by Cat 57 Comments
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This easy Slow Cooker Beef Brisket is melt in your mouth delicious! Only a couple of ingredients and then you literally set it and forget it until you can smell the AMAZING aromas filling your house! Keto, Whole30 and Paleo approved, this easy dinner recipe idea is surely going to become your go-to brisket recipe!
Mr. Grumbles and I have smoked several briskets in the past with varying degrees of success. We have ended up with either a brisket slightly too dry or slightly undercooked. This is really disappointing when, after over 10 hours of smoking a piece of meat, you do not end up with the result you were hoping for. NOT ANYMORE! This slow cooker beef brisket recipe is an absolute game-changer. Tender, moist and ridiculously easy, this slow cooker beef brisket is the only way I will ever make brisket again!
Funny story... I wanted to start this post off with "Holy Macanoly" but I couldn't figure out how to spell "Macanoly". Since we all know that I love to learn, I started googling all types of different spellings for this term...mackanoly, mcanoly, maganoly...anyway, you get the point.
After 30 minutes of not finding my answer, I decided to see if Mr. Grumbles knew the answer. When I asked him to spell the word "macanoly" for the expression, "Holy Macanoly", he looked at me as if I was speaking a different language.
His reply..."Do you mean Holy Mackerel"?
"W-H-A-T? Is that really the expression?", I replied.
With a roll of his eyes, I could not believe that I had, for over 40 years, believed the expression to contain the fictitious word "macanoli"!
And that is just like my preconceived notion about brisket.
For over 40 years, I have not been a fan of brisket. Typically, I find the meat dry and greasy and not overly appealing.
But, as I stated earlier, I love to learn and I am not afraid to open my eyes to the possibility of producing a tender, juicy brisket.
Enter the slow cooker!
Smoking brisket is all fine and dandy if you have all day and plan on sticking around to check on it periodically. However, since Mr. Grumbles and I both work full-time jobs, this is not always an option. With brisket on sale for $2.99 lb, I knew I had to figure out an effortless yet delicious way to cook a brisket.
Table of Contents
How to Make a Slow Cooker Beef Brisket
- First, trim any excess fat from the brisket. I saved the fat cap and placed it in the freezer as I plan on trying to make beef tallow as well as beef cracklings in the near future.
- Since our brisket was 10 lbs, I decided to cut it in half and placed the remaining half in the freezer (this would be my backup in case this recipe did not work!)
- Next, I sliced 2 LARGE onions and placed them in the bottom of the slow cooker along with one cup of beef broth.
- In a large bowl, I placed my brisket and rubbed half a cup of myOnion Soup Mix all over the brisket.
- I then placed the brisket on top of the onion layer.
- Finally, I generously spread four tablespoons of Dijon mustard on the top portion of the brisket.
- I set the slow cooker on low for 9 hours and walked away.
- When the brisket was done, I knew I had to somehow figure out a way to get a "charred" outer crust.
- In order to get the blackened crust that brisket is famous for, I simply placed it on a baking tray on the top rack of my oven (I stole that idea from my Crispy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork recipe).
- I turned my oven to Broil "High" and watched as the brisket started to crackle and develop the charred crust.
Doesn't that look amazing!
This slow cooker beef brisket can be served two ways. If you cut against the grain of the meat, you end up with slabs of meat like this:
However, if you prefer to get more of a "pulled" look, simply rotate the brisket and slice along the grains of the brisket.
Since Mr. Grumbles and I are more into "pulled" brisket, I decided to go with the grain.
How do I make an "au jus" for my Slow Cooker Beef Brisket?
- Wait until the drippings from the brisket had cooled and removed the top layer of fat and throw it away.
- Next, combine the onions and the remaining liquids in a high-speed blender and pureed the mixture on high for 1-2 minutes.
You can serve this brisket with the following sides:
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- Bacon-Wrapped Brussels Sprouts and Onion Skewers (Whole30, Low Carb)
- Beautiful Potato Bacon Roses (Whole30)
- Whole30 Bacon Ranch Spaghetti Squash (Keto, Low Carb, Gluten-Free)
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star
4.9 from 20 reviews
OMG! I can not tell you how proud I am of this beef brisket recipe. Although we have made brisket before in our smoker, this was my first attempt at making it in a slow cooker and boy am I ever glad I did. This is a simple recipe that you could put together the morning of and by the time you get home, dinner is ready. Onions, beef broth and Dijon mustard help to make this brisket one of a kind!
- Total Time: 9 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
Ingredients
UnitsScale
- 4-5 lbs brisket, trimmed of fat
- 2 large onions
- 1 cup beef broth
- ½ cup Onion Soup Mix
- 4 tbsp dijon mustard (or any mustard of choice)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar (optional - added at the end to help with browning under broiler)
Instructions
- Slice the onions and place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour the broth over the onions.
- Place the brisket in a large bowl and cover the top and bottom with ⅔rds of the onion mixture. Place brisket, fat side up, in the slow cooker.
- Spread the dijon mustard over the top of the brisket and sprinkle the remaining ⅓rd of onion mixture over the top.
- Set slow cooker on low for 9 hours.
- When brisket is cooked, carefully remove it from the slow cooker and place it in a large roasting pan. If using, sprinkle brown sugar over brisket. Set the brisket on the top ⅓rd of the oven and turn the broiler on high for about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on the brisket as it can easily burn.
- Remove from the oven and set aside for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
To Make "Au Jus"
- Allow the drippings to cool completely. Skim the fat off the top of the drippings and discard.
- Pour onions and remaining broth in a high-speed blender and blend on high for 1-2 minutes. Taste and add any additional salt or pepper if needed.
- To serve, pour over brisket or place in a small side bowl for dipping.
Notes
- I used Lakanto Golden instead of brown sugar
- Here is the recipe for theOnion Soup Mix
- Author: Cat
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 9 hours
- Category: Main Meals
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Whole30, Keto
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 oz
- Calories: 244
- Sugar: 1
- Fat: 12 g
- Carbohydrates: 1 g
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 32 g
