Crock Pot Beef Brisket: Easier Than You Think

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This Crock Pot Beef Brisket takes minutes to prep, and you will look like a superstar when you serve this brisket at your next gathering. The trick to this tasty slow cooker beef brisket is using a dry rub made of chili powder, paprika, garlic salt, dry mustard, garlic powder, black pepper, and sugar. 

This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.

The secret to a good brisket is cooking it low and slow, and a crock pot is PERFECT for this cut of beef.  Also, using a dry rub for your beef brisket is another trick of the trade, and that’s just what we did for our simple crock pot beef brisket recipe. If you’d rather cook your brisket in the oven, try this recipe.

Beef Brisket Rub Ingredients

Slow cooker BBQ beef brisket is so yummy, and you won’t be disappointed! This is such an easy beef brisket slow cooker recipe that Barbara is secretly embarrassed that her husband makes such a fuss over the brisket.

You will also need a 3-5 pound brisket, beef broth, Worcestershire Sauce and bay leaves to complete this beef brisket recipe.

The secret to a good brisket is cooking it low and slow, and a crock pot is PERFECT for this cut of beef.  Also, using a dry rub for your beef brisket is another trick of the trade, and that's just what we did for our simple crock pot beef brisket recipe.

How to Make Easy Beef Brisket in the Slow Cooker

Step by Step Instructions

  1. Make a slow cooker brisket rub by mixing chili powder, paprika, garlic salt, dry mustard, garlic powder, black pepper, and sugar.
  2. Massage the brisket with the beef brisket dry rub.
  3. Refrigerate overnight to marinate.
  4. Add beef brisket fat side up, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth and bay leaves to crock pot insert. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
  5. Let rest for 10 minutes, and slice with a sharp knife. Serve as is, over mashed potatoes with its juices or as a brisket sandwich.

Full recipe and ingredient list for slow cooker beef brisket can be found below.

This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.

How to buy a beef brisket

Buy this cut of beef at the meat counter – usually anywhere from 3 to 5 pounds in size. If you shop at a wholesale club, you can find larger ones perfect for the smoker. If you don’t see a brisket out, don’t be afraid to ask the folks behind the counter! They are there to help…we promise.

While we do buy them at the grocery store, Barbara also gets one brisket from the quarter of beef that her family gets twice a year. She gets the beef from the 4-5 beef cattle that our family raises each year. These cattle graze for months behind Barbara’s house and we grain-finish them. Want to know more about grain-finished beef? Our friend Leah over at Beyer Beware explains the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef.

This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.

Whether she gets it from the grocery store or out of her freezer, Barbara usually saves brisket for special occasions.  She makes it for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and her husband’s birthday, and she swears that her husband loves her just a bit more on those days she makes this Crock Pot Beef Brisket.

Crock Pot Beef Brisket Recipe

Beef brisket is a tough cut of meat which is why it is traditionally cooked low and slow. Cooking it this way makes the house smell delicious for hours on end, and this makes the anticipation of the meal even better. Barbara serves this beef brisket over mashed potatoes, and the juice from the meat serves as the gravy.  You could switch it up and serve over Mashed Cauliflower as well to keep the carb count low.

This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu. Serve it over mashed potatoes for a complete meal.

​Brisket Cooking Time

The cook time for the brisket will depend on the size of the brisket, and if you cook it on high or low temperature setting in the crockpot. For a 3 to 4 pound brisket, I like to cook it on low for 8 to 10 hours to let the meat become fork tender; however, the best way to ensure your brisket is cooked is by the internal temperature of the brisket. Use a meat thermometer, and cook to 195 degrees F.

What internal temperature should I cook my beef brisket to?

The brisket internal temp should be around 195 degrees F. Keep in mind that the temperature tends to still rise up to an additional 10 degrees F as it comes out of the oven or crock pot.  With that being said, it is ok to target a temperature around 185 to 190 degrees F instead.

How do I know if my brisket is done?

There’s several ways to tell the doneness of a beef brisket. The easiest, most stress-free way is to use a meat thermometer. There are digital versions available in which you set the desired temperature, insert the thermometer while cooking, and then it beeps when the brisket hits that temperature.

If a meat thermometer is not handy, use your nose first. Once your kitchen starts smelling of delightful beef, you know you are getting close. When the meat is easily shredded with two forks, it is done.

This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.

Recipe FAQs

  • Making a dry rub for a beef brisket does not have to be exact science. Therefore, if you don’t have all the spices in your pantry, then swap out others instead. This slow cooker beef brisket dry rub is a good starting point.
  • Cut down the cooking time for this easy crock pot beef brisket by cooking on high instead of low.  It should take approximately 4 hours. Use your nose as your guide. The brisket is close to being down when it starts to smell delicious in your kitchen.
  • Many people ask if you should sear the brisket before cooking. That step is completely optional.  Caramelizing the meat adds flavor. We find that the recipe is just as tasty without adding in a searing step.
  • Rather fix your brisket in the oven? Try this recipe.
  • Here is a BBQ beef brisket recipe for the crock pot.
This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.

Crock Pot Buffet Recipes

Looking for some other holiday meats from the crock pot? You can truly make almost any big cut of meat in your crock pot, including ham, turkey breast and pork roasts. Try our favorites found below.

Brown Sugar Crock Pot Ham

Brown Sugar Crock Pot Spiral Sliced Ham will be your families new favorite way to prepare a holiday ham.  The best part of this family-pleasing recipe is that it only has 3 ingredients---spiral ham, brown sugar and yellow mustard.

Slow Cooker Pork Roast and Gravy

If you're looking for a new favorite crock pot recipe that the whole family will love, try Easy Slow Cooker Pork Roast. With only 4 ingredients, you'll won't even break a sweat when preparing this tender pork roast.

