Slow Oven Roasted Rolled Beef Brisket

This was my first attempt at "low and slow cooking" albeit in an electric oven as opposed to a charcoal smoker.  It turned out exceptionally well.   A cheaper and tougher cut of meat turned out to be one of the most moist, tender and tasty roasts I have ever done.  The recipe is based on Texas Oven - Roasted Beef Brisket, and has been adapted to suit Aussie conditions and availability of the meat cut.

Beef Brisket is the breast of a cow and is normally ordered in large slabs in the States.   This type of cut has not been popular in Oz and is normally sold as a rolled pot roast.  The slab is available from good butchers as a pre-order, whereas the rolled version is freely available.

After much research, I have estimated the following times for oven roasting a rolled brisket, (the longer the bake, the better):-

100 degC  =  3.50    hours/kilo
110 degC  = 2.647   hours/kilo
120 degC =  2.20     hours/kilo

Many web pages state 1.5 hours per pound at 250 degF or 3.31 hours per kilo at 121 degC.

Serves:  10.  Preparation Time:  15mins.   Cooking Time:  7 hours.  Resting Time:  1 hour.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 bay leaf, crushed
2 kilos/4 pounds rolled beef brisket

3 cups beef stock

Method

The original recipe asked to make a dry rub by combining chili powder, salt, garlic and onion powders, black pepper, sugar, dry mustard, and bay leaf and season the raw brisket on both sides with the rub.  I rubbed the brisket with just the salt and pepper only and made a jus with the remaining ingredients
.

Set aside jus and rubbed brisket in a roasting pan and let it sit uncovered for at least an hour.  The roast will need to be covered later, so a pan with a lid is beneficial otherwise have aluminum foil available.

Pre heat oven to 200 degC, then reduce it to 100 degC  and immediately place roast in the oven uncovered, for 2 hours.  The initial high temperature helps sear the outer roast and mold the rub to the meat.

Add jus to cover 1/2 inch of the roasting pan.  Don't let the jus contact the meat.   Place the lid or cover pan tightly and continue cooking for 5 hours, or until fork-tender.

Let the meat sit covered for at least thirty minutes ( I prefer an hour).  Slice meat thinly across the grain. Thicken the jus with maize flour if necessary and drizzle over the meat.

Other references:-

Kitchen Riffs

Hilah Cooking