BBQ Beef Brisket in the Crock Pot

Want a crowd-pleasing, low-stress recipe that even picky eaters will love? This BBQ Beef Brisket in the Crockpot is super easy and comes out amazingly tender! With a few simple pantry staples and a 3 to 5-pound brisket, you’re only hours away from a delicious, fuss-free meal. Let your slow cooker do the work while you relax or entertain. When it’s ready, serve it sliced with barbecue sauce or piled into a hearty sandwich. Grab your crockpot – let’s make some amazing barbecue beef brisket!

First comment I tend get with this recipe is “you should do this on a smoker.” That’s not wrong. But not necessarily right either. Sometimes we don’t have 12 hours to tend to a smoker. Sometimes the weather outside is bad. Sometimes we don’t even OWN a smoker, right? Sometimes we just want EASY.

Because cooking the bbq beef brisket in the crockpot is cooking “Low and Slow” and because you’re adding barbeque spices and liquid smoke, this brisket comes out amazingly tender and very similar to real barbeque. And your family will love it.

This is why you will love this Crockpot BBQ Beef Brisket Recipe

• The flavor of this Crockpot BBQ Beef Brisket is amazing – The ingredients that go into creating this barbecue beef brisket are just a few and very simple, but blended together develop remarkable flavors. The savory spices combined with the liquid smoke and barbecue sauce take the smokehouse essence of the beef brisket right over the top.

• Making the beef brisket couldn’t be easier – It only takes three easy steps to create this outstanding beef brisket: prep the brisket, cook it in your crockpot, and cut into servable slices with barbecue sauce. What could be easier?

• Your 3 to 5 pound beef brisket will feed a whole lot of people! – Or make some great leftovers! Whether you serve sliced barbecue beef brisket or chop the brisket for sandwiches, feeding your group is covered.
  
  A 5-pound brisket will shrink by 1/3^rd when cooked, so using 6.5 ounces of cooked brisket per serving, a 5-pound brisket will feed over 8 people. Add a few traditional sides like coleslaw or potato salad, and everyone is guaranteed to leave completely full and satisfied.

Ingredients for Barbeque Beef Brisket in the Crockpot

• One 3 to 5 pound flat-cut beef brisket
• 1/4 cup liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
• 2 tablespoons mesquite seasoning
• 2 cups barbecue sauce

Directions to Make your BBQ Beef Brisket

1. Take the beef brisket out of the plastic wrap – Take the brisket out of the plastic wrap, and discard all of the liquid with the wrap. Thoroughly wipe the brisket dry with paper towels. Lay a piece of aluminum foil twice the size of the brisket on your kitchen countertop, and place the brisket in the middle.

2. Apply the liquid smoke and rub spices – Combine all of the spices in a bowl and thoroughly mix together. Pour the liquid smoke a little at a time over the brisket and rub in with your hands. Sprinkle the spice mixture all over the brisket and pat on to adhere.

3. Wrap the beef brisket in the aluminum foil – Bring the ends of the aluminum foil together, and wrap the brisket like a Christmas present. Rotate the brisket 180 degrees, and wrap another piece of aluminum foil the same length around the brisket. You should have a fairly well-sealed brisket packet when you are finished.

4. Place the brisket into the crockpot – Lay the brisket in the bottom of the crockpot and cook for 6 hours on the low setting, or until 200 degrees has been achieved. Cooking a perfect beef brisket in the crockpot is temperature-driven, NOT time-driven. So, be sure to check the temperature with a meat thermometer a couple of times toward the end of the cooking process until your thermometer reads 200 degrees.

5. Remove the brisket from the crockpot – With kitchen tongs, carefully remove the brisket from the crockpot and place it in your kitchen sink. Be careful, as the liquids in the crockpot and in the aluminum packet will be very hot (and messy)! Allow the beef brisket to rest in the aluminum packet in the sink for at least 30 minutes.

