Beef Brisket Recipes

This site is dedicated to delicious Beef Brisket Recipes - an excellent cut of meat. You are welcome to submit your own favourite recipes.

Submit Your Brisket Recipe.

What Sort Of Recipes Are Good For Beef Brisket?
Beef brisket is an excellent choice for all slow cooking methods and hence is a very good cut of beef to use for Roast Beef, Beef Casserole Dishes, Beef Stews, Beef Crockpot Recipes and is also very good when Smoked. Basically any method that involves cooking the meat slowly and gently is best for Beef Brisket Recipes.

Where Does Beef Brisket Come From? 

Beef Brisket comes from the breast of the cow as can be seen in the diagram below. The brisket "cut" is actually made up of two different muscles on the chest of the cow and these will sometimes be seperated for retail. The first cut is lean and is usualy referred to as the "flat cut". The second has a layer of lard and is called the "fat end", "deckel", or "point" cut.

Beef Cut Diagram (Showing the Beef Brisket Cut)

Beef Brisket Is So Tough! How Do I Make It Tender?

Beef Brisket is not a tender cut of meat so most recipes call for it to be cooked for a decent period of time, slowly at a low heat - to really tenderise it.

Beef Brisket is tough because the muscles get used alot in this part of the cows body - By cooking it gently for a couple of hours or more the heat will slowly breakdown the tough fibres in the meat and make it very tasty and palatable. Gently roasting or smoking brisket can also have very pleasing results. I have met many people who simply hate cooking meat because it never turns our "right". The answer is to buy a cut of beef from your butcher or grocer that is properly suited to the meal you wish to prepare. Some cuts are well suited to fast frying or grilling while others have to be casseroled, stewed or roasted gently and slowly to  break down tough muscle fibres and make the meat tender and palatable.

Cuts Of Beef That Can Be Grilled Or Cooked As Steaks (Great for fast cook beef recipes)

1. Rump
2. Scotch Fillet
3. Eye Fillet
4. Sirloin
5. T-Bone
6. Porterhouse
7. Tenderloin

Cuts Of Beef For Casseroles, Stews and Roasts (Best fo slow cook methods such as beef brisket recipes)

1. Beef Brisket
2. Rump
3. Shank
4. Blade Steak
5. Bolar

Recipe Tips For Smoked Beef Brisket
In the States we love our Smoked Beef Brisket and this is an excellent slow cooking method as it also provides a tender finish. If you want to smoke your Beef Brisket you'll want to start with the "deckel", the second cut mentioned above. Smoke your beef brisket meat side down, this allows the layer of lard to slowly dissolve through the cooking process and seep into the meat underneath making the finish more juicy, tender and flavoursome!

What Beef Brisket To Use In My Recipes? What Beef To Buy?
We highly reccomend purchasing high quality organic, grass fed beef brisket for use in your recipes. There are many reasons for this. It is kinder to the animal, the better diet results in a healthier, more nutritious meat than beef that have been treated with antibiotics. Grass fed beef usually results in a leaner animal, due to the increased exercise and better diet. This means leaner meat with less fat content, steaks will not have as dense fat marbling. Scientific studies have also shown that beef that is fed grass will have higher levels of Omega 3 fatty acids and Conjugated Linoleic Acid - both of these have been shown to be beneficial in preventing heart disease and cancer. If possible stick to the organic meat for your Beef Brisket Recipes!

A brisket is composed of two parts, the flat and the point. The flat section usually has less fat on it while the point should have considerably more. The fat on top of the brisket is called the "fat cap" and should be white in color. The thickness of fat on top should be at least 1/4 of an inch thick, and thicker is ok. When purchasing a brisket, make sure the meat is a deep red color, which will represent freshness, and make sure it has plenty of fat incorporated throughout the meat, not just on top. The combination of the deep red color and the white fat of a brisket is called marbling, and it is the key to choosing a good brisket to bbq. Since the brisket is such a thick cut of meat, the fat located throughout the meat will help to keep the brisket moist while smoking. The weight of the brisket should be between 8 and 11 pounds. A larger brisket takes longer to cook, and the flat may become tougher or stringy because of the longer cooking time.

Did you know that at one time, brisket was considered a very poor quality meat? History has it, that two brothers from Germany, back in the 1950’s decided to smoke up some leftover brisket they had. They left the brisket inside their smokehouse for an entire weekend. When they returned to work they sliced up the meat and served it to their customers. The meat was so flavorful and tender that it quickly became a hit.

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