Texas Style Oven Brisket Recipe: A simple smokey brisket recipe with a zesty dry rub, that can be made in the oven, instead of a smoker. Enjoy with others!

Brisket on a cutting board with slices off the side.

Why We Love This Texas Style Oven Baked Beef Brisket Recipe

Today, I have a Beef Brisket Recipe to share with you all.

Instead of cooking individual steaks for dinner parties, I like to prepare one large cut of beef that can serve many people. This not only allows better control of the cooking process, when cooking for a crowd, it also often saves money and time.

And this Texas Style Oven Baked Brisket is a marvelous cut for holiday gatherings, or any time of the year really!

Brisket tends to be a tough cut of meat, so it’s best when it is slow-cooked and sliced thin so that the best flavor and texture can be enjoyed together.

Texas is known for its classic brisket preparation, involving a dry rub spice blend and a long rest in an outdoor wood smoker. In my opinion, a slowly smoked brisket is the absolute best brisket available. It’s tender and rich with pink smoke rings around each piece and thick chewy bark. However, as most of us don’t own an outdoor smoking cabinet, we’ll have to rely on other ways to achieve a similar result.

So, today I’m sharing my Texas Style Oven Brisket Recipe, a dry-rubbed brisket roasted in the oven over a water bath with liquid smoke.

…Is it as irresistible as a brisket smoked all night in a smoking cabinet? No. I’m not going to lie and tell you it turns out just the same.

However, this Texas Style Oven Brisket is a close runner-up and is much, much easier to prepare. So once you learn how to cook brisket in the oven, you will be so impressed! So break out the spices, preheat those ovens, and get ready for delicious, juicy brisket!

Ingredients for dry rub and cooking a beef brisket.

Ingredients You Need

To make this Texas Style Oven Brisket Recipe, simply rub a large flat-cut brisket (or a whole packer brisket) with a “dry brine brisket” blend of salt and spices. The dry rub I used is comprised of:

  • sea salt (or kosher salt or table salt)
  • brown sugar
  • chili powder
  • paprika
  • dried mustard
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • dried thyme (or rosemary)

Then lay it on a rack in a roasting pan, over water mixed with liquid smoke. You can use any variety of liquid smoke you prefer… Hickory, Cherry, Mesquite, Oak, etc.

Texas beef brisket on a roasting pan with a rack.

How to Make the Best Oven Brisket Recipe

Learning how to cook brisket in the oven is simple, but does take some time, so be patient!

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Pour 3 cups of water into the bottom of a large roasting pan with a rack and add the liquid smoke.

In a small bowl, mix the salt, brown sugar, and all remaining spices until well combined. Rub the spice blend over the entire surface of the brisket and lay the brisket on the wire roasting rack.

Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the brisket and cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil.

Pro Tip: If you have an oven with a build-in thermometer, run the wire out the side of the pan. If you are using a standard meat thermometer, insert it into the brisket, through the boil, so you can see the reading.

Close up shot of beef brisket with dry rub on it.

Slow roast in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Then remove the foil and continue roasting until the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees F. Depending on your oven, and where you inserted the meat thermometer, this can take 5-6 hours.

Take the brisket out of the oven and allow it to rest for 30 minutes before serving. Cover it loosely with foil to help retain the heat. Place on a cutting board and cut the brisket across the grain (across the muscle fibers) into thin slices and serve warm.

Pro Tip: Do not be tempted to raise the temperature for faster cooking time, or your brisket will be very tough. Slow oven roasting allows the fats to break down gradually, tenderizing the beef, so it has a stretchy, juicy quality in the end.

Brisket after being cooked in the oven and set on a wooden cutting board.

Tips & Tricks

  • To serve as a saucy BBQ brisket: Let the brisket rest for 30 minutes before slicing into it. Then place the sliced pieces into a baking dish with warm BBQ sauce in the bottom. You can warm up the sauce in the oven or on the stovetop. After placing the sliced pieces of brisket into the baking dish with sauce, allow people to serve from the baking dish to get some of the sauce with the brisket!
  • The key to tender, juicy oven-baked brisket is cooking it at a low temperature for a long time! Don’t be tempted to increase the oven temperature over 250 degrees F here. You must be patient with the process!
  • Some people cook their brisket without a dry rub, which is perfectly fine, but it won’t have as much flavor! If you are worried about your sodium intake, you can reduce the amount of salt in the dry rub and serve with a low-sodium BBQ sauce for extra flavor!

Serving Suggestions

This recipe is perfect for parties or to feed a large family. Plus it will leave your house smelling like mouth-watering smokey brisket!

