Easy Slow Cooker Brisket Recipe

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My fall-apart tender, easy Slow Cooker Brisket recipe is so simple and perfect for everything from a holiday celebration to topping salads, quesadillas, or even pizza! As a bonus I’ve even included Instant Pot instructions. You’re going to love this easy crockpot brisket!

Jump to:

• What is beef brisket?
• What are the parts of brisket?
• Slow Cooker Brisket Ingredients
• How to Cook Brisket in a Slow Cooker
• Instant Pot Brisket Instructions
• Tips for Slow Cooking Brisket
• How Long to Cook Brisket in Slow Cooker
• How to Make Brisket Tender
• How to Slice Brisket
• How to Store Leftover Brisket
• How to Freeze Brisket
• How to Reheat Brisket
• What to Do with Leftover Brisket
• Recipe
• Reviews

What is beef brisket?

If you’ve ever had a corned beef recipe, you’ve had brisket! Brisket is a cut of beef or veal from the breast or lower chest area. It’s an inexpensive beef cut that’s boneless. Though it starts out tough, it becomes so tender when braised or smoked, as in this crock pot brisket recipe.

You can cook this cut of meat many ways, but braising helps tenderize it. It typically comes with a layer of fat, which we recommend leaving on to keep it from drying out as it cooks.

There are so many ways to prepare brisket. We love this crock pot version and our other favorite is Smoked Brisket!

What are the parts of brisket?

Brisket has two overlapping parts, called the point and the flat. When you slice it, you’ll want to keep the separate parts in mind.

The two parts lay on top of one another and are kept separate by a layer of fat (the fat cap).

• The point is also known as the deckle. It has a lot of marbling.
• The flat has less fat, and is (as its name suggests) flatter than the point.

Slow Cooker Brisket Ingredients

• Corned Beef or Brisket: We use corned beef for this crock pot recipe, as it has been brined. It gives the beef a gorgeous color and flavor! If you opt to use regular brisket and not corned beef, try cooking with beef broth instead of water.
• Brisket Seasoning: Once braised, brisket is incredibly flavorful and tender. We elevate the flavor by seasoning it with the following spices.
  1. Salt and pepper: We recommend using sea salt flakes or kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper for best flavor.
  2. Cumin: Has a slightly sweet, savory, and nutty flavor. It lends an earthy flavor when used in beef seasoning.
  3. Garlic powder: Offers a savory garlic flavor without the moisture of fresh garlic. It’s robust and slightly sweet, so it pairs exceptionally well with meats like brisket.
  4. Onion powder: Lends a sweet onion flavor that enhances the savory flavor of brisket. It’s less intense than fresh onions, but equally effective in rounding out the overall taste.
  5. Paprika: Adds a sweet-pepper flavor that is slightly smoky, adding to the overall complexity of the seasoning without being overpowering.

The above list of ingredients makes the perfect seasoning for brisket, but you can also use our Dry Rub for Steak, which includes a little bit of brown sugar for caramelization and red pepper for a kick of heat.

How to Cook Brisket in a Slow Cooker

1. Mix your seasoning ingredients: salt and pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Set aside in a bowl.
   
2. Open and drain most of the juices from your bag of brisket. Then, place the brisket in the slow cooker, fat side up, with 1 cup of water.
   
3. Sprinkle the top of the brisket with your seasoning mixture until it is fully coated.
   
4. Set the slow cooker to low heat and the timer for 8 hours. Once 8 hours is up, remove, slice, and enjoy!
   

For full ingredient measurements and recipe tips, keep scrolling to the recipe card below!

Instant Pot Brisket Instructions

You can also prepare this recipe for brisket in a pressure cooker! Follow these instructions to make this an instant pot brisket recipe:

1. Mix your seasoning ingredients: salt and pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Set aside in a bowl.
2. Open and drain most of the juices from your bag of brisket. Then, place the brisket in the instant pot, fat side up, with 1 cup of water.
3. Sprinkle the top of the brisket with your seasoning mixture until it is fully coated.
4. Set the Instant Pot to manual high pressure and cook for 1 hour. Do a natural pressure release when ready.

