Slow-Cooker BBQ Beef Brisket
By America's Test KitchenPublished on December 9, 2011
Time
7 to 8 hours on high, or 10 to 12 hours on low, plus 1 hour marinating
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
SPICE RUB AND BRISKET
½ cup packed dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon paprika 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons pepper 1 (4- to 5-pound) brisket roast, fat trimmed to ¼ inch thick and scored lightlyAROMATICS AND SAUCE
3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped fine2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce 2 garlic cloves, minced½ cup water ¼ cup ketchup 1 tablespoon cider vinegar ¼ teaspoon liquid smokeBefore You Begin
Scoring the fat on the brisket at ½-inch intervals will allow the rub to penetrate the meat. Two disposable aluminum loaf pans stacked inside one another can substitute for the metal loaf pan.
Instructions
- RUB Combine sugar, chipotle, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper in bowl. Rub sugar mixture all over brisket. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
- COOK Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook until beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Stir in chili powder, chipotle, and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Following photos at left, mound onion mixture in center of slow cooker, arrange inverted metal loaf pan over onion mixture, and place brisket, fat-side up, on top of loaf pan. Add water to slow cooker, cover, and cook on high until fork inserted into brisket can be removed with no resistance, 7 to 8 hours (or cook on low for 10 to 12 hours).
- REST Transfer brisket to 13- by 9-inch baking dish, cover with foil, and let rest 30 minutes. Carefully remove loaf pan from slow cooker. Pour onion mixture and accumulated juices into large bowl and skim fat. (You should have about 2 cups defatted juices; if you have less, supplement with water.)
- SAUCE Transfer brisket to cutting board, slice thinly across grain, and return to baking dish. Pour 1 cup reserved defatted juices over sliced brisket. Whisk ketchup, vinegar, and liquid smoke into remaining juices. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing sauce at table.
- MAKE AHEAD In step 3, wrap brisket tightly in foil and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Refrigerate juices separately in airtight container.) To serve, transfer foil-wrapped brisket to baking dish and heat in 350-degree oven and cook until brisket is heated through, about 1 hour. Reheat juices in microwave or saucepan set over medium heat. Continue with recipe as directed.
Time
7 to 8 hours on high, or 10 to 12 hours on low, plus 1 hour marinatingYield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
SPICE RUB AND BRISKET
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1 (4- to 5-pound) brisket roast, fat trimmed to ¼ inch thick and scored lightly
AROMATICS AND SAUCE
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup water
¼ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
SPICE RUB AND BRISKET
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1 (4- to 5-pound) brisket roast, fat trimmed to ¼ inch thick and scored lightly
AROMATICS AND SAUCE
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup water
¼ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
SPICE RUB AND BRISKET
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1 (4- to 5-pound) brisket roast, fat trimmed to ¼ inch thick and scored lightly
AROMATICS AND SAUCE
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup water
¼ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
A simple rub—salt, pepper, brown sugar, cumin, chipotle chiles, and paprika—imparted smoky, spicy flavor to our Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Brisket. To allow the flavors to permeate, we lightly scored the fat on the brisket before rubbing. To minimize the moisture absorbed by the brisket (which traditionally isn’t cooked directly in liquid), we came up with an unorthodox solution: elevating the meat off the bottom of the slow cooker with an inverted loaf pan. The liquid exuded from the meat during cooking was drawn under the loaf pan by a vacuum effect, which meant that the slow cooker more closely mimicked how a real barbecue cooks. To bump up the flavor of this liquid, we sautéed onion, garlic, tomato paste, and chipotle chiles and added this to the slow cooker, under the loaf pan, to cook along with the brisket.
Before You Begin
Scoring the fat on the brisket at ½-inch intervals will allow the rub to penetrate the meat. Two disposable aluminum loaf pans stacked inside one another can substitute for the metal loaf pan.
Instructions
- RUB Combine sugar, chipotle, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper in bowl. Rub sugar mixture all over brisket. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
- COOK Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook until beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Stir in chili powder, chipotle, and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Following photos at left, mound onion mixture in center of slow cooker, arrange inverted metal loaf pan over onion mixture, and place brisket, fat-side up, on top of loaf pan. Add water to slow cooker, cover, and cook on high until fork inserted into brisket can be removed with no resistance, 7 to 8 hours (or cook on low for 10 to 12 hours).
- REST Transfer brisket to 13- by 9-inch baking dish, cover with foil, and let rest 30 minutes. Carefully remove loaf pan from slow cooker. Pour onion mixture and accumulated juices into large bowl and skim fat. (You should have about 2 cups defatted juices; if you have less, supplement with water.)
- SAUCE Transfer brisket to cutting board, slice thinly across grain, and return to baking dish. Pour 1 cup reserved defatted juices over sliced brisket. Whisk ketchup, vinegar, and liquid smoke into remaining juices. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing sauce at table.
- MAKE AHEAD In step 3, wrap brisket tightly in foil and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Refrigerate juices separately in airtight container.) To serve, transfer foil-wrapped brisket to baking dish and heat in 350-degree oven and cook until brisket is heated through, about 1 hour. Reheat juices in microwave or saucepan set over medium heat. Continue with recipe as directed.
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