What Is Beef brisket and How Can I Use It?

Beef brisket is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 111 recipes to get you started.

Key Points

Brisket is a tough, collagen-rich chest cut that turns tender only with long, low heat.
Braise at 300°F about an hour per pound, or smoke 10 to 14 hours to 200 to 205°F.
It also brines into corned beef and pastrami; salt and pickling spice do the work.
Pull it too early and it stays tough; 165°F means it has a long way to go.
Always slice across the coarse grain, and leave a fat cap on to baste it.

What is beef brisket?

Beef brisket comes from the lower chest of the steer, the slab of muscle that supports much of the animal's weight. It works constantly, so it is dense and tough, packed with the connective tissue that makes it a project cut rather than a quick dinner.

That toughness is the whole point. Brisket is rich in collagen, and given enough low, slow heat that collagen melts into gelatin, turning a stiff slab into meat you can pull apart with a fork.

Rush it and you get a chewy, dry disappointment. Give it the hours it wants and it becomes smoked Texas barbecue, a Jewish-holiday pot roast, Sunday corned beef, or the deep braise behind a bowl of Chinese Beef Stew.

A close-up of beef brisket showing its grain and fat cap

Cooking Brisket

Every good method for brisket is some version of low and slow. The target is an internal temperature, not a time on the clock, and brisket is not done until it climbs well past where a steak would be.

For a braise or pot roast, sear the meat hard first. Add liquid until it comes partway up the side. Cover the pot tightly and hold it at a bare simmer in a 300°F (150°C) oven.

Plan on about an hour per pound, until a fork slides in with no resistance, the path behind a tender German Beef Brisket.

Smoking is the barbecue route. Held at 225 to 250°F (107 to 121°C) over wood smoke, a whole packer brisket runs 10 to 14 hours and finishes around 200 to 205°F (93 to 96°C), the window where the collagen has fully let go.

Corning is the third path: a long brine in salt and pickling spice before a slow simmer, the basis of corned beef and pastrami.

Whatever the method, slice across the grain. Brisket has a famously coarse, long grain, so cutting along it leaves ropey, stringy pieces even after a careful cook. The two muscles run in slightly different directions, so turn the meat as you reach the point.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Brisket has a big, beefy flavor that stands up to assertive company. A base of onions and tomato with plenty of garlic earns its place, along with a long-cooking liquid such as dark beer or red wine, as in the Texas-style Dallas Dandy Brisket.

Sweet and sour notes, from dried fruit to a splash of vinegar, are a classic foil for its richness.

The most common mistake is pulling it too early. Brisket passes through a tough stage before it turns tender, so a thermometer reading of 165°F means it has a long way still to go, not that it is nearly done.

The second is slicing with the grain, which undoes hours of careful cooking in one cut. And do not trim off all the fat cap before cooking; that layer bastes the meat and protects it from drying out, the logic in a low-fuss braise like Nach Waxman's Brisket of Beef.

Substitutes

For a braise or pot roast, beef chuck is the closest swap. It is a touch fattier and more forgiving, so it reaches tender a little faster and rarely dries out.

Chuck cubes or pre-cut stewing beef stand in well when you want the same deep, gelatin-rich result in a stew rather than one large slab.

For smoking specifically, there is no real substitute for brisket's size and structure, though a beef chuck roast can give you a smaller, faster version of the same idea.

Buying and Storing

Brisket sells as the whole packer, or split into the lean flat and the fattier point. The flat slices cleanly for sandwiches; the point is richer and better for shredding or burnt ends.

Look for a thick, even flat and a generous but not excessive fat cap, about ¼ inch (6 mm) is ideal. Good marbling inside the lean matters as much as the cap.

Keep raw brisket in the coldest part of the fridge and cook it within 3 to 5 days, or wrap it airtight and freeze for up to a year.

Cooked brisket actually improves overnight. Chill it whole, then slice it cold and reheat in its own juices so it does not dry out. It keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well for up to 3 months.