Beer Brisket

Following other's advice, I seared the brisket, used an ale instead of regular beer and cut the pepper back - way back. I used a heaping teaspoon of freshly ground pepper and you could definitely taste it in the finished gravy. Any more and I think it would've killed the dish. After making this, I've come to realize that there's no comparing a slow-cooker brisket to an oven-braised brisket. The oven makes it tastes that much better. Served this with the German Potato Pancakes recipe, and the German Red Cabbage recipe, both from this site. Very good. Also, mine cooked in about 3 1/2 hrs., but I trimmed close to 1/2 lb of fat from my 4 lb. brisket. This is my new favorite brisket recipe.

Definate keeper if you like moist brisket. I have never had a brisket turn out so well! I didn't have a bay leaf, but threw everthing else on the list (EXCEPT used 2 tsp of pepper instead of 2 tbls) in a bowl and mixed well. I also seared the brisket on the stove top real quick then put in a slow cooker/crock pot, covered with the beer mixture, and cooked on low for about 10 hours. WOW. Want an extra treat? Mix 1/2 cup of whipped cream cheese with 1 Tablespoon prepared horseradish to serve along side the brisket. Delish!

Awesome flavor! Instead of a pan, I cooked it in a crock pot for about 8 hours. Best brisket I've ever had!

This was the best brisket I've ever made. I was unsure about trimming the fat completely, but I followed the receipe exactly as written with two exceptions. I seered the brisket in a skillet sprayed lightly with Pam on the stove (med high to high heat) until light brown and I lightly sprayed the bottom of my baking dish with Pam before putting the brisket in just to make clean up easier. I also followed one other reviewer's suggestion and used ale beer (not sure if regular beer versus ale beer mades a difference or not)but I assure you the brisket was moist, tender and absolutely wonderful. I will definately use this receipe every time but do recommend that you seer any type of roast prior to baking - it just helps seal in the flavor and moisture of the meat. I had very little left overs but the next day I chopped that up and added Head Country (brand) BBQ sauce and served on buns. Those were fab too.

Terrible. Very bland, made a mess out of my pan, had to throw the rest away.

I tried this recipe twice and both times I finished with the most tender brisket I have ever had. I also learned that the type of beer you use effects the outcome. I preferred malt beer. I think that others who did not like this recipe do not understand that this recipe is supposed to enhance the taste of the meat, not cover it up.

Excellent! I did cut back on pepper but other than that it was made as directed. Doubled sauce. It was different than standard gravy but very good. Used toohpics to kep onions on top of meat. Meat was very tender and juicy

This was by far the best meat I have ever made!!! I cooked it in a crockpot for 7 hours on the low setting. I used Guinness as the beer! FANTASTIC!!!!

Fabulous!! This has become a regular favorite at our table. It gets rave reviews by everyone, from my extremely picky 7-year-old, to my 80+ grandmom (in the middle of chemo - has trouble tasting stuff and doesn't like much). Flavorful and tender. It's quite peppery if you use the full amount of fresh coarsely ground black pepper - I adjust this to taste.

It was pretty good. It Was Missing something.

most amazing brisket I have ever made or had....everyone I served it to loved it...even the kids...ONE MAJOR THING MISSING is you MUST add water to the pan to almost completely cover the meat or the recipe will not turn out as expected....and put 1 TEASPOON of pepper.....this one is going into the permanent recipe book!!!

I accidentally forgot to salt the meat, and it came out tasting bland. I'm hoping that adding salt would fix the recipe. If salt doesn't fix it, I won't be making this again. I did this in the crock pot as suggested, so it came out tender; also used Guinness, as suggested by others, because we don't care for standard American beers. The basic idea for this is very nice, so it's worth trying.

