Beef Brisket cooked as a pot roast couldn't be easier. Just sear and then cook it in the oven with onions and garlic all afternoon until it becomes fall-apart tender. The leftovers freeze beautifully, too!

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

Beef brisket is a fabulous cut of meat. The brisket is located between the shoulders and the forelegs of the steer. These muscles get a workout, which results in more flavor in the meat, and they are also well marbled with fat, adding even more flavor.

So they are highly flavorful and perfect for slow braises. Long cooking time is needed to melt the connective tissue.

Upon serving, the meat is cut across the grain, helping it become fall-apart tender.

Video! How to Make Brisket Pot Roast

Flat Cut versus Point Cut Brisket

A whole brisket has two parts, the “flat cut” and the “point cut.” The flat cut is flatter and leaner than the point cut and is more readily available at grocery stores. It still has a fat cap on one side, but the meat itself is leaner. This cut is most often used for roasts you intend to slice.

The point cut of the brisket is a fattier cut, with more fat marbling throughout the meat, making it more flavorful and more shreddable.

You can use either cut for this beef brisket recipe, just know that a point cut will be richer and fattier, the flat cut, more lean.

How to Cook Beef Brisket

This brisket recipe is fairly classic. It’s essentially a pot roast—a slow braise with lots and lots of onions.

First, you score the fat side of the roast to help it render while cooking. Then you sear the brisket on all sides in a hot pan.

Once the brisket is well browned, you brown a bunch of sliced onions in the same pan, add back the roast, add some herbs and stock, cover the pot and cook it in the oven for several hours, adding carrots near the end, until the beef brisket it falling-apart tender. Easy!

How to Make this Brisket in the Slow Cooker

You can adapt this recipe to the slow cooker. Prepare the recipe as directed through step 3 (searing the brisket and sautéing the onions), then transfer everything to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.

An Easy Beef Brisket Recipe to Adjust

You can do so many things with brisket. One of my favorite beef brisket recipes is just simply slathering it with a BBQ sauce mixture and cooking it forever in the oven. There are versions with ketchup, onion soup, or even cocktail sauce with horseradish.

With this beef brisket recipe, feel free to mix it up a bit. You could easily use other root vegetables such as parsnips, turnips, or rutabagas.

You could use wine or beer instead of the beef stock. Think of this recipe as a starting point for experimentation, or just a good, basic pot roast brisket.

What to Serve with Brisket

Serve the brisket pot roast with a side of potatoes (mashed, roasted or boiled), buttered egg noodles, polenta, or simply some crusty bread like an Italian or French rustic loaf. For a green, serve with some boiled green beans on the side, or a lightly dressed green salad.

How to Keep and Reheat Brisket

This will keep in the fridge, easily, for about 5 days. Reheat it in a low oven, wrapped in aluminum foil, for 20-25 minutes or so. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.

Do you have a favorite beef brisket recipe? Please let us know about it in the comments.

Looking for More Brisket and Pot Roast Recipes?