How to Cook Beef Brisket in the Oven

Step 1

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a roasting pan with a wire rack, add Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, tomato paste, and enough beef broth to fill the bottom of the pan without submerging the brisket, which will sit on the wire rack. Add enough broth so that it almost touches the bottom of the brisket (typically 2 cups or more). Stir.

Step 2

Trim fat layer (the fat cap), so that there is about ¼ inch thick fat layer still left on the brisket. Don’t trim too much fat, or you’ll have a tough, bland brisket! Fat is flavor and moisture.

Step 3

In a bowl, mix together all ingredients in the dry rub: black pepper, brown sugar, chili powder, dried mustard, garlic and onion powder, salt, and smoked paprika.

Step 4

On a large plate, rub brisket with dry rub, sticking as much dry rub as possible to all surfaces of your brisket. You should use all or almost all of the dry rub. Transfer brisket to the wire rack in your roasting pan, fat-side down. It’s okay if some of the rub falls into the smoking liquid.

Step 5

Insert a leave-in probe thermometer (highly recommended) into the center of the thickest part of your brisket. Make sure the thermometer’s tip isn’t in the center of a fat layer, as the temperature will be inaccurate. Tightly cover your pan in foil (you can poke a hole through the foil for the leave-in thermometer if needed).

Step 6

Cook brisket in the oven until a thermometer reads about 190 degrees in the thickest part. Cooking time varies based on many factors. Great brisket is all about temperature, not time!

Step 7

Uncover brisket and let cook until a thermometer reads 200-205 degrees, and the thermometer can easily slide in and out of the brisket (this signals a tender brisket!). Cooking time varies. Great brisket is all about temperature, not time!

Step 8

What happens if there’s “stall time?” Stall time is when the internal temperature of your brisket stops rising and may even fall a few degrees. A stall time might occur when you uncover your brisket and steam cools your brisket down. If a stall time lasts for more than 30 minutes, I recommend re-covering your brisket with foil until your brisket’s temperature starts to rise steadily again. Stalls sometimes never happen, happen once, or happen more than once – don’t get discouraged!

Step 9

Let brisket rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing against the grain.