Slow Cooker BBQ Brisket

Packed full of BBQ flavour, this slow cooker BBQ brisket cooks all day until it’s juicy and tender. It can be shredded or sliced and serve with your favourite BBQ sides or used to fill tacos or sandwiches.

• Dump and go – get on with your day while it slow cooks to perfection.
• Bold Texan BBQ flavour – from the combination of BBQ spice rub and BBQ sauce.
• Crowd pleaser – it’s not only easy to make for a crowd but everyone will love it too.
• So easy – even an inexperienced cook can easily master this.
• Meal prep winner – since prep takes very little time.

Slow cooker BBQ beef brisket (aka crockpot brisket) is a wonderful way to get a hearty and flavour-filled dinner on the table with minimal effort. Brisket is quite a lean cut of beef but is still loaded with beefy flavour.Slow cooking the meat over hours not only creates a juicy and tender meat, it also gives it all day to infuse and develop flavour. It’s why I love slow cooking so much.

If you love this one, you’ll also love my slow cooked beef stroganoff and my easy BBQ pulled pork recipes.

Ingredients you’ll need

What is brisket? Brisket is a relatively lean cut of beef that comes from the lower breast or chest of the cow. It’s a tough cut of meat but tenderises beautifully when cooked slowly over many hours. Since it’s tough, it’s not a cut you would eat rare, it must be well done.

The meat itself is quite lean, although it does have a layer of fat (or fat cap) on the outside. The fat doesn’t run through the meat though. I tend to cut off some of the fat, leaving just enough to keep it juicy and flavourful.

Brisket is the cut used most often when making pastrami and corned beef. It’s also a classic cut for Texan-style smoked meat.

You can also try making it with my onion gravy instead of the BBQ sauce, like this pulled beef.

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

• Brisket: While there is no other cut quite like it, you could swap it here for beef ribs or maybe a cut like chuck.

For the brisket spice rub

• Paprika: I use sweet or mild paprika as I’m not a fan of smoky flavour but feel free to use smoked paprika if you are.
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Mustard powder: You could use Dijon mustard, American mustard or hot English mustard in it’s place but it will need to be brushed over the meat first.
• Garlic powder: You can use fresh garlic too but I love using powdered here so that it blends nicely into the spice rub.
• Dried chilli flakes: If you don’t want to use chilli flakes, you could also use just a little cayenne pepper or some chili powder (keep in mind that chilli powders are a blend that vary the world over so have a little taste first).

For the brisket BBQ sauce

• Tomato sauce / ketchup: What we call tomato sauce in Australia, aka ketchup, is the base of BBQ sauce.
• Brown sugar: BBQ sauce is classically sweet so don’t skip the brown sugar.
• Apple cider vinegar: Apple cider vinegar adds balance and tang to the BBQ sauce.
• Worcestershire sauce: A fun one to pronounce, Worcestershire sauce is a fermented condiment originating from Worcestershire in England. It delivers tang, umami and depth of flavour. Being from an English family I can confidently tell you the correct way to pronounce this is not how it’s spelt – instead it’s ‘woosh-ter-shr’. So much easier right.
• Honey: Honey adds a little flavour complexity whilst adding sweetness at the same time. You can swap this for maple syrup too.

How to make slow cooker BBQ brisket

This recipe is just so easy to make. It takes about 10-15 minutes of actual effort on your behalf and the slow cooker and oven do the rest. While you get on about your day, this slow cooker brisket will fill your house with the most wonderful aroma.

Detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

1. Prep the brisket: If the fat cap on your brisket is very thick, carefully slice away roughly 70-80% of it. You only need a small portion to keep the meat moist and tender and you’ll be adding some of the cooking juices to the BBQ sauce at the end, which you don’t want to be all fat.
2. The brisket spice rub: Mix together the spice rub spices in a small bowl (photo 1).
3. The brisket BBQ sauce: In a separate small bowl or jug, combine a little of the spice mix with the sauce ingredients and stir well (photo 2).
4. Cook the brisket: Add just a tablespoon of water to the slow cooker bowl then place the brisket down on top. Drizzle over a little oil followed by half the spice rub (photo 3) and give it a good rub all over. Flip and repeat on the other side. Pour half a cup of BBQ sauce over the top, spread it over, then cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
5. To finish: Once the meat is soft and tender and pulls away easily with a fork, transfer the brisket to a baking tray lined with foil. Add half a cup of the cooking liquid to the BBQ sauce, then brush a little BBQ sauce over the top of the brisket (photo 5). Place under a broiler / overhead grill for 4-5 minutes. Repeat for a second layer and then it’s ready to serve.

How to serve brisket

While tender enough to be shredded, brisket holds together enough to be sliced as well, so you can choose what best suits the way you’re going to serve it.

Storing leftovers

Brisket can be a large cut of meat, but luckily leftovers are easily sorted.

Store your slow cooker BBQ brisket in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 days. You can use it for sandwiches one day, tacos the next … the list goes on.

It freezes well too so freeze it for up to 3 months in an airtight container.

More recipes you’ll love

• Mexican short ribs
• Slow cooker turkey breast
• The best spaghetti bolognese
• Slow cooked lamb rosemary pies
• Crispy Oven Roasted Pork Belly
• Pulled ham