3 Ingredient Spiral Ham in the Slow Cooker

This 3-Ingredient Crock Pot Spiral Ham recipe is quick and easy.

20 Clove Crockpot Chicken

Crock Pot 20 Clove Chicken is exactly what the title implies...chicken breasts cooked with 20 cloves of garlic and a handful of other ingredients.

What goes with beef brisket?

Wondering what you should serve with beef brisket?

Hearty side dishes such as all pair perfectly with beef. Our favorites include

We also recommend starting out the meal with a lighter salad or a soup such as the following:

This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.

This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.
Print Recipe
4.50 from 2 votes

Crock Pot Beef Brisket

This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Refrigerator Time8 hours
Total Time16 hours 5 minutes
Course: Entree, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: crock pot beef brisket, slow cooker beef brisket
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 283kcal
Author: Barbara

Ingredients

  • 3-4 lb. beef brisket
  • 1 Tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 Tablespoon paprika
  • 1 Tablespoon garlic salt
  • 1 teaspoon dry ground mustard
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 1/2 cups beef broth
  • 2 whole bay leaves

Instructions

  • Mix chili powder, paprika, garlic salt, ground mustard, garlic powder, black pepper and sugar together.
    This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.
  • Rub spice mixture onto all sides of brisket. Let sit in refrigerator overnight to marinate.
    This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.
  • Pour Worcestershire sauce and beef broth into Crock Pot insert; add beef and bay leaves. Be careful not to pour broth over top the beef as to not remove the delicious rub which forms a crust layer on top.
  • Cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours. It is done when you can easily shred the meat with two forks.
    This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.

Notes

  • Want to cook it in the oven?
    Rub the spice mix on the brisket and place in roasting pan. (Do NOT add the liquid.) Cook uncovered at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Add the liquids to the roasting pan and cover pan tightly with foil. Cook for an additional 3 hours or until fork-tender.
  • Making a dry rub for a beef brisket does not have to be exact science. Therefore, if you don’t have all the spices in your pantry, then swap out others instead.  This slow cooker beef brisket dry rub is a good starting point.
  • Cut down the cooking time for this easy crock pot beef brisket by cooking on high instead of low.  It should take approximately 4 hours.  Use your nose as your guide. The brisket is close to being down when it starts to smell delicious in your kitchen.
  • Many people ask if you should sear the brisket before cooking.  That step is completely optional.  Caramelizing the meat adds flavor.  We find that the recipe is just as tasty without adding in a searing step.
  • Garlic salt is a pantry staple that goes great on meat. 
  • Rather fix your brisket in the oven? Try this recipe.
  • The nutritional information below is auto-calculated and can vary depending on the products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 283kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 1212mg | Potassium: 647mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 727IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 4mg
This Crock Pot Beef Brisket, which takes minutes to prep, will make you look like a superstar this season when you serve it as part of your holiday menu.

This is a sponsored post written by us on behalf of The Glass Barn which is funded by the Indiana Soybean Alliance. All opinions are 100% our own.

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23 Comments

  1. Hello! Our brisket is 4.5lbs; do you think 10hrs is still a long enough cook time, or should we bump it up? Thank you! We’re looking forward to trying this on Christmas Eve.

    1. You should be fine at 10 hours. Every slow cooker is different but when we cooked larger ones, they have always been good to go after 10.

  2. Made this recipe today and tonight the whole family enjoyed it. I used a 3 lb roast for 8.5 hours, nice and tender. Only change I will make next time is cutting the salt down to maybe 0.5 or 0.75 Tbsp. Thanks for recipe.

  3. I am having trouble finding Beef Brisket…I found corn beef brisket but my understanding is that they are both different

    1. Corn Beef Brisket has been brined so they are different. We usually have to ask the folks at the meat counter if they have any beef brisket. If not, ours can usually order it for us.

    1. We haven’t tried it but you can add them at the beginning and they should be OK. If you are worried about them being mushy, you could add them about half way through to keep a bit more of their shape.

  4. This recipe was so good!! I did add 1 additional ingredient 1 tbls of “total seasonings”.

    I had to make it again within two days from making the first one because it was a 3 pounder and we ate it so quickly.

  5. Hi! Thank you for this recipe. I’m going to try it this weekend. Just one question. Will skipping the bay leaves change the taste/make a difference? Thanks again!!!

    1. Sorry for the slow response! Leaving out the bay leaves shouldn’t affect the flavor too much. We leave them out if we don’t have any in the house.

  6. Hi Megan, I have a “tip”, as opposed to a “flat”… Didn’t realize that the flat is the preferred cut. Will the tip be good too? I’ve NEVER made brisket before, so it’s sitting in the freezer waiting for me….! Thanks!

    1. Prepare the tip like you would the flat. The tip is often thinner so your cooking time might be a bit quicker but don’t be afraid…get it out of the freezer and enjoy!

  7. I have made this multiple times and love it! There is only two of us and we are fairly light eaters and I am huge in meal prepping so something I thought this might be a good suggestion for others especially elderly, disabled or just busy singles or couples who eat smaller meals. I buy a larger brisket when it is on sale. I double or triple your seasoning recipe depending on how large the brisket is in whole. I cut up the brisket into portions that we would eat at a single setting. Normally 1/2 -3/4 lb or so (we still have a bit of left overs but those get finished off the next day for lunch). Season each portion then Vacuum seal them and toss into the freezer. Then when we want brisket all we have to do is toss in the crockpot, add the bay leaves, broth and Worcestershire sauce (which I normally just add the same amount to ensure is stays nice and juicy and it is still balanced since the meat is well seasoned after being vacuumed sealed).

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