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Tender, tasty and effortless, this is THE way to make Slow Cooker Beef Brisket. Treat yourself to all the flavour without the effort, dishing up a melt-in-your-mouth dish that can be served in so many different ways depending on the day, size of meal and guestlist.
We all know that the longer and slower the cook for some cuts of meat, the better, and this is certainly where Slow Cooker Beef Brisket comes into its own.
Brisket is also really affordable, and it’s easy to slice up or shred, making it perfect as a substitute for a laborious Sunday roast or when cooking for guests. It’s so versatile in how you serve it up too.
I have loved how slow cooking certain meats have worked out in previous recipes, such as this Lamb Shoulder, this Gammon and this Pulled Pork, and I knew I had to get Brisket in there too!
This recipe comes with the added bonus of a sticky, rich and delicious BBQ sauce – oh hello!
Why you’ll love this Slow Cooker Beef Brisket recipe
⭐️ Comforting, rich flavour
⭐️ Hands-off cooking with big results
⭐️ Affordable, simple ingredients
Why we slow cook Beef Brisket
The brisket cut of beef is from close to the front of the cow (sort of lower chest area), and it has a lot of connective tissue.
This means it’s tough and needs to be tenderised well, and this is where a long braising process comes in.
It has a layer of fat that stops the meat from drying out, which is why we get such succulent, mouthwatering textures and flavours when we slow cook it.
Slow Cooker Beef Brisket Ingredients notes
- Beef Brisket – We’re using about a 1.2kg cut for this recipe that serves 6 people. You can get these from the supermarket or a butcher
- Onions – Slice these up and sit the beef on top for an extra layer or flavour
For the barbecue sauce: - Tomato ketchup and runny honey
- Mustard powder – If you don’t have powder, English mustard would also work but use HALF the amount
- Dark brown sugar – You could use molasses if you have them instead
- Cider vinegar – White wine vinegar will work instead if you don’t have any
How to make Slow cooker Beef Brisket
1. Put the sliced onions into the slow cooker and sit the beef brisket on top.
2. Mix the sauce ingredients together.
3. Using clean hands, cover the beef brisket with the sauce.
4. Cook as per the recipe below until tender, then remove the string and slice to serve.
Substitutions
- White wine vinegar – You can use this instead of cider vinegar if that’s all you can find
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully in the microwave or hob before serving.
In the freezer This recipe freezes well. Just wait until it’s totally cold and then put into a freezer proof container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost thoroughly before reheating in the microwave or on the hob.
Top Tips
Cooking schedule:
To serve this for lunch at 1pm, say, you have a couple of different options.
Cook it the day before, allow it to cool and store in the fridge, covered. Then reheat in a saucepan, with the cooking sauce, stirring until hot through when you want it.
OR use this nifty plug timer to start your slow cooker off in the early hours.
To take it up a notch:
- Add 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce at the end of the cooking time
- Use molasses instead of brown sugar
- Add a 1 tsp of cayenne pepper to add a KICK!
- For gravy, reduce the sauce down in a saucepan on the hob (boil for 5 minutes until thickened) before adding back to the meat.
MOre slow cooker beef recipes…
Beef
Beef Goulash
Slow Cooker Curries
Easy Slow Cooker Beef Curry Recipe
Slow Cooker Beef
Honey Garlic Beef Noodles {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Slow Cooker
Slow Cooker Bolognese {No Browning Recipe!}
FAQs
This can be a perfect dry dish for adding to burger buns, tacos, quesadillas, Boulangere Potatoes or baked potatoes.
Or you could make it saucier for dishes such as rice or potato wedges. You could also make this with mash, vegetables and Yorkshire Puddings as a hands-off Sunday roast alternative.
The Morphy Richards Sear & Stew Slow Cooker is my all-time favourite because you can use it for initial browning on the hob and it’s really light.
I wrote up a whole slow cooker review though, where you might find another one to suit your needs. Have a read here.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Slow Cooker Beef Brisket {with Barbecue Sauce}
Ingredients
- 2 Onions, Peeled and finely sliced
- 1.2 kg Beef brisket
For the sauce:
- 4 tbsp Tomato ketchup
- 3 tbsp Runny honey
- 2 tsp Mustard powder
- 3 tbsp Dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Cider vinegar, Or white wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp Water
Instructions
- Put the onions into the bottom of the slow cooker and sit the brisket on top (if it is rolled with string, leave this on).
- In a bowl, mix the sauce ingredients together. Add the beef to the bowl of spice paste and roll it around so all sides are covered. (It is easiest to do this using clean hands).
- Put the lid on and cook on HIGH for 5-6 hours or LOW for 7-8 until very tender.
- When the meat is cooked and looks like it will pull apart, remove any string, slice thinly and serve with the onions.
- OPTIONAL: Once you've removed the meat from the liquid, you can reduce the sauce to concentrate the flavour if you'd like to. Put the cooking liquid into a small saucepan and put it on the hob over a medium high heat. Let it bubble for 5-10 minutes until it is thickened. Then pour back over the meat as above.
Notes
- Use molasses instead of brown sugar
- Add a 1 tsp of cayenne pepper to add a KICK!
- Add 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce at the end of the cooking time
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Really want to try this. For 1kg brisket would the cooking time decrease? Thank you so much.
A huge success! Everyone enjoyed this for dinner this evening. So easy to do and it was lovely to be organised and not stressing before dinner time.
Tried and came up really well.
Keep it up with the slow cooker series! I’m loving every single recipe!