Beer Braised Brisket

Guess what I had for breakfast this morning.

Brisket and mashed potatoes!

Heck yes!

No regrets here.

This is a bit of a Frankenstein recipe- the cooler weather has me craving all the comfort foods. All week I day-dreamed of a stew-y beef dish. I looked up recipes and found beer braising would create a deeper, more complex flavor than I could have with spices alone. I also wanted mashed potatoes because, well, I always want mashed potatoes. I perused Pinterest and Instagram for some recipe inspo and saw tons of yummy recipes for smoked brisket, which inspired me to use a Texas style barbeque rub.

Basically this was a combination of all things I craved colliding. Luckily it turned out amazing!

If you’re a fan of juicy melt-in-your-mouth brisket that’s both sweet and spicy, this recipe is for you. The rub is store bought, which I tasted and found a little hot so I added some brown sugar to balance it out. For super tender texture, I left it on low in the slow cooker overnight for ten hours in a a sealed foil packet, topped with chopped carrots and boiler onions. The layer of fat left could be broiled off for additional sweet caramelized flavor , but it tastes just fine without the extra step.

Beer Braised Brisket

Prep takes about 10 minutes. Cooking happens in a slow cooker for about 10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours for best results, so plan accordingly.

2 lbs flat cut brisket, untrimmed
3 tbsp Private Selection Texas Barbeque Seasoning Rub
1 cup porter beer- I used Stone Smoked Porter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup of water for beer braise
1 cup of water for the bottom of the crock pot
3 cups chopped carrots (about 3 thin roots)
5 boiler onions, cut in half

Wash and pat dry brisket. Do not trim the fat as it will slowly render off on its own while keeping the meat juicy. Cover completely in spice rub and place onto a sheet of foil large enough to seal off all sides, creating a taut packet. If one sheet isn’t wide enough, use two sheets.

Top with brown sugar, then arrange the vegetables, evenly covering the top like so:

Wrap up the sides, sealing them off well enough so that the beer will not leak out of the bottom, but leaving the top open for now. Add a cup of water into your crock pot. Place the brisket in the center of the pot, then slowly pour beer and 1/4 cup of water into the foil packet. Seal the top of the packet, so there is a little bit of air inside. Cover the pot, and keep the slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours.

Slowly remove foil packet from crock pot. Open the packet carefully, as hot steam will come out. With tongs, move vegetables to a medium sized bowl. Avoiding the hot steam, pour juice from foil packet into the same bowl.

Ta-da! Your brisket will look beautiful just like this one.

Skim oil off the top of the reserved cooking liquid, so you can serve the carrots, onion, and juices along with the brisket.

You can serve the brisket in thin slices- always make sure to cut against the grain like pictured below.

Place slices onto plates and pour a few teaspoons of cooking juices over them. If you plan on serving pulled brisket, you can cut larger slices and loosely tear them apart with your hands.