Slow Cooker Beef Brisket @LucyBurdette

 

LUCY BURDETTE: We’ve had such a good time with the Key West Friends of the Library speaker series this year, hosting SA Cosby, Carl Hiaasen, Lisa Unger, and many more wonderful writers. At the end of February, we had the pleasure of listening to New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling writer Deborah Crombie, in conversation with Barbara Ross, author of the fabulous Maine Clambake mystery series. (Photo above is Barb, Lucy, Deborah, and Hallie Ephron.)

John and I were hosting a small group for a potluck dinner after the event, so I needed a dish I could make ahead and serve soon after everyone arrived. This BBQ brisket was the perfect solution—so good that several people wanted the recipe. Next time I make it, I might refrigerate the cooked brisket and sauce overnight so I can skim off some fat. But truthfully, no one complained! If you don't like any of the ingredients in the rub, leave them out...

Ingredients for the rub:

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp cumin powder

¾ tsp ground mustard

½ tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground pepper

Ingredients for the barbecue sauce:

¾ cup ketchup

½ cup cider vinegar

½ cup brown sugar

2 tsp black pepper, onion powder, mustard powder

½ tsp cayenne or to taste

1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3-4 lbs beef brisket

The day before you plan to cook the brisket, cut away any big pieces of fat and pat the rub over all sides of the meat. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. 

The morning you will be serving, brown the brisket either in the slow cooker if yours has that function, or in a frying pan. 

Mix together the ingredients for the barbecue sauce and taste to see if it needs more vinegar, sugar, or heat. Add the meat to the slow cooker along with the BBQ sauce and set the timer for 8 hours on low. You can easily leave it for another hour or two on warm. 

Cut the meat into thin slices and serve with the sauce and slider buns. Friends brought macaroni salad and a fennel-citrus salad, but it would also be good with potato salad and coleslaw! (For this dish, I tweaked and simplified a recipe in RecipeTinEats.com.)

Lucy writes the Key West food critic mysteries. #13, A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS, will be published on August 8, but is available for pre-order now!