Easy 5-Ingredient Brisket Recipe (Grill and Oven Method)

Creating the perfect brisket doesn’t require a smoker, complicated techniques, or dozens of ingredients. This foolproof 5-ingredient brisket recipe combines the best of both worlds by using your grill for that essential char and your oven for low, slow cooking that transforms tough meat into fork-tender perfection. The result is a beautifully crispy exterior with incredibly juicy, flavorful meat inside.

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What Makes This Recipe Special

This hybrid cooking method solves the common challenge of achieving both the smoky char that makes brisket irresistible and the low-temperature environment needed for proper collagen breakdown. By starting on the grill and finishing in the oven, you get restaurant-quality results with equipment most home cooks already own.

The Science of Low and Slow

The magic happens between 275°F and 325°F, where collagen begins breaking down without overcooking the muscle fibers. This temperature range allows the tough connective tissues to dissolve slowly, basting the meat from within while maintaining moisture. The initial high-heat searing locks in flavors and creates the coveted “bark” or crispy exterior.

Cook a Brisket on Both the Grill and Oven

My recipe uses both my grill and the oven. This method makes a perfectly juicy brisket on the inside with a crispy outside. It’s perfectly divine.

While I would love to take credit for creating this method out of a desire to create the perfect brisket, it happened because my grill doesn’t work to make it alone.

I would love to cook a brisket on my grill thoroughly, but it tends to cook a little too hot, with its minimum temperatures being greater than 325 degrees. So my solution was first to cook the brisket on the grill to get a nice char on the outside, and then move the brisket to the inside and finish it off in the oven.

I must say this worked very well, and I will be using this technique from now on.

Ingredients

For the Dry Rub:

• Brown sugar – Creates caramelization and balances the salt with subtle sweetness
• Seasoned salt – Provides the essential sodium base and additional flavor complexity
• Chili powder – Adds warmth, color, and smoky depth without overwhelming heat
• Black pepper – Contributes a sharp bite and aromatic complexity

For the Brisket:

• Packer cut brisket – The foundation protein that transforms from tough to tender
• Yellow onion (optional) – Adds moisture and subtle sweetness during oven cooking
• Fresh garlic (optional) – Provides aromatic depth and complexity to the finished product

Buy a Packer Cut Brisket to Save Money

I purchased a packer cut brisket from the grocery store. These are wrapped in cryo-vac and they are the least expensive cuts you can buy for brisket. On sale, these run under $1.50 a pound; butcher-trimmed briskets run quite a bit more.

How to Trim a Brisket

You can trim a packer-cut brisket pretty easily yourself. You want to cut the fat to around 1/4 inch or so on the outside of the brisket. This will mean that you will be trimming off a fair amount of fat from this brisket.

Now, when choosing one, I always see if the cryo-vac will bend in half to help determine how tender it is, and that it isn’t completely marbled with fat. Briskets, by nature, are fatty, but they become delicious and tender when cooked at a low and slow temperature.

How to Cook Tender Brisket

Here’s my recipe. There aren’t very many steps, and in the end, you’ll have the most memorable and amazing briskets you have ever tasted.

1. Trim brisket well.
2. Combine the brown sugar, seasoned salt, chili powder, and black pepper to make a dry rub.
3. Coat the brisket with the rub well, and allow it to reach room temperature.
   
4. Heat the grill to around 325 degrees.
5. Place the brisket on the grill and cook for approximately 30 minutes on each side.
6. Remove the brisket from the grill.
7. Heat oven to 275 degrees, and wrap the brisket in foil with onions and garlic (if using).
   
8. Place the foil-wrapped brisket in a baking dish and bake for an additional 3 hours. Test with a meat thermometer; when the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees, the brisket will be tender.
9. Remove the brisket from the oven and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before slicing, chopping, or shredding.

How to Cook a Brisket in the Oven

I charred my brisket on the grill and then finished cooking it in the oven. This gave it a crispy texture on the outside. You can also sear the meat on the stovetop and then transfer it to the oven.

The secret to cooking a brisket in the oven is cooking it for a long time at a low temperature. This will keep the juices in the meat and make it even more tender.

Brisket Temperature

Use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature as it cooks. A brisket is fully cooked when the internal temperature is at least 179°F.

How much brisket per person?

When buying a brisket, plan to allocate about half a pound of meat per person. So, if you’re cooking for a family of four, you’ll want about 2 pounds of brisket.

More Ways to Cook a Brisket

Here are some additional favorites from my brisket recipes. You can make it in the Instant Pot pressure cooker too. Check out these ideas:

• Instant Pot Corned Beef Brisket
• Corned Beef in the Oven
• Oven Brisket Liquid Smoke

Favorite Beef Recipes

• Roast in the Oven
• How to Cook Beef Tenderloin
• How to Cook a Ribeye Roast
• Old-Fashioned Pressure Cooker Pot Roast
• Stove Top Roast
• Instant Pot Pot Roast with Soup Mix
• Beef Tips and Gravy
• Instant Pot Beef Stew
• Beef Shank

Be sure to check out more beef roast recipes and the best main dish recipes right here on CopyKat.com!