Comfort food at its best! Put this slow-roasted brisket into the oven and forget about it for a few hours. You'll be rewarded with the most tender and succulent meat that will have everyone coming back for seconds. And as a bonus, you can thicken the juices for the most delicious onion gravy.
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Slow-roasted brisket - fall-apart tender meat
Brisket is the cut of meat found on the lower chest of the cow, and its purpose is to support the weight of cattle while they are standing or walking. Because of this, brisket contains strong muscles with plenty of connective tissue.
If you were to try and grill or fry a piece of brisket you would end up with tough, stringy meat, that would be virtually inedible. But rub it with spices, place it in a casserole dish in the oven and forget about it for a few hours, and you will have the most juicy, succulent and tender meat imaginable.
The recipe that I'm sharing today, for slow-roasted brisket, calls for a long and slow cooking time. But even though it takes a long time to cook, most of the time is hands-off, so this is actually a very easy joint of meat to cook. The hardest part is remembering to get the meat in the oven early so it has plenty of time to transform into an amazing meal.
This slow-roasted brisket makes the most fabulous roast dinner, served alongside crispy roast potatoes and your choice of vegetable. Why not try some of my vegetable recipes to go along with it?
- Creamy leek and brussels sprouts bake
- Buttered cabbage with leeks and mustard seeds
- Baby marrow with tomato and onion
- Mashed green beans South African style
I always put sliced onions in with my brisket, so that they combine with the cooking juices and transform into the best onion gravy ever. All you have to do is thicken it before serving.
Just look at how the connective tissue has softened during the cooking process. Honestly, this meat is so tender you could cut it with a spoon!
How to carve brisket
You should always carve meat against the grain, and this is especially true with brisket.
If you look at a piece of brisket you will notice the long tendons of muscle running through the meat. You should always carve the meat across these tendons, rather than along them.
Carving the meat this way cuts through the long tendons, resulting in juicy pieces of beef that melt in your mouth, as opposed to long stringy meat that you have to chew like chewing gum.
What ingredients do I need?
For the complete list of ingredients and full instructions see the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
To serve 4 people you will need a piece of brisket weighing about 2 pounds, or about 900 grams. This allows 8 ounces of raw meat per person, but the brisket does lose a lot of weight during the slow cooking process as the tough collagen breaks down. (And don't worry about having leftovers - cold brisket makes delicious sandwiches).
The top side of the brisket should have a nice thin coating of fat. Don't trim this fat away - it helps keep the meat moist during cooking.
Other ingredients
Apart from the meat, you will need one or two onions (depending on their size). Once sliced, you should use about 1 cup of onion. You will also need a cupful of chopped carrots (which I COMPLETELY forgot to include in the photo).
You will also need a mixture of herbs and spices to rub onto the meat before it goes into the casserole.
- Paprika
- Onion salt
- Garlic salt
- Dried rosemary
- Dried thyme
I haven't included any salt in this recipe as I find the garlic salt and onion salt in the spice mix contain sufficient salt. If you want to add extra salt you can mix it in with the spices.
And finally, you will need stock.
- Stock cube - you can use either a beef or vegetable stock cube dissolved in 1 cup of water. For my 2lb (900g) brisket I used 1 stock cube and 1 cup of boiling water. If you have a larger joint of meat which will cook for longer, use 2 stock cubes with 2 cups of water.
- Worcestershire sauce - two tablespoonfuls per cup of stock
- Tomato paste - one tablespoonful per cup of stock
For browning the meat before it goes into the casserole dish you will need a few tablespoons of sunflower oil.
Cooking times for brisket
This table is intended to be a guide only. Actual cooking times will vary, according to various factors such as the thickness of the joint and how often you open the oven to check on the meat.
This chart will help you to work out how long you should cook brisket. The times given in the recipe are for a 2-pound or 900-gram brisket. For anything other than this you can adjust your cooking times according to the table below.
Average cooking times range from 60 - 75 minutes per pound (450 grams) plus an additional 30 minutes. I have based my calculations on 75 minutes per pound because that is how long my 2-pound (900g) brisket took.
The times below (for slow-roasted brisket) are based on an oven temperature of 150C / 300F.
The internal temperature of cooked brisket should be about 91C / 195F, and a fork should slide right through the meat with no resistance.
| Weight in pounds | Weight in grams | Minutes | Extra | Total Time (hours) |
| 1 | 450 | 75 | 30 | 1:45 |
| 2 | 900 | 150 | 30 | 3:00 |
| 3 | 1.350 | 225 | 30 | 4:15 |
| 4 | 1.800 | 300 | 30 | 5:30 |
How to cook slow-roasted brisket
Preparation
- Peel and finely slice the onions.
- Peel the carrots and cut into 1-inch chunks
- Combine all the spices in a small dish, then rub them all over the meat, making sure to cover the meat completely.