Be warned - this dish could incite a fight for the last savoury morsel! Outstanding.

this meat turned out very well. It was extremely tender--maybe not quite as juicy as i thought it might be, but gravy made all the difference. HOWEVER, I would highly advise against making gravy from these drippings. The beer gave it a very bitter flavor, even though I used a fairly mild beer. I junked this batch of gravy and simply made a beef based gravy with bouillion, gravy browning, salt and pepper, and a bit of the onion and spices from the top of the meat. I thickend with flour and it was far superior gravy that was a great addition to the meat. I will cook this again.

I made as directed, other than adding a tablespoon or so of A1 to the sauce. I also sautéed some mushrooms and threw them in a few minutes before serving to mix in with the sauce. Very tender and very delicious. Will make again very soon.

This came out really good! A few swaps - I use Grill seasoning instead of salt and pepper; seared the meat in a pan; used Blue Moom, and added worcestershire sauce to the liquid, plus a little more brown sugar. My 3 year old and 18 month-old gobbled it right up!

Brisket is my husbands favorite, and one of my mother in law's best meals ever, so i was scared for 6 years to try making it for him. This was amazing and its a new favorite. i make it every single week on sunday so we have left overs for monday at lunch time! I add 16 oz of beer instead o 12 and less cornstarch because i dont like a thick gravy. I also add carrots and potatoes to this recipe, as well as dried oregano and parsley. I have learned over time how to tweak it. And sometimes add more beer or liquid ! I have used almost every beer and depending on the flavoring add more or less. I also cut the meat about 20 minutes before serving and take off foil. Then put back in oven. It crisps a little which is wonderfulwith the tender inside :)

Well, I modified it to the point of smoking it for about 4hrs, then following the recipe minus the seasonings. All I added was salt, pepper, and garlic powder plus of course the onions. It works out great smoking it, if you have the time and inclination to do it. Good recipe my way for say like holidays and late football games. Use mesquite and hickory as well as oak when smoking it before you use the beer recipe in the oven. It will retain all the smokeyness from your smoker, plus will fall apart like a pulled pork and be very tender and flavorful.

Excellent. I always cook with a smaller weight of brisket, however, so still working on the timing of that. Overall though, delicious!

I rarely make brisket because it always turns out dry but this was anything but! I made a small brisket, 2 lbs, and only cooked it for 2 hours but other than that, I followed the directions. We had Heineken, so that's what I used. It was sooo juicy and tender!

Followed recipe exactly. Used Guiness as suggested. Really tasty meat and yummy gravy. Was a bit dry in some spots, but mostly very moist and tender. Will make again.

Turned out great. I substituted with Guiness beer, beef broth, half the pepper and put it in a crock pot on low for 10 hours.

Great brisket. Fork tender. Only took 3 1/2 hrs. I only used 1/2 the pepper and doubled the brown sugar. I added a teaspoon of instant coffee(grounds).

if you're gonna cook with beer, and believe me i'm all for it, let it go flat first (leave it open for a night). easy to do if you have a party the night preceding the execution... unless you're doing a beer batter or tempura, where the bubbles are important.

I cook brisket often, typically as a BBQ. My wife wanted something different, so I gave this a try & it tastes great. I used dry red wine instead of beer & cut the pepper back to 1/3 of what recipe called for & that was almost too much. Don't know what mistakes others made to burn meat, but I used a 2 lb brisket & cut back cooking time according to weight. Nothing evaporated, the meat was fine & tender, & there was plenty of juice for gravy. Will use this recipe again!

This was a phenomenal brisket. I followed directions to a "T". The only difference is my brisket was done in 3.5 hours so make sure you check it. Other than that we made bar-b-que brisket the first night and brisket tacos the next. Soooooo good.

This was my first attempt at a brisket and, boy, did I pick the right one. As always, I followed the recipe exactly as written and I chose Mickey's Big Mouth Malt Liquor. I can tell you that I was FLOORED by this brisket! The only reason that I did not rate it 5 stars is that I thought the black pepper was excessive. Very spicy. Next time I will cut it back half. My family, however, LOVED it with the full quantity of pepper. So, it's just a matter of personal taste. Trust me. Fast to prepare. Easy to cook. Delicious!

