When You Can’t Get to Texas, Make This Brisket Instead

No smoker necessary. Learn how to make perfectly tender brisket right in your oven. Joe Lingeman/TCA

Beefy brisket is the king of Texas barbecue. Yes, Texas has smoked ribs and pulled pork, but tender, peppery brisket is what most people dream of when they think of Texas barbecue. Swiped with mustard and packed with a salt and pepper coating before slow smoking produces a brisket that is ingenious in simplicity and mind-blowing in flavor.

The best Texas-style brisket is tender without falling apart and has a thick layer of smoky-peppery bark that surrounds each slice. While we can’t exactly replicate the terroir of a Texas smokehouse, we can slow-roast brisket in the oven at home. To learn more, here’s how to make Texas-style brisket in the oven at home.

Tip For Cooking Texas-style Brisket in the Oven

• Get a 5- to 6-pound brisket with a point cut.
• Coat the brisket with mustard then season it with salt, cracked pepper, and garlic powder. Let it rest overnight.
• Roast the brisket at 300 degrees F and keep it covered in foil for the first six hours.
• Uncover the brisket in the last two to three hours of cooking to get a crisp exterior bark.
• Check the brisket every 30 minutes with the use of a thermometer.

Why You’ll Love It

• It’s tender and juicy, with a crisp bark. We create a thick bark, while keeping the meat juicy, with an on-and-off-again foil tent in a low oven.
• It’s peppery and smoky. We give this oven brisket a smoky flavor with a bit of liquid smoke, and it’s seasoned Texas-style with kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper.

What is Texas-style Brisket?

Beef brisket is actually slow-cooked in a number of regional and ethnic cuisines, but Texas-style brisket means two things: smoke and pepper.

BBQ expert Robb Walsh says this particular style of brisket is most often found in Central Texas, but for everyone else outside the region, Texas-style brisket is what we think of when we think of barbecue brisket. It is slow-smoked until tender but not falling apart like pulled pork, and it has a thick bark, prized for its texture and peppery bite.

Key Ingredients for Oven-Baked Texas-Style Brisket

• Beef brisket: A whole brisket can weigh nearly 20 pounds, which is more than most home cooks will ever need, but you also don’t want to attempt this technique with a two-pound trimmed brisket. When buying beef brisket, look for a 5- to 6-pound brisket with a rich fat cap. If you’ve got the choice between a flat or a point cut (this basically refers to the ends of the brisket), always choose the point—it has more fat, which keeps it from drying out in the oven.
• Dijon mustard: Brushing the brisket with a Dijon mustard mixture helps the salt and pepper stay in place.
• Liquid smoke: Adding a bit of liquid smoke to the mustard mixture gives this brisket a smoky flavor.

What to Serve With Oven-Baked Texas-Style Brisket

• Classic Potato Salad
• Bacon BBQ Baked Beans
• Homemade Mac and Cheese
• Perfect Fluffy Cornbread
• Pickled Red Onions

Oven-Baked Texas-Style Brisket

Serves 10 to 12

• 1 (6-pound) beef brisket, point cut with a fat cap preferred
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

1. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil—this will make cleanup easier. Place a cooling rack inside the baking sheet.

2. Chances are high your brisket will come trimmed and ready for cooking, but before seasoning, take a look at it and trim off any tough bits of silverskin (the white film on meat). Also trim the fat cap to about 1/2-inch thick if needed.

3. Place the mustard and liquid smoke in a small bowl and stir to combine. Brush the brisket on all sides with mustard mixture—this will help the salt and pepper mixture stay in place.

4. Place the salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle the salt mixture all over the brisket, then use your hands to rub it in, getting as much into every nook and cranny as possible.

5. Place the brisket on a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire rack inside. Cover the whole brisket and baking sheet with aluminum foil. Refrigerate overnight, 10 to 12 hours.

6. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 300 degrees F. Remove the brisket from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature, still covered in the foil, while the oven is heating.

7. If you covered the brisket completely the night before, you can set the whole brisket, pan, cooling rack and all, right in the oven and leave it covered, cooking for six hours. Otherwise, place the brisket on a cooling rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and cover the brisket with foil and bake for six hours, or until the brisket registers 200 degrees F in the thickest part. Don’t worry too much if the brisket reaches 180 degrees F relatively quickly and then hangs out at this temperature for several hours.

8. Your two goals for the second half of cooking are crisp exterior and an interior that stays at 200 degrees F for at least an hour. Uncover the brisket and take its temperature before returning to the oven. Cook for another 1 to 2 hours, checking its temperature regularly. The brisket is done when it holds a temperature close to 200 degrees F for about an hour. You can pick the brisket up in the middle with tongs to check for doneness: the ends should bend readily but not break.

9. Transfer the brisket to a clean cutting board. Cover loosely with foil and let rest for 30 minutes before slicing across the grain and serving.

Recipe notes: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to four days.

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