6. Remove the brisket from the aluminum foil – Tear the aluminum foil away from the brisket, allowing the juices to flow into the sink. With kitchen tongs, place the brisket on a cutting board. Cut the brisket against the grain into long, thin slices of beef. Generously slather the barbecue sauce over the sliced brisket pieces. Serve and enjoy.

Important Things to Know When Making Brisket

• Be sure to leave the fat on the beef brisket – Unless there is tons of excess fat on the brisket, don’t trim the fat off the brisket before cooking. Leaving the fat attached during the slow cooking process allows the fat to melt into the meat, creating a more tender, flavorful, juicy beef brisket. When you take your first bite of the finished brisket, you will be glad you did.

• Using aluminum foil is an easy way to “roast” the brisket – In this beef brisket recipe, wrapping the brisket in aluminum foil is a unique and useful technique. Slow-cooking the brisket in aluminum foil prevents the meat from drying out as it literally cooks in its own juices. This creates a self-contained packet of slow-cooking smokey and beefy deliciousness.

• Let the beef brisket rest – This is an essential step in the brisket cooking process (as with most beef). Letting the brisket rest for at least 30 minutes after removing it from the crockpot allows the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat, creating a more tender and juicy delectable piece of beef brisket.

• How long do I cook the brisket in the crockpot? – Overcooking the brisket will result in dry, tough, bland-tasting slices of beef. So I recommend cooking the brisket only on your crockpot’s low setting for 6 hours or until 200 degrees is achieved. At 200 degrees, the brisket has had adequate time for the fats and collagen to break down, leaving the meat tender and juicy. Cooking a perfect beef brisket in the crockpot is temperature-driven, NOT time-driven.

Tips, Tricks, and Substitutions

• Make chopped BBQ beef brisket sandwiches – This is a very delicious and traditional way to enjoy your finished beef brisket and is ridiculously easy to prepare. Cut your beef brisket into thin slices, and with two table forks, pull the slices apart, creating small chopped pieces. If you have never done this before, just give it a go! You’ll be amazed at how fun and simple this is to do.
  
  Then, put the chopped brisket back into a cleaned crockpot, thoroughly mix in the barbecue sauce, and cook on low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Slice hamburger buns or hoagie rolls in half, pile on the chopped barbecue beef brisket, top it with coleslaw, and put it in your mouth. Oh, so delicious!
  
• Make your own barbecue sauce – A store-bought barbecue sauce is just fine to use as there are many great brands on the market. But if you want to whip up your own barbecue sauce, I’ve included a quick and easy recipe for you to enjoy.
  
  BBQ Sauce Recipe: Combine and stir 1 ½ cups ketchup, ½ cup apple cider vinegar, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon chopped garlic, 2 teaspoons each onion and garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, 1 teaspoon paprika and salt and pepper to taste in a small saucepan. Bring to a low simmer, and while stirring occasionally, cook for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust ingredients to your liking.

• Would you like your brisket a tad crispy and caramelized? – This is a very cool but simple trick! Slather the barbecue sauce onto the brisket before you slice it, and place it onto a sheet tray under the broiler in your oven. Broil for approximately 10 minutes or until the outside becomes caramelized and charred to your liking.

Excellent side dishes that go perfectly with your BBQ beef brisket

You have spent all this time cooking the most perfect indoor beef brisket, so now you need to create some side dishes that compliment your efforts. These side dishes are not only delicious and go well with the barbecue beef brisket, but they are also traditional.

• Instant pot potato salad
• Dairy-free Whole30 potato salad
• Slow cooker mac & cheese (of course you have a second crockpot, right?)
• BBQ green beans in the crockpot (ditto)
• Creamy Keto cole slaw
• Baked beans
• Corn on the cob
• Pasta salad
• Broccoli salad

More Crockpot BBQ Recipes

• Pulled Pork with BBQ Sauce
• BBQ Ribs in the Crockpot with Sweet Baby Ray’s Sauce
• 3-ingredient BBQ Chicken
• Jamaican Jerk mop sauce recipe from Back Yard Yum