Easy peasy and delicious! The gravy was perfect. I had to wrestle my husband for a bottle of sierra nevada to use on this- but it was well worth it!

Fantastic recipe. Threw in some lipton soup mix and reduced the pepper down to half a teaspoon. It turned out really well. Definitely a keeper.

Absolutely Fantastic!!! The whole family liked it, which is hard to do! I used an ale beer like the others suggested and followed the recipe as listed. I needed to mix the pepper in a bit more because it clumped up a bit, but other than that it was out of this world!

Fantastic. My wife likes it to fall apart so she craves this recipe. I serve it to our neighbor and she dies for it. I modified it by using beef stock instead of bouillon and covering it with mushrooms too (I used fresh precut bags of mushrooms from grocery store, 2 bags so it was easy:) Makes a killer gravy for mashed potatos.

VERY GOOD recipe. Instead of a pan, I cooked it in pressure cooker for about 1 hour and 20 min. I did only added 1 tsp of pepper like people suggested. Thanks!!

This was O.K. The three star rating is because two tablespoons of pepper is crazy. I put in two teaspoons and it was still VERY peppery. I messed up and added the starch into the beer mixture. No problem, though. I just let it sit until the starch settled to the bottom and poured off the liquid, reserving the starch sediment for thickening after cooking.

VERY GOOD recipe. I seared the meat and put it in the crockpot like someone suggested. After 8 hours it just fell apart! I pulled it apart so it could soak up the juices, the last 30 minutes of cooking. I did only added 1 tsp of pepper like people suggested. I can't imagine having any more than that. I used a harp lager because that is what I had. We'll make sloppy joes with the leftovers for sure. Next time I might add some sourcream. I think it would be great that way, too.

Pretty good recipe but not the very best I've tasted.

My family loved it. I'm not a huge brisket fan in general. But I'll make it again for them. I did have to add some extra garlic and other spices because the recipe as written seemed bland. But it's a great starter recipe and the meat was very tender.

Absolutely great recipe, I made this with New Belgium's "Fat Tire" and put it on the grill for the last hour. Turned out very nice! I suggest DEFINITELY using fresh garlic!

I used beer in a bottle. Measured it out and drank the rest. The use of a quality beer makes the difference here. I use Blonde Bock by Gordon Biersch.

I did not trim my brisket because it had been trimmed well at the market, did sear as I do any beef/pork 'roast' to seal in juices. I only used 2 teaspoons of pepper and increased the garlic by 1 teaspoon, just knew this would suit our taste better. Very nice recipe.

GREAT way to make brisket...made it exactly as directed! Delish!

This was excellent! Very flavorful and tender. I used the leftovers in omletts the next morning and enchiladas that night. This recipie is very versatile for leftovers, and I have already bought another brisket to make it again!

This recipes is one of the best I have ever had. I didn't have any brown sugar and did not substitute. Even without it, it was still WONDERFUL. I wouldn't change a thing. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

this brisket is awesome with one caveat!!!!! My husband likes his food hot and spicy, but even I know that 2 tblspns. of pepper is ridiculous and way out of line. I used 1 tspn. of pepper and it had just the right zing.

My brisket turned out WAY too salty, I think because of using the bullion cube. I think next time I will substitute beef broth or add some water to the mix.

I very rarely try a recipe that doesn't have hundreds of 4 and 5 star ratings but I'm glad I tried this one. It has become one of my family's favorite recipes for large gatherings. We love the large amount of pepper that's used and the only beer in my house is reserved for using in this recipe only! I also tried one reviewer's suggestion to use whipped cream cheese with horseradish added as an accompaniment for this dish. That's a "requirement" now when I serve this. Thanks for sharing.

Wow this was amazing! My husband loves brisket so I wanted to try something new to impress him and found this recipe. He absolutely loved it! I took the advice of others and used a beer with flavor. I actually used a local beer called Lienekugals Sunset Wheat, but I am sure a similar microbrew would work. We cooked it for about 8 hours in the crockpot on low and it came out so tender we had to use a spatula to lift it to the plate!