This Texas-style brisket can be served in so many different ways! Serve it with your favorite barbecue sauce and corn on the cob! I definitely recommend making this into a leftover brisket sandwich on a fluffy brioche bun with bbq sauce. Try serving your Texas brisket recipe with some of my favorites:

This Texas Style Oven Brisket also pairs well with this Creamy Ranchero Sauce! Give it a try!

Also, try our Crock Pot Brisket Sandwiches recipe for other great sharing options for brisket!

See The Recipe Card Below For How To Make Texas Style Oven Brisket Recipe. Enjoy!

Texas beef brisket sliced against the grain on a cutting board.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should I let my brisket rest?

You need to allow the brisket to rest for at least 30 minutes after taking it out of the oven to let the juices fully redistribute. If you cut into it sooner, the juices will pour out of the meat and the meat will be drier because of it!

How long does this recipe last in the fridge?

Cooked brisket could last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. 

Is brisket dry rub the same as brisket dry brine?

Yes and no. If you rub the brisket with the spice rub and immediately place it in the oven, it’s just a brisket rub. It will flavor the exterior of the meat and the spices will penetrate a little way into the beef.

However, if you take the time to dry rub the brisket the night before baking (or even several hours before baking) and then place it in the refrigerator, this is considered a brisket dry brine. The salt and other seasonings have time to truly work their way down into the center of the beef.

Pro Tip: If time allows, always dry rub the brisket several hours before placing it in the oven.

Should brisket be wrapped in foil in the oven?

Yes! You should wrap the brisket in foil while cooking it in the oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 175 degrees. Then remove the foil and allow it to continue cooking slowly until it hits 195 to 200 degrees F.

Do you add water when cooking brisket in the oven?

Yes, you will want to add water to the bottom of the roasting pan along with a little bit of liquid smoke for a classic smoky flavor! The water will help to keep the oven moist so that the brisket doesn’t dry out being in the oven for so long. Since the brisket isn’t touching the water, it can still create a bark around the edges!

What should the brisket’s internal temperature be?

Because brisket is a tougher cut of meat, it must come to a higher temperature internally before the fats start to break down and tenderize. You could technically take the brisket out of the oven at 175 degrees F and it will be cooked, but if you want to get the traditional brisket stretch in each slice, you need to allow enough time for the brisket to reach 195 to 200 degrees F.

How long does it take to cook brisket in the oven?

A good rule of thumb is to cook your brisket 60 minutes per pound at 250 degrees F. So if you had a 3-pound brisket, you’d cook it for about 3 hours.

However, there are a lot of different factors that can throw this estimate off. So make sure the internal temperature of the brisket is 195 degrees F before removing it from the oven.

Happy cooking!

Sliced beef brisket on a wooden cutting board.

Looking for More Beef Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:

Let me know how your brisket turned out in the comments below and don’t forget to print, pin, or download this recipe! It’s a keeper for sure!

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Texas Style Oven Brisket Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Resting Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours 25 minutes
Texas Style Oven Brisket Recipe: A simple smokey brisket recipe with a zesty dry rub, that can be made in the oven, instead of a smoker. Enjoy with others!
Servings: 14

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Pour 3 cups water into the bottom of a large roasting pan with a rack and add the liquid smoke.
  • In a small bowl, mix the salt, brown sugar, and all remaining spices until well combined. Rub the spice blend over the entire surface of the brisket and lay the brisket on the wire roasting rack. Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the brisket and cover the roasting pan tightly with foil. *If you have an oven with a built-in meat thermometer, run the wire out the side of the pan. If you are using a standard meat thermometer, insert it into the brisket, through the foil, so you can see the reading.
  • Slow roast in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Then remove the foil and continue roasting until the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees F. Depending on your oven, and where you inserted the meat thermometer, this process may take 5-6 hours.
  • Take the brisket out of the oven and allow it to rest for 30 minutes before serving. Cover it loosely with foil to help retain the heat. Cut the brisket across the grain into thin slices, and serve warm.

Video

Notes

DRY BRINE IF POSSIBLE: If time allows, rub the brisket with the spice mixture at least 4 hours before placing it in the oven. Rub and refrigerate until ready to bake. (You can even do it the night before.) This step is not necessary but, does allow the salt and seasonings to flavor the interior of the beef at a greater level.
Texas Style Oven Brisket is fabulous on its own, but also pairs well with this Creamy Ranchero Sauce!

Nutrition

Serving: 6ounces, Calories: 316kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 41g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 121mg, Sodium: 1171mg, Potassium: 676mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 420IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 19mg, Iron: 4.2mg
Course: dinner
Cuisine: American, Texan
Author: Sommer Collier
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