Tips for Slow Cooking Brisket

• Reserve some of the liquid from cooking to heat up with the leftovers. This will help keep the leftover brisket nice and moist when reheating!
• Select a cut of meat with good marbling and a thick fat cap for the best flavor and tenderness when slow cooking brisket.
• When slow cooking brisket, make sure to leave the fat cap on. Place it fat-side up in the crock pot so the fat melts into the meat.
• Slow cook brisket on LOW for 8 hours. Avoid using HIGH temperature as it does not give the brisket enough time to become tender.
• Add only 1 cup of water or beef broth to the pot. You don’t want to boil the brisket.

How Long to Cook Brisket in Slow Cooker

• Because brisket meat becomes so tender and delicious when braised low and slow, it is best cooked for 8 hours in the slow cooker or 1 hour in the Instant Pot.

Set it in the morning and forget it about for the rest of the day to come home to a deliciously easy dinner recipe! Or, whip it up quickly at the end of the day in your Instant Pot, and enjoy. Either way, this easy recipe turns out so tender and delicious!

How to Make Brisket Tender

The process of braising is what tenderizes brisket, so slow cooking for 8 hours with a bit of water is perfect for getting that tender, fall-apart beef. Instant Pot cooking works well as well as the process itself tenderizes the meat.

You won’t have to take any extra steps to tenderize the brisket for this recipe. As long as you coat it in seasoning and cook it with water for 8 hours (or 1 hour in the pressure cooker), you’ll have a shred-with-your-fork, juicy beef brisket.

How to Slice Brisket

1. Use a smooth, sharp knife (not a serrated knife with teeth). This helps for making accurate, clean cuts.
2. Separate the point from the flat. This is easier to do if you cut the brisket in half first. To identify the two parts, the flat is flatter than the point, and they are separated by the fat cap. They overlap, and are easy to identify when the brisket is cut in half!
3. Always cut beef against the grain. This will give you the most tender brisket. Separate the point and flat, then cut each part against the grain.

How to Store Leftover Brisket

Store brisket in an air-tight container in the refrigerator with juices from the cooker. Brisket is best when stored tightly-sealed. Cooked beef brisket lasts 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

How to Freeze Brisket

Let the brisket cool in the liquid it cooks in, then slice and freeze it in a single layer on a baking sheet.

This should take about 2-3 hours until the brisket slices are fully frozen. The benefit to freezing in a single layer is that you have separate slices so you can portion out how much you want to reheat.

After they’re frozen, store in freezer-safe bags marked with the date of freezing for 2-3 months.

How to Reheat Brisket

1. Reheat in the slow cooker: Pour leftover juices over the brisket. If you have none, use beef broth. Set the heat to low and leave for 4 hours to reheat. This will give you deliciously moist leftover brisket!
2. Reheat in the oven: Preheat the oven to 325°F and reheat, covered with foil, for about an hour.

What to Do with Leftover Brisket

Leftover beef brisket is perfect for recipes like tacos, nachos, quesadillas, pizza, sandwiches, and so much more! Here are a few ideas for what you can serve it with:

• Brisket Nachos: Substitute the steak in our Steak Nachos recipe, or the pork in our Pulled Pork Nachos, with leftover brisket.
• Brisket Tacos: Replace the pulled pork in our Pulled Pork Tacos with beef brisket leftovers, and enjoy!
• French Dip Sandwich: Make a brisket sandwich by piling brisket with Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions, cheese, and Au Jus for dipping. You can use the brisket drippings to make the au jus.
• Brisket Pizza: Pile leftover brisket on a delicious brisket pizza!

Did you try our easy crock pot brisket recipe? Let us know in the comments below and with a rating! We love to hear from you.

Recipe