I know many slow cook it in the oven, but in Texas we cook it on a slow grill or in a smoker for 8-12 hours, minimum.

As gardengal posted, brisket needs low/slow cooking and is delicious when braised. Do a google search for "Ina Garten brisket." She has a good one.

The secret to a good braised brisket, in addition to the low and slow as has been recommended, is acid and sugar. Brisket is full of connective tissue that needs to break down.

If it'll fit in your slow cooker, you have a cut of brisket. Probably the tip. The whole thing is composed of three different muscles around a big pad of fat, and weighs around 10 lbs. on average. You can slow cook it similarly to the way you do your corned beef, but with different flavors and it'll come out fine. Maybe add wine or beer or sodapop to your braising liquid, for the acid, or tomatoes.

An early 20th. C Jewish recipe using convenience foods is very good. I used to make "real" recipes, but the family all love this one. Besides the era's love of packaged foods, this has the advantage of the ingredients being certified kosher, which wasn't so common back in the day. Trim off excess fat but leave the fat cap intact, at least to 1/4". Score the fat cap with a sharp knife down to the meat. Put it in the pan fat side up. Schmear the top with Heinz Chili Sauce (fancy ketchup with onion bits in it). Sprinkle liberally with dry onion or leek soup mix (i.e., very tasty salt). Pour a can of Coca-cola (with sugar, which helps break down the connective tissue, having both acid and sugar, as well as a nice flavor. I use caffeine free because regular is a bit bitter. Ginger ale also works, as does 7up, but the flavor is best with Coke, and the color is nice, too)...pour it around the meat up to 2/3 - 3/4 of the height of the meat. Braise at 275-300° F., covered (foil if there's no cover for the pan). A small tip of brisket might take 2-3 hours. Maybe 4. For a whole 10 lb. one, I do 8-10 hours one day, cover and chill in the pan, then slice it cold, put it back in the pan, and back in for another 6-8 hours. Either at the beginning or the end of the cook, I do about an hour at 350° F, to render down the fat. With a whole one, I do it first. With a piece, when I'm not doing the chill and slice routine, I'm more likely to do it at the end. I wish I knew why.

I have cooked at least one cow's worth of brisket over the years including 175 pounds for our DD's wedding. It's an adaptation of an old recipe my mom used to do -- You need to do it the day before you want to serve it. I sprinkle liquid smoke over the meat then sprinkle on garlic salt, onion salt and celery salt, turn over and repeat. I wrap it in foil (fat side up) and put it in a 275 oven. I usually do it overnight but if there is more meat (like I'm doing something for a group of 20 to 30 pounds) it will take longer. When done, I unwrap and take off most of the fat, saving the drippings, and I will rewrap the fat trimmed brisket in foil and refrigerate along with the drippings. The next day, I take it out of the fridge and slice, put it into the drippings and then warm the meat at 350 until it is heated through. It's yummy and perfect!

Martha, do you sear the brisket or do you just put it in the oven as is?

I tried only the once to put a cut in the oven without searing or bringing to a boil and after an hour and a half I had to take it out and bring to the boil. It just didn't get hot enough to get cooked at such a low oven. At least with my oven, the cut must be really hot when it enters the oven for the low and slow to take place

I really like your method and plan to try it next time.

I cook it in my crock pot with onions,garlic, worscheshire sauce,a little beef stock,salt,pepper and paprika. Sometimes ill throw in some carrots. I serve it with mashed potatoes, a green veggie and some rolls.

winter -- I just put it in the oven as is -- and by putting it back in the juice when you reheat it is tender and flavorful. It's our go to entree for any celebratory meal!

Jumping in late here and I'm guessing it's already cooked. But what I call Jewish-style as opposed to Texas-style brisket is simple.

Buy only a full, packer-cut brisket. You want the point and the flat. Don't trim ANYTHING! Get a pot big enough to hold the brisket. If you don't have one, cut the brisket in half to fit your pot. Fill the pot with water so that the meat is completely covered and start it simmering, no lid, on the stove.

Add any or all of the following:

Carrots, turnips, baby potatoes, celery, onions, some schmaltz (at least a half cup), parsley, oregano, thyme, basil, garlic, and black pepper corns. Everything is coarsely chopped. Peel the onions.

Slowly bring the water to a boil and let it boil for at least 10 minutes. Turn down the heat, put on the lid, and go watch football. Come back at halftime and stir. The meat will be ready for dinner unless there's overtime.

Thank you Martha. Maybe i'll try the as is once more.

I got this recipe from this cooking forum a long time ago and its what I use and people always love it.

BEEF BRISKET

from Chef Sara Moulton

1 beef brisket (any size)

Kosher salt

Black Pepper

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 onions, thinly sliced into half moons

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup prepared chile sauce (I used Heinz)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 12-ounce bottle beer

Salt and pepper both sides of the meat. Place beef in a roasting pan. Cover with chopped garlic and sliced onion.

Combine ketchup, chile sauce, brown sugar and beer. Pour mixture over meat.

Cover tightly with foil and roast at 300* for 3 hours if small 1/2 brisket or 4 hours if large, whole brisket.

Check it at 3 hours and see if its fall apart tender and if not, just cook a little longer, a larger piece of meat definitely will need at least another hour. Don't take it out too soon, it needs to be cooked to really tender. If the fork doesn't go through the meat easily, give it another half hour.

Let rest, then remove from pan.

Puree gravy in blender and slice the meat against the grain and pour sauce over all.

(I refrigerate overnight and then skim the fat off and then puree and pour over meat and reheat in oven.)

Tastes even better the next day. Freezes well!

pillog, thank you for explaining the purpose of 7Up (or Coca-Cola) because I sometimes see it in the recipes that try to replicate some "ethnic" (European) dishes without having all the authentic ingredients. I always wondered about it because we usually don't expect soda there but it apparently works. It now makes sense.

fawnridge (Ricky), I bet all the football fans would love your recipe!

re: different styles - I always thought that the basic difference is that Texas-style brisket is smoked and Jewish-style is braised. I could be wrong though... Either way, it's delicious.