This tasty and simple oven baked beef brisket recipe is easy to make and easy to eat. Cook beef brisket tightly covered in aluminum foil in the oven at 325F for the first hour and 275 degrees for an additional three hours.
Serve oven baked beef brisket with the pan sauce it cooked in or place some sharp mustard or a horseradish and sour cream sauce mix. Leave some straight horseradish on the side if you want to get real spicy.
How Long To Cook Brisket In The Oven:
A general rule of thumb is to cook beef brisket in the oven at 275F for around 60 minutes / 1 hour for every pound of meat. For example, 4 lb = 4 hours, 5 lb = 5 hours, etc...
Additionally, leave any fat on the top of the brisket - this will keep it moist and tender.
Cook the beef brisket in the oven with the fat side up so that as the fat melts it will keep the meat moist and tender.
Cooking A Small Beef Brisket In The Oven:
The smaller the brisket the harder it is to cook because of all the connective tissue. Cooking a small piece of tough meat for a long time is challenging, so consider leftovers and cook at least 4 pounds if possible.
Beef brisket needs to rest at least 15 minutes covered after it's cooked. Slice the meat against the grain when it has cooled.
Place the brisket slices back in some of the sauce that it cooked in to keep it moist. It will soak it back up and is even better and more flavorful the next day.
Why cook Beef Brisket "low and slow" in the oven
Low and slow is a cooking term to describe cooking a tough piece of meat at a low heat for a long time. This method ensures a final beef brisket that is uber tender. Low heat is generally anywhere from 250F - 325F.
Brisket can be a tough cut of meat because of the connective tissue. It needs to be cooked low and slow to break down the connective tissue into gelatin. This makes it tender!
Pick a brisket that has plenty of fat marbling in the meat. Fat is a good thing for a beef brisket and also keeps it tender while cooking in the oven.
Is Beef Brisket Cooked in Liquid or Above The Liquid?
This oven roasted beef brisket recipe is meant to cook a brisket that stays together in tender slices and keep it forms and that is achieved best by keeping it out of the liquid.
If you want brisket that shreds, cook it in the liquid with this recipe. The dry rub may seep into the sauce but it will be delicious.
Substitutions For Easy Oven Baked Beef Brisket
Don't have all the spices for this oven brisket recipe? Just use salt and pepper on the beef brisket and skip the rest. It will still be delicious.
Don't have beef broth to cook the brisket in? This beef brisket can also be cooked using chicken or vegetable broth, beer, or even salted water in a pinch.
Easy Oven Baked Brisket Recipe Tips
If your oven runs really hot, the beef broth will evaporate. Therefore, it's best to check the liquid level half way through cooking, and add a little more beef broth if needed.
Strain the fat off the liquid after it's done cooking and use the sauce as a dipping Au Jus for the brisket. Don't want to strain the fat? Cool, don't worry about it and dip away. A little fat never hurt nobody! 🙂
Oven Baked Beef Brisket Recipe FAQS
It takes about one hour per pound of beef brisket at 275F. It is hard to cook a tender brisket smaller than 3-4 pounds so plan for leftovers.
Cook brisket at 325F for the first hour covered to get it going. Then reduce the temperature to 275 degrees F covered and cook it low and slow for the rest of the time.
Cook brisket fat side up. And pick a marbled brisket with fat. Don't take the fat off the brisket. Cooking brisket fat side up will shield the meat from drying out and keep it moister.
Maybe the brisket was too small and overcooked, maybe your oven runs hot, maybe it wasn't covered tight enough with aluminum foil, or maybe it didn't have enough marbling or fat. Unfortunately, it's hard to say.
Simple Oven Roasted Beef Brisket
EatSimpleFood.com
This tasty oven baked beef brisket recipe is easy to make and easy to eat. Roasted and cooked in the oven at 325 and 275 degrees with minimal work.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 4lb beef brisket, trimmed w/ a thin layer of fat remaining
- 1 Tbsp salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- 2 ½ cups beef broth
- ¼ cup sharp mustard - optional for dippin'
- ½ cup prepared horseradish sour cream sauce -optional for dippin'
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325F. Grab your roasting pan and rack.
- Mix salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika together in a small bowl. Rub this on all sides of the brisket.
- Place brisket (fat side up) on top of the roasting rack in the pan. Add enough beef broth to cover the bottom of the pan by half an inch.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil (I use two pieces to make sure it's tight) or a lid and place in oven for 1 hour.
- Reduce heat to 275F and cook an additional 3 hours (covered) or until fork tender. Check the liquid level at least once to make sure that it has not burned off if your oven runs hot. Add more broth if needed.
- Cool ~ 15 minutes covered and slice thinly (trim any fat off the top if desired)
- Serve with horseradish sour cream and/or sharp mustard on the side. You can also drizzle the brisket or soak the slices with the leftover pan sauce to keep it moist. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
- If your oven runs way hot, the beef broth will evaporate. Check it half way through and add a little more beef broth if needed. You can always strain the fat off this after it's done cooking and use the sauce as a dipping Au Jus.
- Make sure to let the beef brisket rest before slicing and then you can put the slices back in the sauces that it cooked in to ensure that it will stay moist and tender. It will soak it back up and is even better the next day.
- Don't have all the spices? Just use salt and pepper and skip the rest.
- Don't have beef broth? You can use chicken or vegetable broth, beer, or even water if you're in a pinch.
Things In My Kitchen:
- Roasting pan and elevated rack - for roasting brisket or chicken.
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Serving Suggestion
Need a side to round out beef brisket? Horseradish sour cream is a must in our house, and it's hard to go wrong with potatoes.
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This looks awesome! I'm going to make it today!
Thank yo Mary!
Hi Beckie,
I've never blogged before so I hope this gets to you pretty quick. I'm making this dish tomorrow for 5. I have an 8 lb beef brisket. My sources tell me to cook this for the same 4 hours as you have on the recipe for a 4 pounder. Is that correct? When I press the 2x scale the time doesn't change, just all the ingredients.
Thank you Beckie - I will definitely let you know how it turns out.
V
Hi Vickie! A general rule of thumb is to cook beef brisket in the oven at 275F for around 60 minutes / 1 hour for every pound of meat. For example, 4 lb = 4 hours, 5 lb = 5 hours, etc... So 8 pounds would need ~ 8 hours. Hope you get it in the oven in time. Thank you!
How do you get your brisket top
To look browned? You do not call for it to be put in oven at the end for 30-1hr with no foil. How do you get it brown
Hi Lynn, I'm sorry for the delay in response! I'm cooking it in foil until the end (see video). Having said that, I have browned it before for a couple minutes on a low broil, watching very carefully so it doesn't burn. If you want a little brown and crisp on the top, then broil on low for a couple minutes. Thank you, Beckie