I have some briskets in the freezer I need to cook up. I don't have a smoker, and neither the wife or I care enough for smoked stuff to make it worth the $$ to buy one for 3-4 uses. I have googled and seen recipes for cooking one in the oven. My question to you fine gentlemen is as follows.
Have any of you done it and do you have a recipe you'd share? How'd it turn out?
You can rub them down good with a seasoning blend you like and cook them in the oven fat side up until tender. Our cooks offshore cooked a brisket in the oven at least once a week. I would rather eat one cooked in the oven that is cooked and seasoned well than some of the.dry burnt poorly done ones on a smoker.
The above video is good but you can do it with any charcoal grill. I have even removed the burners from an old gas grill and used it. I did this for many years before I got a pellet smoker and it worked great every time. It works with all types of meat. I have done this with venison. Build a small pile of charcoal briquettes on one side of the grill and get them started. Once the charcoal is ready, put wood chips soaked in water or wood chunks on the charcoal. Put the meat on the opposite side of the charcoal and close the lid. You want a heavy smoke. If the smoke starts to slow down, add more wood chips. Smoke steady for 4 hours. Take the meat off and wrap tightly in many layers of foil and put it in a pan. You want it as air tight as possible. The pan is to catch the juices in case you did not wrap it tight enough in the foil. Throw it in a 275 degree oven for another 6 to 8 hours. Take it out and let it rest a bit. When you cut it out of the foil, leave it in the pan to catch any juices. I have often used the juices from this method to make bbq sauce. Its a natural liquid smoke.
As for what seasonings to use, thats up to you. Some people just use salt and pepper. I always used either a blackening/cajun spice mixture of some store bought rub and doctor it with red pepper and garlic or whatever.
I did one not too long ago in the crockpot. Some celery pieces (2-3 inches long) in the bottom, add the brisket, onion chunks, and enough beef broth to come up about halfway on the brisket. Let the crockpot do its work for 6 hours or so. Mighty fine eating and so tender. I hunted in the early morning, got the brisket going and went hunting again. Supper was ready when I got home.
