This slow cooker beef brisket will make your heart happy. You can turn this brisket into so many different dinners! Use it for tacos, sandwiches, grilled cheese, or quesadillas. It's an easy recipe with few ingredients and so many possibilities.
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🥰 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Flavorful Brisket - Seasoning this brisket in a BBQ spice rub and slow cooking it in BBQ sauce gives it tons of flavor and makes it fork tender.
- Simple Recipe - This is possibly the easiest way to make a brisket, which makes it perfect for family dinners!
- Versatile- You can use the shredded brisket for a sandwich, tacos, in a grilled cheese, or eat it on its own. There are so many possibilities.
- Even Better the Next Day - You can repurpose your leftovers in many ways! Add the brisket to your morning eggs, or throw some pieces into a salad.
Brisket is by far the favorite meat of Texans for barbecue. However, if you're like me and don't have access to a smoker, the slow cooker is your next best option.
Brisket is a tough cut of meat because it has a lot of connective tissue. The best way to cook it is low and slow.
You will get a juicy and tender brisket after hours of slow cooking with low heat. If you cook it fast on high heat, the result will be dry and tough meat.
This slow cooker brisket recipe takes 10 minutes of prep and uses simple ingredients you likely already have.
🧀 Ingredients & Substitutions
Beef Brisket: Brisket flats are large and shaped like a rectangle. If you can't find a flat cut in your grocery store, ask the butcher for a 2 ½ pound brisket flat.
Your Favorite BBQ Sauce: Use your favorite BBQ Sauce, or make this Chipolte homemade BBQ sauce. It has just the right amount of sweet and spicy and is easy to make.
Smokey BBQ Spice Dry Rub: This rub has brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. It gives the brisket tons of flavor.
Full ingredient list with quantities in the recipe card below
🔪 How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Brisket
1. Season Brisket: Mix spice together for smokey BBQ rub, then rub all over the brisket.
2. Add Ingredients to Crock Pot: Pour 1 cup of barbecue sauce into the Crock Pot. Place seasoned brisket in the slow cooker.
3. Cook: Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours. Remove the brisket from slow cooker and let the meat rest for 10 minutes. Either shred the meat or slice it thinly.
👩🍳Tip
If you can't find a brisket under 3 pounds at the grocery store, ask your butcher if they have any brisket in the back that is two and a half pounds, or buy a larger piece and cut it down in size.
The remaining brisket can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months if properly wrapped up. Let it thaw in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Favorite Ways to Eat Brisket
- As a main with a side of potato salad and green beans
- Make it into a sandwich
- Add it to a quesadilla
- Throw it into a grilled cheese
- Add it to a tortilla for a fun taco night
🥗 Side Dishes
- Mac & Cheese
- Baked Beans
- Potato Salad
- Roasted Red Potatoes
- Corn on the Cob
🧊 Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Leftover brisket is great on a sandwich, grilled cheese, or quesadilla.
❓ Recipe Questions
What's a good alternative to Beef Brisket?
Brisket can sometimes be hard to find or sold in such large quantities that it's too expensive. If you need an alternative, try chuck roast, also called poor man's brisket.
The cooking time will stay the same. However, this cut of beef is fattier and more tender than brisket. You won't be able to slice it, you'll have to shred it.
How do I know when my brisket is done?
The ideal temperature for brisket to be cooked to is 202F-205F. With a slow cooker, it can be hard to guide the temperature, and you don't want to open and close the slow cooker too much.
If your 7 hours are up and you check the brisket's internal temperature, and it's somewhere between 195F and 205F, I would say pull it out. If not, cook for another 30 minutes.
BBQ Slow Cooker Beef Brisket
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lb Beef Brisket
- 1 cups store-bought bbq sauce or Homemade Chipotle BBQ Sauce
- Smokey BBQ Spice Rub recipe below
Smokey BBQ Spice Rub
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Pour 1 cup of BBQ sauce into your slow cooker.
- Mix together the spices for the Smokey BBQ Rub. Rub the seasoning all over the brisket. Add the brisket to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
- Remove the brisket from slow cooker and let the meat rest for 10 minutes. Either shred the meat or slice it thinly.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate and may vary based on the ingredients used.
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Jill says
Great recipe! I threw it under the broiler for about 7 minutes after cooking to make a bark. Thank you!
Miranda G says
The texture came out more like a roast than brisket. Any suggestions to improve the texture?