- Dissolve the stock cube in one cup of boiling water, mix in the Worcestershire sauce and the tomato puree, and set aside.
Equipment
You will need an ovenproof casserole or Dutch oven with a TIGHTLY-fitting lid. It is important that the lid fits tightly so that the cooking liquid does not evaporate.
Cook the brisket
- Heat sunflower oil in a frying pan (or if your casserole dish is stove-top friendly you could use that) and sear the meat well on all sides until it is nicely browned (image 1 above).
- Once the meat has browned, transfer it to the casserole dish (fat side up) and arrange the onion slices around the sides.
- Pour the prepared stock over the onions (image 2 above).
- Cover the casserole with a lid, place it in a medium oven (150C / 300F) and leave it to cook slowly for about 3 hours (image 3 above).
- Turn the meat occasionally so it cooks evenly.
- Check the level of the stock - if it starts to dry out, top up with extra stock.
- One hour before the end of the cooking time, add the chopped carrots.
- The meat will be cooked when a fork slides easily into the meat with no resistance.
Rest the meat
It is important to rest the meat for at least half an hour after it has been removed from the oven. This will give the meat time to relax, and for the juices to settle back into the meat.
If you carve the meat the moment it comes out of the oven, you will end up with tough meat and a chopping board covered in meat juice.
To rest the meat, just leave it in the casserole dish, covered with the lid.
Make the gravy
Once the meat has been removed from the oven, transfer the carrots to a small serving dish and keep warm.
Pour the meat juices and onions into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of cornflour or cornstarch with a quarter cup of cold water. Drizzle the mixture into the onions, stirring continuously, until the gravy thickens. You may not need all the cornflour mixture.
I like to keep the onion slices whole as they are so soft and full of flavour. If you prefer a smoother gravy, blend it with a stick blender before serving.
Serve poured over slices of the slow-roasted brisket, alongside the carrots, and any other vegetables of your choice.
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Can I freeze leftover brisket?
Yes, leftover brisket can be frozen.
I like to shred any leftover brisket and mix it with any remaining gravy before freezing. I find that sliced brisket by itself can be quite dry when frozen and reheated.
Freeze the brisket in ziploc bags. It can be frozen for up to 4 months.
To use, defrost in the refrigerator and then reheat in a saucepan on the stove.
What to do with leftover brisket
Leftover brisket can be safely refrigerated for up to 4 days.
There are so many meals you can make with leftover brisket. These ideas assume that the brisket has been mixed with the gravy beforehand.
- Spoon the brisket into crusty bread rolls and serve with a helping of coleslaw for a quick and easy Sunday night supper.
- Spoon into pita bread and serve alongside a fresh green salad.
- Serve over rice - see this post for a quick way to cook rice in the microwave.
- Cover a baked potato with leftover brisket, top with grated cheese and pop into the oven for a few minutes until the cheese has melted.
- Serve the meat and gravy with homemade spaetzle for a pasta dish with a difference.
Save for later
Why not pin this slow-roasted brisket recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can make it later? Just click the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Related recipes
You can find meals made using beef on my beef recipes page. Here are a few you might like:
📋The recipe
Slow-roasted brisket with onion gravy
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Dutch oven or casserole dish with a tightly fitting lid
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 lb (900g) brisket
- 1 cup onions sliced
- 1 cup carrots peeled and cut into 1" pieces
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 beef stock cube
- 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 2-3 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
Instructions
Preparation
- Peel and finely slice the onions
- Peel the carrots and cut them into 1-inch rounds.
- Combine all the spices in a small dish, then rub them all over the meat, making sure to cover the meat completely.
- Dissolve the stock cube in one cup of boiling water, mix in the Worcestershire sauce and the tomato puree, and set aside.
Cook the brisket
- Heat sunflower oil in a frying pan (or if your casserole dish is stove-top friendly you could use that) and sear the meat well on all sides until it is nicely browned.
- Once the meat has browned, transfer it to the casserole dish (fat side up) and arrange the onion slices around the sides of the meat.
- Pour the prepared stock over the onions.
- Cover the casserole with a lid and place it in a medium oven (150C / 300F) and leave it to cook slowly for about 3 hours.
- Turn the meat occasionally so that it cooks evenly, and at the same time, check the level of the stock and top up with extra stock if necessary.
- One hour before the end of the cooking time, add the chopped carrots.
- Once the meat is cooked, allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
Make the gravy
- Transfer the carrots to a serving dish and keep warm.
- Pour the juices and the onions from the casserole dish into a small saucepan and bring to the boil.
- Mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of cornflour / cornstarch with a quarter cup of cold water. Drizzle the mixture into the onions, stirring continuously, until the gravy thickens. You may not need all the cornflour mixture.
- If you prefer a smooth gravy, you can blend it with a stick-blender.
Serve
- Serve slices of brisket alongside crispy roast potatoes, the carrots and vegetables of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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