I’ve braised a whole brisket (10-14 lbs) once or twice, but generally if I’m cooking that much meat for a party I prefer to smoke it.

But maybe once a year for a smaller dinner I’ll braise a 4-6lb piece of brisket in the oven. I don’t seem to have taken many photos, but I’m copying quick notes here so I can find them later.

  • Preheat oven to 275F
  • Heat a little oil in a dutch oven on the stovetop
  • Brown each side of the brisket and set it aside
  • Roughly chop onions, carrots, and celery (I sometimes include parsnips)
  • Brown those aromatics in the initial brisket fat
  • Deglaze the pot with some red wine
  • Add garlic cloves, bay leaves, a can of crushed tomatoes (or fresh roma tomatoes if I have them), a little tomato paste, thyme, savory, several large pinches of salt
  • Add the brisket back in
  • Add a cup of wine and a few cups of water or stock, to half-submerge it
  • Cover the dutch oven and put it in the oven to braise until ‘fork tender’

I pull it from the oven and rest it under foil for half an hour or more while I put the cooking liquid to use:

  • Strain the liquid, let it cool a bit, skim fat off the top
  • Bring it back to a boil to reduce and thicken it a bit
  • Just before serving the brisket, slice it into strips and lower it into this sauce

Sometimes, I’ve simmered some fresh carrots and baby potatoes in the braising liquid for 15 minutes (after pulling the brisket and before reducing the liquid), to serve on the side; the vegetables the brisket braised with for hours were mostly to flavor it and have gone soft by now.

Timing notes to self, for my particular oven:

  • A few years ago when I cooked a small 3.5lb brisket at 275F, after perhaps 2h30min the brisket was cooked but not fully tender (190F on the meat thermometer, but I judge more by feeling). After 4 hours it was very fork-tender and falling apart in strands, so it probably would have been just as good at 3h30min.
  • Another year when I cooked a 6lb brisket, it took about 4 hours to reach the tender but not falling apart stage (and read 200-205F on the meat thermometer). It had stalled out at lower temperatures for about an hour but eventually got there.
  • It takes me about 30min to chop veggies, brown the brisket, and brown the veg before putting it in the oven, so starting to cook perhaps five hours before serving seems to work well.