Best air fryer brisket with a dry rub that comes out fork tender and juicy every time recipe is here! If you loved our pressure cooker brisket, this goes a step further with a crispy exterior for added YUM.
If you’ve ditched your oven for the summertime, you’ll love air fryer brisket. No need to heat up your entire house to get this popular cut of beef to tender and delicious. Using our brisket dry rub and a little broth will create the best meal ever. Just one of many air fryer recipes for beginners you’ll love. (affiliate links present)
Can brisket be cooked in an air fryer?
Yes, and we’re here to explain exactly how here. If you have only made Fall-Apart Brisket in the Oven you’re in for a treat. In this small enclosed hot air basket you will be surprised to see just how fast you can break down those connective tissues. Once that is done a knife will slide right thru so it’s fork tender just like you want it. Just a few hours is all you need for perfection.
If you love extra crispy food and quick recipes, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite models are this Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more Ninja Foodi recipes here as well; bookmark them both!
- It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. this is how to preheat air fryer first.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Ingredient Notes
- 3-4 lb. beef brisket with a nice fat cap if possible. This is not for air fryer corned beef brisket that has been marinated for St. Patricks day, that is different
- Some stock or beef broth is better than water to add more flavor
- Chili powder just a bit will give it a bit of heat, below is mild to medium but could add more for a spicy flavor. Red pepper flakes would be a good substitute.
- 1 tsp salt is a given, I prefer Kosher larger granules for this.
- Garlic powder is a nice touch, onion powder would be a substitute, or use both for bolder flavors.
- And brown sugar will add some sweetness which we love, I imagine a sugar-free alternative would work too.
I have used our tri tip dry rub on this other times and that is amazing as well. If you have your own favorite combo for beef or would rather used a bottled combo then by all means use that. Leave on for a good 20 minutes before you cook the beef in a preheated air fryer to further enhances the flavors.
We are going to start with the seasonings so those can really bake on with the crust. This “searing” will lock in the juices before wrapping in aluminum foil and getting nice and tender. There really isn’t a worry of it sticking in your air fryer basket but you could lightly spray before adding your protein inside. Many times we will pair this with air fryer cabbage.
How Long to Air Fry Brisket
Ok so you are going to need a while, just like any other method you’ve tried. Reason being is this cut has a lot of connective tissue which needs to be broken down to become tender. For tender brisket in air fryer needs about 2.5-3 hours to get this done. I have a quick step by step here but you can print the recipe card at the bottom too.
The Ideal Internal Temperature
When air frying, you do not want to overcook this or it will be dry. Remember that once you remove meat from the heat source it will continue to rise about 10 degrees as it rests. Therefore if you want it at the ideal air fryer brisket temperature it is 195 degrees F. You’ll want to remove it when it reaches about 180-185 F.
These cuts of beef need to rest in the foil to stay warm before cutting. Then you’ll be ready to slice which you will want to do against the grain. This is important to further break down those connective tissues so it is not chewy in any way.
If you do have leftovers choose one of our leftover brisket recipes so you get two meals out of one! Like our brisket mac and cheese you might find a new favorite meal using meat that wasn’t eaten the first go around.
Air Fryer Brisket Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Ingredients
- 4 lb beef brisket
- 3/4 c beef broth
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 bay leaf, crushed
Instructions
- Mix together spices and brown sugar and rub on brisket. Place brisket in preheated air fryer, fat cap side up, and cook at 350° for 30 minutes.
- Lift out meat at this time. Place brisket in foil, fat cap side up. The best way to wrap the brisket is to place two pieces of foil that cross over each other. Pour in broth. Fold up the sides so that the beef stock / broth will not leak out.
- Place again in air fryer and cook at 300° for 2 hours or until thickest part of brisket temp registers 195°. (timing will vary depending on size and thickness of meat)
- Remove, allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing against the grain and serving with broth over the top.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am cooking a 3-4 lb. beef brisket, following the recipe exactly, but am a bit confused. With the aluminum foil, do I use it like a bowl with the broth or do I put th broth in, then the beef, and wrap it up (foil packet), I used the foil as a bowl….
2ndly, my Ninja duo only goes to 1 hour on air fry. So I did air fry as stated and am using the bake/roast setting for the 2 hours. It smells awesome and i hope i have done it correctly, because a you said it’s a very expensive cut of meat!
Thank you for testing this recipe, I used my own rub but for the rest followed your recipe and the result was better that expected, juicy, tender brisket with a really good gravy from the stock and meat juices.
OH good, glad it was a hit
I just am trying a corned beef version that is smaller seasoned with Montreal Steak Spice I got from Costo. I have it wrapped in foil and because it is smaller will try the airfryer part for 10 mins each side to get it crispy then re wrap in the foil and at the lowest temperature for an hour. Now at Costco they get the prime cuts and will be interested in trying this on a bigger cut of meat.