Oven Barbecue Brisket

I have never eaten a barbecue brisket that I enjoyed. They have usually been tough and lacking taste. I am more of a pulled pork barbecue fan. But, a barbecue brisket recipe in Treebeard's cookbook promising flavorful meat slow roasted in the oven with home cooked sauce attracted me.

Since we are staying with my father-in-law, I took the opportunity to try out this potentially impressive hunk of meat. This is a great dish to prepare if you have a long day at home. It does not require much hands-on attention, but it does have to cook for almost four hours. The brisket is trimmed of fat, so it is very lean. The sauce comes together very quickly, but I'm sure store bought sauce would be a fine substitute.

I served the brisket with the sauce, bread, roasted green beans, and salad. I was impressed with this brisket. It was so tender and full of flavor. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it.

Ingredients
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
4 lb beef brisket, trimmed of visible fat
1 1/4 cups barbecue sauce (recipe follows)

In a small bowl, mix sugar, celery seeds, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, salt, liquid smoke. With fingers, rub powder into both sides of trimmed brisket.

Wrap in double layer of foil and place in plastic storage box. Refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.

Unwrap brisket and place in shallow roasting pan. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 300 degrees for 3 hours, or 45 minutes per pound of brisket until brisket is tender. Remove from oven and let cool. Refrigerate 1 hour to let fat solidify from pan juices.

One hour before serving, remove brisket from pan and using a slotted spoon, remove solid fat particles. Reserve pan drippings.

Cut beef into thin diagonal slices across grain and arrange slices in roasting pan. In a small bowl mix 1 cup pan juices and 1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce. Pour over sliced brisket.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes until brisket is fork tender.

Serves 8 to 10.

Barbecue Sauce Ingredients
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot, chopped
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Transfer to a 1 quart saucepan, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add more brown sugar or hot sauce to taste.