Slow Cooker Recipe: Smoky Brisket

Brisket is a wonderfully hearty and satisfying meal. But preparing brisket with traditional methods can take up your whole day. This wonderful crock pot brisket recipe lets you enjoy all the delicious smoky flavor of beef brisket without the time consuming preparation. The wonderful thing about a slow cooker is that it allows you to mix up the ingredients in the morning, toss them in your crock pot, head out for work, and by the time you come home, dinner is already complete! And I have to say there are few things as wonderful as coming home to the rich smells of beef brisket simmering in the slow cooker.

I grew up in Houston, Texas where we enjoy a barbeque nearly every weekend. We Texans love any excuse we can find to cook up some truly mouthwatering brisket! But firing up the smoker and cooking the beef brisket literally takes all day. My family has come to love this slow cooker recipe, as it allows us to have the real flavor and down-home taste of barbeque without the time consuming and uncomfortable outdoor cooking. We call it our week-night barbeque!

What you will need:
3 to 4 lbs. beef brisket
2 medium onions, sliced
1 Tbsp. smoke-flavored salt
1 tsp. celery seed
1 Tbsp. mustard seed
½ tsp. pepper
12-oz. bottle chili sauce
Arrange onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle both sides of the meat with the smoke-flavored salt and pour over meat. Combine celery seed, pepper, and chili sauce. Pour over meat. Cover and cook in slow cooker for 10 to 12 hours.

This is the basic beef brisket recipe. But you can try variations on the simple formula. For example, you can add chopped carrots, potatoes or celery to the crock pot approximately 1 to 2 hours prior to the end of cooking time. The vegetables mixed in with the brisket make this a complete one dish meal. Or, you can try topping the brisket with a smoky barbeque sauce when serving for a great western flare and serve it with ranch-style beans and cornbread. One more thing you may want to try is cooking the brisket until completely done, then chopping it up finely, mixing with barbeque sauce and serving on hamburger buns for a juicy chopped brisket sandwich. (The kids especially love this one!) The possibilities are endless for spicing up this easy slow cooker brisket recipe! So get creative and try your own ideas for add-ins or add-ons; you and your entire family will love this easy brisket dinner.