Cooking brisket doesn’t have to be done in a custom smoker or large expensive barbeque. Instead, the humble household oven can cook brisket to a very similar standard. Although, it isn’t the case of simply setting the oven to 180/200°C as you would with most other dishes. There is a set method for cooking brisket in the oven which is guaranteed to produce brilliant results. This post details how to cook brisket to perfection in the oven.

A brisket is a large, intimidating BBQ beef cut for anyone who hasn’t cooked one before. It’s due to this size, as well as the amount of collagen in the meat, that brisket requires long cook times. As such, there are a few steps that are recommended before the brisket goes into the oven. These preparations allow you to be very ‘hands-off’ during the cooking process and still achieve delicious results. Our recommendations include:

• Fat trimming – this is a necessary step as the fat cap is too thick to render down fully during low temperature cooking. Don’t cut all the fat away though. Leaving around a quarter of an inch of fat on the meat will keep it juicy. Fat trimming can be done by your butcher before you bring the brisket home. Our beef brisket arrives pre-trimmed and ready to cook, with sizes from 1-6kg.
• Marinate – even if it’s just a simple brine, beef brisket should be marinated overnight before cooking to get the best results.
• Preheat the oven – the cooking time for brisket in the oven is already long (and likely longer than grilling), and starting in a cold oven will only extend this.
• Allow the brisket to come up to room temperature – brisket is a great cut for freezing provided you have adequate storage space. This means you can order well in advance of the day of cooking to get prepared. However, when this day comes it’s important to leave enough time for the brisket to thaw completely. The amount of time this takes will depend on the size of the brisket, although it’s recommended to put aside at least a day for it to thaw at room temperature.

• After the brisket has come to room temperature, apply a dry rub of your choice and leave covered in the fridge overnight. You can make your own or try one of our specially made BBQ rubs.
• On the day of cooking, take the brisket out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. At the same time, preheat the oven to 150°
• Re-wrap the brisket loosely in foil, leaving space between the meat and the inside of the foil. Place on a large sheet tray, fat cap facing up, to catch any drippings that may leak out.
• Bake for two and a half hours for every kilogram of meat. The thickest part of the brisket should register 85°
• Once the correct internal temperature has been reached, peel back the foil from the top of the brisket and cook for another 45 minutes. The temperature should now register around 93°
• Take it out of the oven to rest, covered, for 30 minutes. Cut against the grain when serving.

Packer brisket from UK butchers

The Village Butchers stock a range of different briskets, from our standard cuts to grain fed packer brisket, to our Australian Aberdeen Black packer brisket. This gives you variety when choosing how to cook and serve brisket to your guests. However you want to enjoy your beef brisket, the quality of the cut will shine through. Contact us if you have any questions about our partners and the breeds we typically source from.