I grew up in Montana, where April was still quite cold. Our Easter photos were hastily taken outside in the frosty grass. We smiled through chattering teeth just long enough to snap a photo, then hurried inside for the actual egg hunting around the house. (There was once a huge blizzard in May, but we try to forget that year.) For me, the fragrance of some kind of roast filling the house at any time of year is normal, especially for special occasions.
Enter brisket. April is a month for various celebrations, and a brisket that is both tender and tangy is just the thing to serve. This recipe gets bonus points for being the kind that looks like you slaved forever in the kitchen, but actually takes only minimal effort. If you add root vegetables to the pan, then you’ve got some side dish action going on, too, saving even more time.
Choose a pan that is juuuuuust large enough to comfortably accommodate your roast, veggies, and liquid. We want all the moisture to go right back into the meat, making it succulent and drool-worthy.
Happy spring! And happy celebrating, whatever it is you choose celebrate!
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 three-pound plain brisket (not corned beef brisket)
- 1 cup sliced onions
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup bone broth
- ⅓ cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cups roughly chopped carrots and parsnips, or other root vegetables (optional)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Salt the meat on both sides, ½ tablespoon salt on each side.
- In a large skillet, heat oil to medium high. Brown the meat on both sides. Remove to a 15x10 baking dish, fat side up. Set aside.
- Sauté onions in the remaining oil until they begin to brown.
- Add vinegar to the pan. Sauté for 30 seconds. Turn heat down to medium low.
- Add broth, molasses, thyme, garlic powder and bay leaves. Stir to combine and heat through. Pour the mixture over the brisket.
- Cover the brisket pan tightly with foil. Bake for 4 hours, or until meat is fork tender. (Note: If using vegetables, add them to the pan at the 3-hour mark, and replace foil.)
- When the roast is done, remove the bay leaves. You can also scrape the layer of fat off the top, if desired.
- To serve, shred, or cut the brisket, and spoon the juices from the pan over all. (Do not skip this step. So much flavor is here!) Arrange root vegetables (if using) around the edge of the platter.
22 comments
Sounds absolutely so delicious,easy and easily acccessed ingredients. I plan on trying it in the next two weeks. Thank you for the recipe!
The brisket sounds awesome, however, what can I substitute for molasses? Last time I had molasses I went into anaphylaxis.
Hi, