Yes, you can cut it into two pieces to cook it, although I have no experience wit a crock pot only a smoker. To cook it in the oven you'll want a large throwaway pan. Cook it at 225 degrees until it reaches 205 degrees in the thickest part of the brisket.

I've done at least a cow's worth of brisket over the years. And it is all tender and good and not "Texas" style. Put on a big piece of foil, sprinkle liquid smoke over the meat, sprinkle with onion salt, garlic salt and celery salt, turn and repeat. Wrap the foil around the meat and put in a roasting pan. Bake at 250 or 275 for around 6 hours. Take out of oven and let cool a bit. Cut off big pieces of fat that you see and discard. Wrap back up in foil and refrigerate. Save juice off the brisket. Next day, take brisket out and slice and put back in the saved juice and reheat at 350 until it's hot . . .

I often find it confusing in what is meant by "falling apart" and "tender"

Brisket will fall apart, but not tender after 3 hours.

I SV brisket for 72 hours (at 132F) to make it fork tender.

dcarch

Thanks everyone. I don't have a SV (unfortunately) I will slow roast it with liquid like I do my chuck roasts. And thanks for the temp suggestions that will help a lot to know how low to go :)

I agree, there's a difference in tender and falling apart. I've had brisket that comes apart in long shreds, but is still tough and chewy.

Because I raise my own grass fed beef, there's no fat to speak of on the brisket, so I cook it in an enameled dutch oven for 6-8 hours or wrap it in foil and bake in a roasting pan for that time. My favorite brisket is actually a recipe from Carol/dishesdone, she posted it here years ago. I don't like beer, so I use root beer or gingerale, the kids like the sweetness anyway.

Favorite Brisket

1 4-pound beef brisket
kosher salt
pepper
2 onions, thinly sliced into half moons (I use 3 large onions)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup prepared chile sauce (Heinz Chile Sauce - I use the whole bottle)
3 tablespoons brown sugar (I use a bit more)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 12-ounce bottle beer

Salt and pepper both sides of the meat. Place beef in a roasting pan. Cover with onion. Combine ketchup, chile sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and beer. Pour mixture over meat. Cover securely with foil. Bake at 300 degrees F for 4 hours or more until tender. Remove the meat from the pan, and puree the gravy with an immersion blender to thicken it up. Slice the meat against the grain, and return it to the gravy! Tastes even better the next day. Freezes well! I Sometimes I just puree half the onions because we like the onions. and most of the time I never even bother to puree it at all. It's great no matter how you do the gravy.

Annie

I buy them, cut them into 3rds and freeze so we don't have SO MUCH leftover at once. Yes, you could also stack in a crockpot.

I crock pot it on low with an onion for about 9 - 10 hours, add veggies, more seasonings, continue another hour.

Yes I cut it into 2 or 3 pieces.

Comes out tender and not shredded.

I've only used pastured local beef.

Brisket should be cooked to where you can pick up a piece and not have it crumble. Rather you should be able to easily pull it apart into two pieces. If it crumbles, it's overcooked. If you need to exert the same force you'd use to tear a piece of thick paper, it's undercooked.

Annie, my recipe is much like Carol's. Mine varies in that I use 2 bottles of Heinz Chili sauce and two of those bottles full of water, a bottle of beer and two large onions sliced on the bottom of the pan. I don't add extra sugar, I find the sauce is sweet enough on its own. Bake it covered at 325 for 3-3.5 hours. (of course the size of the brisket may change the timing).

It doesn't matter how large of a brisket, that's the recipe. It's imperative that you cook it then wrap and refrigerate over night before slicing. After slicing I stick the sliced brisket in a pan and cover with the liquid (most of the chilled fat removed) and reheat for 45 min. Usually perfect unless it's an unusually tough old cow! One tip-- often I'll use a stick blender and puree some of the onions into the tomato sauce mixture to make a slightly thicker gravy. .