Very good and very easy! My family loved it.

I followed the recipe accordingly with a 4LB brisket the seasoning I thought was spot onmy only deviation was I used a Knorr concetrated boullion 1tsp However I think the temp is off I thought it was high so I started at 350 and reduced 25 degerees every hour still turned out tender but not as pink as would have cared for. Although alll in all a good brisket. No leftovers Thanks(:

Really tasty. I made mine in the crock pot on low for about 8 hours. The brisket was tender and had a good flavor. Leftover will become tacos and barbeque beef.

Waaaay too much pepper. It was tender but I wish I'd put a dash of pepper instead of what the recipe calls for. It overwhelms the whole dish.

350 is ENTIRELY too HOT to bake ANYTHING for 4 hours. After less than 3.5 hours I came into the kitchen to an oven of smoke. All the liquid had evaporated (yes I used foil) and the roast was burning. It's fork tender tho. BLACK and fork tender. I haven't tasted it yet - too burnt. Next time I would set the oven no higher than 275.

Great recipe with one fatal flaw: that's two TSP of black pepper, not TBSP. I cut down to about 1 TBSP of pepper when I made it because it seemed quite excessive and even that was too much. I took the advice of another member and added cut russet potatoes and carrots about 2.5 hours into cooking and they turned out just right, albeit peppery. I used a Miller Lite (because it was handy) and it worked out great, though I'll try to use a light beer next time with a little less flavor. In the interest of transparency, I used a 1.5lb cut since that's what the store had. I didn't even bother with the gravy, since the meat was great just on its own accord. The brisket came out tender and juicy, and the flavor around the pepper was excellent, so I'll definitely be revisiting this recipe soon!

Easy and tasty! Be sure to add plenty of salt if you like it. I didn't seer it and it tasted great. One addition was mushrooms to the gravy and I used flour instead of cornstarch. Very tender.

I followed the directions exactly but the meat came out tough. Won't make again

This was the best brisket I have ever made. Moist and tender, not dry at all. Delicious, even the youngest ones enjoyed it!

I started with a frozen roast, and was short on prep time, so I used the onion, beer, half the pepper, and brown sugar, and substituted beef broth for the seasonings. After the beer and brisket were in the pot, I filled it to the top of the roast with the broth & added the onion, sugar & pepper. Because it was frozen I had it at 350 for the first hour, then turned it down to about 280 for the last 6 hours. It smelled heavenly, pulled apart perfectly... can't wait to have the left overs tonight.

boy oh boy the temperture gage on your oven must be out of wack....I just had the feeling something was wrong and cut the oven temp. to 350...but that was still way to high for slow cooking...maybe 250 might have worked.. anyway my marinate cooked away to a blackened mess, beef burned on the bottom, and what was eatible was pretty dry.....I've been cooking for 45 years and should have known better.....

Changed thyme for ginger-( only because I didn't have thyme. Looked at other recipes that included ginger. Still delicious. Definitely making beer brisket again.

Good recipe except to me, two tablespoons of pepper seemed like much too much. I just cracked pepper directly onto the brisket and rubbed it in along with the salt, then cracked a fresh teaspoon into the liquid mixture. After about 2 hours of oven time I tasted the liquid and decided to add another half teaspoon in and thought it was good. I had a six pound brisket so I decided to go roughly for six hours. After an hour and a half I turned down the temp to 275 to keep the thin part of the brisket from getting too done before the center got to proper temp. At 5 1/2 hours checked the internal temperature with a meat thermometer, wanting the center to get to 195 degrees, no more. After that, checked the temp every 20 minutes til it was above 190, then sliced the brisket thin and spooned the liquid in between the Slices to cover all the meat, put it back in for 20 minutes to let the meat absorb the sauce flavor. My wife and four kids really loved it!

This was a hit with my co-workers. We added BBQ sauce and served on buns. My husbands staff enjoyed it as well.

