other

The sun has started to make its appearance, which is making me impatient for summery barbecues in the garden. This will be our first full summer in our new house, and I am ready for it!

But sadly, we are not quite there yet, although it’s sunny outside and the days are longer it’s still decidedly Spring. Despite the 19C teaser in London this week, the temperature is hovering around 12C next week.

And I’m not one for braving a barbecue with a blanket and a hot chocolate! So, I’m making do with flavours that evoke the spirit of it. i.e. the smoky, blackened, warming spices of carefully crafted no-BBQ-needed recipes, like this one…

Beef brisket recipe

Brisket is a cheaper cut of beef, but that doesn’t mean it’s not delicious! It tends to be fatty and rippled with connective tissue as it comes from the breast of the cow. But it’s thanks to the fat, which renders when cooking, that makes slow cooking the ideal method for it.

Meat and fat will soften and break down during a slow cook which leaves the joint irresistibly tender and pliable, like in these other beef recipes for the slow cooker: rustic ragú recipe or Italian beef stew.

But brisket isn’t the only beef joint that can put your This is an affiliate link.slow cooker through its paces; use topside for slow cooked roast beef, ground beef for Bolognese, or braising steak for a pot roast. The choice is yours!

More popular in the US than the UK, in North American homes a brisket joint will most likely be classically pot roasted, sliced into slabs and plated with potatoes and gravy, like this beef brisket with Guinness. While in the South you might find it slow barbecued and smoked over hot coals. Which is where I took my inspiration from for this recipe.

Top down shot of whole beef brisket on a large platter, topped with gravy

Sauce for brisket

For this heady barbecue-style brisket sauce, I’ve chosen sweet, smoky and spicy flavours to compliment the earthy beef.

My marinade is a concoction of warm This is an affiliate link.paprika and cinnamon, aromatic coriander and bay, syrupy molasses and treacly brown sugar, a salty slug from This is an affiliate link.Worcestershire sauce and This is an affiliate link.wholegrain mustard, and a can of juicy This is an affiliate link.crushed tomatoes.

But it’s not just flavour-making mixology at work here, it’s a science too. By using acidic ingredients in the marinade, such as tomatoes, mustard and Worcestershire sauce, you are speeding up the breaking down process.

The acids get work dissolving the connective tissue which renders into the sauce making it slick and unctuous.

Recipe Tips and Notes

I’ve used a kilo and a half of brisket, but you could use shin (shank), or if you have the budget, topside or silverside (top round (US)). Personally, I believe brisket works best for this beef brisket recipe. The clue’s in the name.
It is very fatty, however. I tend to remove as much of the visible fat as possible before cooking. I don’t like a highly oily sauce for brisket.
Searing the beef joint it soooo important! It will take a good 10-15 minutes for a similar sized hunk. Don’t skip it!
Why is it important though? It will seal in the meat’s moisture and charr the outside, which gives it its deep brown colour and caramelly sweetness.
It’s a smelly business, yes. But it’s a small price to pay for such a big reward. Get those windows wide open!
The leftover oil in the beef pan can be used to sauté the onions. Don’t chuck it! It will form the foundations of your brisket sauce base.
The recommended cooking time is non-negotiable. It’s not one of those the-longer-the-better situations. Longer equals drier.
Don’t be tempted to lift the lid while cooking either. That is a big NO-NO. All that long-stored steam will be released and that is what is keeping that meat moist.
After cooking, there will be a layer of oil floating on top of the brisket sauce- I told you it was fatty!
Either skim this straight off with a spoon, or and this is my preferred method, put the whole thing in the fridge overnight and remove the solidified fat the next day. It’s much easier to do but does involve waiting another day for your beautiful slow cooked brisket!

Process shots of beef brisket being prepped before left in slow cooker

Serving suggestions

Where to start??! Slow cooker brisket is your flexible friend. Here’s three ways to make it work:

Serve it in slices as a smoky Southern centrepiece with a trad roast dinner with roast potatoes, carrots and sprouts, and cauliflower cheese.
Or as an homage to Southern-style cooking, with scalloped corn, collard greens, mac’n’cheese, maple glazed carrots, garlic butter dinner rolls, and a big old wedge of pecan pie.
And lastly, shred it and stuff hard or soft shell tacos with the perfectly spiced meat. Add lots of Tex Mex sides like black bean and corn salsa, guacamole, and smoked cheddar dip for a full on feast.

Storage and leftovers

There are huge benefits to preparing this a day ahead. First, the brisket will steep longer in its spicy juices giving it an even more intense flavour depth. Second, an overnight stay in the refrigerator makes it so much easier to separate the fat (which will have solidified) from the sauce.

Any leftovers after the meal can be stored covered or in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

It’s also a freezer’s dream! Portion out the cooked brisket into serving sizes and wrap individually, they’ll keep in the freezer for up to three months.

There’s no need to thaw here as it’s cooked already, and to reheat, I use a little beef stock in a skillet and cook on the stove top. P.S. Leftover slow cooker beef brisket makes a great substitute for pork in these quick lunch quesadillas.