For many, St. Patrick’s Day means corned brisket. But for us pasture-raised farmers and eaters who believe food is medicine, corned brisket means some not so healthy things (like nitrates).
But not to worry! You can enjoy this classic without compromising health, and still get a brisket that is tasty and moist and delectable.
I brined my brisket in this recipe. The extra moisture will affect the ability to get a good bark on your brisket, but hey, our goal is taste and health, so I’m not too worried about getting a perfect bark (although I want to try dry brining a brisket next time to see how that works!).
Another option of curing your brisket without nitrates is by using whey, so if you’re curious about a more traditional way of curing your brisket look that up! Because I was short on time and in a busy season of life, I chose to do a salt brine.
The key to getting a moist brisket is by cooking it at a low temp. It has to cook low and slowly enough to give time for all the connective tissues to break down and render. If you cook it at too high of a temp, it will cook too fast and those connective tissues will remain intact, leaving you with a tough brisket. This recipe is easy and doesn’t require much effort - it just takes time to cook it appropriately!
So here’s how to make a brisket that will make your mouth water and have the family running to the table!
Brine:
1 gallon water
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup coconut sugar
1 Tbsp. mustard seeds
1 Tbsp. whole peppercorn
Bring water to a boil and add in salt and sugar to dissolve. Add in the rest of the ingredients and let the brine cool. Place your brisket in a pot or brining bag and pour the cooled brine over it. Let brine in the fridge overnight, or for about 12 hours.
Brisket Rub:
2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
Instructions:
1. Take your brined brisket and pat dry with paper towels, and let sit out to dry for a half hour.
2. Preheat your oven to 250.
3. While the oven is preheating and the brisket is drying, mix together all the ingredients for the rub. After the brisket has dried, spread a little oil on the outside of the brisket. Not too much, just enough to give the rub something to bind to. Then sprinkle the rub all over, making sure to rub it over the entire brisket.
4. Take a baking sheet (large enough to keep your brisket from dripping into your oven) and place a wire rack on it. This will lift the brisket off the rack to create more airflow, which will help achieve the ‘bark’ on your brisket. Place your brisket on the rack, and then put in the oven on the middle shelf.
5. Let it cook for about three hours, then remove from the oven and wrap in foil or butchers paper. Return to oven, and let it cook until it reaches 200 degrees, about another 4-5 hours (see note at the end about the ‘stall’ that can happen while cooking). Also, an oven thermometer that you can keep inserted without opening the door is handy, as constantly opening the oven to check the temp lengthens the time it will take to cook).
6.Take it out of the oven and let it rest for an hour. This step is very important! As the brisket cooks, all the moisture is pushed out toward the edges of the meat, so if you cut into it right away you’ll spill all the moisture out. If you let it sit, the moisture will redistribute throughout the meat, resulting in a delectably moist brisket.
*It’s safe to let it sit on the counter for about an hour, but if you have more time than that before serving, you can wrap the brisket in foil (if you didn’t wrap it after the stall), wrap in a couple towels for insulation, and place in a small cooler until you’re ready to serve.
7. Enjoy!
*A note about the ‘stall’ when cooking a brisket: You may find your brisket stalls while cooking. This is caused by moisture evaporating off the surface of the brisket, causing a cooling effect. Lots of factors contribute to this, including how cloudy it is or how humid it is outside. That’s why we wrapped the brisket in this recipe, to help you get past that stall a little more quickly then if you just let it go. Some people prefer to not wrap it so they get a better ‘bark’ on their brisket, but if you’re like me and didn’t have time to sit around waiting for the brisket to get past the stall (it can take hours!), wrapping is the way to go.
So for a recap on how this went for me…
The brisket turned out moist and tender, which was my goal. It had a decent bark on it, although next time I want to try a dry brine and see how that goes as I try to perfect my brisket skills (and break out the grill too? Anyone here like grilling as much as me?).
What didn’t quite work out for me was that it was too salty, so I adjusted the salt amounts in this recipe to account for that. And my brisket went through a major stall which meant I served dinner way later than I expected (or anyone wanted), so I would start it earlier and then plan on keeping it warm until dinnertime.
And the last thing I want to add is to encourage you to get creative with your seasonings! The dry rub can be a concoction of whatever your favorite spices or herbs are, so have fun with it!
Cheers!
