Brisket Recipe Oven Method
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Apr 7, 2025 
Our Texas Style Oven Brisket Recipe is a simple smoky brisket recipe with a zesty dry rub, that can be made in the oven, instead of a smoker.
The Oven Beef Brisket Recipe For All
Brisket tends to be a tough cut of meat. It’s best when it is slow cooked and sliced thin so that the flavor and texture can both be enjoyed.
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 resting under 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.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
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 won’t lie and tell you it turns out just the same.
However, this Oven Brisket is a close runner-up and much, much easier to prepare. 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!
Our Texas Beef Brisket recipe is a marvelous main dish for holiday gatherings, or any time of the year!
Ingredients You Need
To make this Texas 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.
How to Make Brisket in Oven
Learning to cook brisket in the oven is simple, but does take some time, so be patient! Find the full Oven Brisket Recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and video tutorial in the recipe form at the bottom of the post.
Tips & Tricks
- 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 foil, so you can see the reading.
- 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.
- 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 for feeding a large family. It will also leave your house smelling like mouth-watering smokey brisket!
This 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:
- Mashed Potatoes
- Homemade Mac and Cheese
- Baked Beans
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Okra
- Collard Greens
- Potato Salad
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 and our Smoked Brisket Recipe for more great sharing options for brisket!
Frequently Asked Questions
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 beef, and the meat will be drier because of it!
Cooked brisket could last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
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.
Yes! You should wrap the brisket in foil and cook 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 reaches 195 to 200 degrees F.
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!
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.
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, many different factors can throw this estimate off. So, make sure the internal temperature of the brisket is 195 degrees F before removing it from the oven.
Looking for More Beef Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
- Crockpot Bacon Wrapped Beef Tenderloin
- Oven Roasted Standing Rib Roast
- Baked Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Oven
- Chopped Steak with Mushroom Gravy
- Beef Bacon Recipe
- Slow Cooker Italian Beef Recipe
- Best Beef Stew
- Philly Cheesesteak Sliders
- Honey Garlic Beef Tenderloin
- Best Smoked Brisket Recipe
- Instant Pot Italian Beef
- Best Beef Pot Roast
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!
Oven Brisket Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 5-6 pound boneless flat-cut beef brisket (not corned beef brisket)
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried mustard
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1/4 cup liquid smoke, any variety
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.
Notes
Nutrition
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This is an excellent recipe for beef brisket. I had a 11 pound trimmed brisket. I added smoked paprika (1 TBS) along with regular paprika and other ingredients above. Slow roasting, and resting for 30 minutes is key. It was amazing. Thanks !!
Great recipe but for me do not uncover and leave in oven. I was at 178 and uncovered and the meat cooled down rather then increased to 195. It got tougher also. Personally I’d take out of oven at 170 and lightly cover with aluminum foil. Then I think recipe would be great
Perfect recipe!
Tried this recipe on Christmas day, and here I am doing it again barely two weeks later.
The brisket comes out perfectly moist and tender.
I go by the hour/pound rule and use the mesquite flavor liquod smoke.
Between my wife, 3 sons, and myself this dish gets absolutely devoured.
Thanks for the excellent recipe.
” we had an 8 year old brisket in our freezer in original shrink wrap. I thawed in fridge then rubbed most of it, and let it marinate in a glass bake dish in its own bloody juices for a day and a half I forgot to let it come to room temp but put it in the oven on a rack in roasting pan, patting on remaining rub Baked as directed for 5 hours ”
Evidently 8 years must have broken down the toughness while in the freezer. I have heard this before on other cuts of red meat. I followed the directions and needed 12 hours for the 2.5 lb small brisket to become tough to tender. I’m talking juicy and very tender. The rub and all work good but try aging the beef in the saline solution for two days or longer. Then cooking it twice as long as your six hours max. It is juicy and it becomes tender AFTER the six hour limit.
I don’t have a rack for my pan… Could I put it right in the water/liquid smoke mixture?
Hi Judy,
Technically, yes. But without a rack, some of the dry rub will wash off, and the bottom of the brisket will have a different texture than the top.
You could also use foil….loosely twist some foil into 2 or 3 ‘ropes’ that are 1.5 inches or so thick and long enough for your meat to sit on. I do this and it works just fine
I prepared this brisket today with no changes to your recipe. My brisket was 5.2#s so I set my table timer to check at 4 hours roasting time. When the timer went off my thermometer registered 200 degrees. I removed it from the oven because it was already 25 degrees higher at 4 hours roasting time than your proposed 5 – 6 hours. It is resting now. How could the timing be so off? Anyone else have this problem? I just hope it’s still edible.
Hi Sybil,
It might have to do with the shape of the brisket… or could your oven possibly run too hot?
How did it turn out?
Believe it or not, we had an 8 year old brisket in our freezer in original shrink wrap. I thawed in fridge then rubbed most of it, and let it marinate in a glass bake dish in its own bloody juices for a day and a half I forgot to let it come to room temp but put it in the oven on a rack in roasting pan, patting on remaining rub Baked as directed for 5 hours Could not believe how delicious it came out Never made brisket before but will def make it again!
Thank you, undoubtedly this is the best recipe. It’s quick and easy to make and my family loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
Tried this recipe with a 4lb brisket. I realized the rule of thumb to cook for 1hr per pound at 250 deg is not accurate. Mine took 81/2 hrs to reach 195 internal temp. Turned out amazing. I sliced it thin with my slicer and it was juicy and tender. Made gravy with the juices. Very salty but incredible flavour. I can’t wait to try it again 🤤
Excellent Recipe, 1st time making and its result was so tender and juicy. I used a 3 1/2 Brisket seasoned as mentioned, only I did not add the dry mustard simply because I did not have any in my pantry at the time. I baked the brisket at 225 degrees F – Keeping it covered with Aluminum foil for 5 hours and it was fall apart perfect. Saving the broth for future recipes. YUM and thank you.
i am doing the same, no chili and no mustard good to know it will be yummy
Fantastic recipe! A couple things I did differently. I rubbed with spices and marinated in Claude’s Brisket Marinade in the refrigerator for 24 hours before putting it in the oven. Claude’s has a more superior smokey flavor in my opinion and I’ve only ever been able to find it on Texas grocery store shelves. Also, I simply just used a large foil pan to keep it covered while it cooked, instead of wrapping in foil. This allowed for plenty of space for flavors to swirl in the roasting process. I used a whole brisket, fat side up. Cooked it at 250 for about 14 hours. It yielded a smokey and flavor filled, melt in your mouth cut of meat. Yes, I had a huge cut of meat! Will definitely recommend this recipe to my kin folks.