Small Brisket

How to cook small brisket recipe in oven with dry rub is here. We will explain How to Make Fall-Apart Brisket in the Oven with a small flat cut to fork tender beef when done. Slice and serve with vegetables or alone as a low carb dinner idea.

Small Beef Brisket

I will say I haven’t cooked a beef brisket often. When we bought our half of a cow this year I saved it for a special day. Knowing how expensive they can be it’s not something you want to take chances with and need to KNOW it will come out amazing…or why spend the money right??

We make it with our tri tip dry rub and during the last 30 minutes the foil is removed to get a bit of a crisp on the outside for the ideal texture. This gives it a sweet and savory taste that is amazing.

How Long to Cook Small Brisket

For 3-4 pounds it typically takes about 5 hours until we can slice it easily against the grain. The knife should slide right thru without much effort at all letting you know that it is done. I like to cover most of the cook time before removing for the last 30 minutes or so to break down the connective tissues.

in pressure cooker

If you love the idea of making pressure cooker brisket but don’t have that machine at home and want to make it in a pan the old fashioned way, we’re here to show you how here. You can cut down the timing to just over an hour under high pressure.

in air fryer

Made as air fryer brisket you are looking at a few hours, a great option when it was too hot to turn on the oven. Then during the winter time it was time to go ahead and bake it. Seriously the best way ever if you want it as tender as humanly possible.

in Smoker

If you want to treat your family to Flat Brisket Smoked, this really is something special for Christmas dinner this year, this is it!! Here are a few questions you might have before you get started on this beauty.

Ingredient Notes

1. Beef brisket, flat is best because it is thick and about the same thickness all the way across vs. point that is thin at the end.
2. Sauce we add to keep it super moist
   1. Beef broth will provide liquid to make the sauce, better than water
   2. Onions diced real fine I added for flavor and texture
   3. Minced garlic jarred or from fresh cloves are great
   4. Chili powder is just a bit but would say it is mild to medium, add more for a spicy flavor
   5. Rice vinegar will provide a bit of zing you will love
   6. Worcestershire sauce is a deep sauce that will add to the umaminess 😉
   7. Ketchup or tomato sauce can be used for flavor and thicknening agent
   8. Olive oil or avocado oil works

The key to the best tasting meat though is the rub and/or sauce if you ask me. I want a Wallop of flavor in every bite. This is how it’s done y’all. We have used bottled dry rub for tri tip on the outside and it’s amazing. Then mixing a few of our favorite fajita marinade / sauce ingredients together made it out of this world.

How do you know when brisket is done?

Follow the timing on your recipe but ideally it should slice very easily against the grain with a knife with no tugging. If you lift the foil up after 4.5 hours total cooking time and with a fork it doesn’t feel tender enough to cut with the side of it, then you need more time.

Add 30 minutes until it reaches that point. Total time was about 5.5 hours. It takes a while and timing will vary depending on how large yours is of course. To reach the fall apart status with any small brisket recipe the internal temperature should be 195-200 degrees F.

Should you cook brisket with sauce?

I highly recommend the sauce we used. You could alternatively use a bit of water to thin out some bbq sauce and use that to keep it moist. This is what ours looked like when we took it out and before we put foil back on.

FAQ

What should I do with leftovers

I will start by saying that we only really have enough for 1 or 2 of us to have lunch the next day. I just make 2 cups white rice and reheat a serving for myself to enjoy. It is one of the few repeat meals I can’t get enough of. I have a long list of recipes with leftover brisket here but a few favorites are below.

My favorite is probably to dice it up into small pieces. Then put it into a bowl with some of your leftover sauce on top. Stir so it’s all coated and then mix it with brown rice and vegetables on the side.

1. You can also shred and put inside tortillas with cheese for over the top air fryer quesadillas.
2. Make the best baked potatoes and stuff with leftover meat. Pour sauce or a bit of liquid smoke on top and you’re ready!
3. Instead of pepperoni, shred meat and make a brisket pizza!
4. Another easy beef brisket recipe is to just warm meat, throw it inside small tortillas and load it up to make tacos with:
   1. Cheese
   2. Guacamole or sliced avocados
   3. Try with our blue cheese cole slaw
   4. Sour cream

Below are the step by step directions that are easy to follow. It also includes nutritional facts like calories, saturated fat content etc. It will vary depending on how lean your piece is and the size though. Enjoy friends!