Lucky #5 Slow Cooked Brisket

I posted a picture of this on our Facebook page and was asked by Lena to share the recipe to which I am most happy to oblige!  Although I call it "slow cooked" it is not done in the crock pot. You'll never get those caramelized bits that add to the insane goodness of the beef from the crock pot.

I've hauled this brisket to many a potluck and it's a must when hosting a barbecue...you can get this all done a day or two before and save the grill space for the burgers, dogs and chicken. 

My variation (5 is my lucky number and a good BBQ needs a catchy name) is a combination of my mom's method and my friend Barry's spice blend.  Therein lies the rub... Hah! Couldn't wait to use that ; ) You'll either have to:

1) Ask Barry to bring you back some of the spice rub when he make's his yearly trek to Angelo's BBQ

2) Order it online and have them ship it to you

3) Or use my emergency rub of equal parts sugar, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and chili powder plus half part ground cayenne. It should make you sneeze and burn a little afterwards.

Lucky #5 Slow Cooked Brisket

You'll need:

spice rub

a 4 to 5 pound  brisket (make at least 2 briskets for a party) - Of course we prefer our grass pastured brisket, not only because it's awesomely delicious but because the pan juices aren't as fatty so it makes a great add to the  sauce.

1 1/2 to 2 cups of beef broth or stock
 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Rub enough spice mix over the slightly moist brisket to cover every little bit of it. Cook brisket, uncovered, in a preheated oven for 1 hour. After an hour, remove the brisket from oven and add 2 cups of beef broth/stock to the roasting pan. Lower the  oven temperature to 300 degrees F cover the pan tightly with foil (use oven mitts!) and cook 3 to 3 and a half more hours depending on the size of the brisket. Let brisket rest for a little bit and when cool enough, shred with a couple of forks or your hands.  Make sure you are alone or half of it will be eaten before you get it on the table. Our Lily can hoover a whole brisket's worth of BBQ!

If you're making this ahead of time, go ahead and toss the whole thing with your favorite sauce, either homemade or store-bought. Sometimes we add some of the pan juices to store-bought sauce for extra deliciousness with minimal effort. If you're serving it right away, you can either leave it plain and offer a variety of sauces for folks to do their own saucing or serve it tossed with the sauce. 

I like it with the Brooklyn Brine Fennel Beets and Maple Bourbon Bread and Butter Pickles, but that's just me.