Very good! The timing and temp were fine. I also followed others advice and used 1-ish teaspoon of pepper. I also added a can of diced tomatoes on top of the brisket before cooking, as I wanted a bit more color! I used a bit more fresh garlic and Dos Equis beer, which has a light smooth flavor. It turned out YUMMY!!

My son puts ketchup on everything....BUT as he was eating this Brisket, he said..."This is so good, I'm tempted not to put ketchup on it!" We all loved it! Easy & Delicious --- will make again! Thank you!

That's a whole lot of Oh My Goodness!

My family loved this! Except for the amount of pepper. We like spicy but, even that was a little too much. Definitely a do over!

This is the only recipe I've ever used because it is that good. I've also done this in a crockpot

This recipe is awesome! Instead of baking it in the oven. I put it in a crockpot overnight for 8 hours. Came out great. Tender and very good flavor. Not to mention easy as pie to make. I will definitely use again.

This recipe was awesome! I added more garlic than the recipe called for and a little bit of garlic powder to the beer mixture. I used Miller Lite and it was amazing! I new the brisket I had was going to be tough (we had the cow butchered and ALL the meat was tough) so I cooked it at 350 for 3 hours and then added a can of mushroom slices with the juice and raised the temp to 375 for the last hour. I also added cut up russet potatos and carrots after 2.5 hours of cooking and served with the whipped cream/tarter sauce mixture another reviewer posted. I basted the brisket about every hour and I could cut it with a fork when it was done. The gravy had great flavor too! I will definitely make this again. Thanks!

I made this Beer Brisket a few Sunday's ago and My entire family lovvveedd it. I used an ale beer (yuenling) and it came out great. It cooked for about 5 hrs., I cut down on the pepper and also added a package of Lipton soup mix. Soup mix gave it some extra flavor. I also seared the brisket prior to baking. Thanks..This Recipe has been added to my collection.

As written, I found the liquid cooked down so much that, had I not been checking, would have been a sticky burnt mess. I will add an additional 12 oz. of water next time, and also more onions. The cooking time and temperature seemed fine. With these slight changes, it would be a 5 star recipe.

I got a great deal on a whole brisket, but had never cooked one. Out of many recipes I saw, I tried this one. Since we are in the hottest season of the year, we didn't want a "sit down" dinner, so I just sliced the brisket and made sandwiches and put the cooked onion slices on it. Even the leftovers make great sandwiches! My hubby said it is a keeper and we should definitely have it again!

Thankfully I cut the pepper in 1/3, but even then it was too much.

Was amazing used cast iron dutch oven

Just OK - We thought this was lacking in flavor.

cooked with hawaiian free range beef, exellent.

too much pepper. Meat is really tender, but the pepper overpowers the meat

excellent...had to improvise as I had no chili sauce..used half cup of tomato soup. It was so good!!

turned out very good, make sure you definately get rid of all the fat, i just got rid of most of the fat and it wasn't as good as i knew it would have been. add a good BBQ sauce to it

we didn't care for this

Meat very tender; however, must baste meat often

It was awesome i changed a few things like i left out the beef boullion,bay leaf, and dried thyme and added steak seasoning rub,bbq sauce, and a tsp. of honey and i cooked it in the slow cooker on high for 6 hours and then on low for 2 hours it was so tender and had a wonderful taste. Julie

Made it in a slow cooker on high for two hours then on low for another six hours. Definitely sear it first. Very tender and moist. Lots of room to improvise! I added a can of diced tomatoes with garlic and it was great.

The meat was very tender, the pepper was over powering. We use course ground pepper, but I will do 1 tablespoon next time.

I make this recipe with a dark beer and it is phenomenal! My family loves it! I have never had a better brisket!

The texture was awesome- we cook it in a slow cook. But the taste wasn't so great. Something was alittle off.

delicious!

Easy to make, but a little bland. Think I'll use some seasoning salt next time. Overall, a Very Good recipe.

Way too much pepper. ruined gravy. Reduce to maybe one teaspoon coarsely ground pepper.

Delicious! Great flavor! Will make again.