Crunchy Salty Sweet

After unintentionally taking a break from blogging for most of the summer, I’m back and ready to share more tasty and easy recipes with you guys!

Since last weekend marked the official start of football (and more importantly football Sunday fundays) I wanted to share one of my very favorite game day dishes. Andrew and I tend to favor recipes that use the slow cooker so that we can watch as much football as possible, so this brisket requires very little hands-on time!

The result is flavorful, spicy, and as easy as can be. This recipe will give you a blank canvas to add whatever sauce you like- making it one of those recipes you will want to make again and again.

Start by trimming the fat from the brisket. You want some fat for added moisture and flavor, but it’s okay to remove any large areas of fat.

Cut up the onion into fairly large pieces. Peel the garlic and and cut the cloves in half.

Place onion and garlic into the slow cooker.

Mix together the salt, pepper, brown sugar, oregano, paprika, cumin, garlic powder and cayenne.

Rub the brisket with the olive oil.

In a large bowl, rub the brisket with the dry rub.

Set the slow cooker on low, and place the brisket into the slow cooker.

Pour the beer and water around the brisket.

Cook the brisket for at least 5-6 hours.

Check the brisket by testing out one of the meaty areas. If the meat easily shreds, it’s ready. If the meat is not pulling easily, give it another hour and check again.

When the brisket is ready, place into a large container and use two forks to shred the beef.

Drain 90% of the liquids from the slow cooker, reserving the onions and garlic. I used a strainer to separate.

Place the remaining liquid, onions and garlic back into the slow cooker.

Add the brisket back to the slow cooker. If you’re going to use a sauce, feel free to add it to the beef now. Cook on low for a final 15-30 minutes to let the flavors marry.

Serve as-is or on a roll (with pickles if I’m making it) I ate this with maple roasted carrots, which I will be sharing later this week!

Andrew and I couldn’t decide on a sauce, so we sauced our own for serving 😉

---

Dry rub adapted from: Food Network

Makes: 8-10 servings (depending on the size of your brisket)

Prep: 15 minutes, Cook: 6-8 hours hands-off, Total: 15 minutes active time

• 3-4 lbs beef brisket from the point end
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 bottle beer (I used an English ale)
• 1 cup water
• Sauce of your choice, for serving (optional)

Start by trimming the fat from the brisket. You want some fat for added moisture and flavor, but it’s okay to remove any large areas of fat.

Cut up the onion into fairly large pieces. Peel the garlic and and cut the cloves in half.

Place onion and garlic into the slow cooker.

Mix together the salt, pepper, brown sugar, oregano, paprika, cumin, garlic powder and cayenne.

Rub the brisket with olive oil.

In a large bowl, rub the brisket with the dry rub.

Set the slow cooker on low, and place the brisket into the slow cooker.

Pour the beer and water around the brisket.

Cook the brisket for at least 5-6 hours.

Check the brisket by testing out one of the meaty areas. If the meat easily shreds, it’s ready. If the meat is not pulling easily, give it another hour and check again.

When the brisket is ready, place into a large container and use two forks to shred the beef.

Drain 90% of the liquids from the slow cooker, reserving the onions and garlic. I used a strainer to separate.

Place the remaining liquid, onions and garlic back into the slow cooker.

Add the brisket back to the slow cooker. If you’re going to use a sauce, feel free to add it to the beef now.

Cook on low for a final 15-30 minutes to let the flavors marry.

Serve as-is or on a roll (with pickles if I’m making it!)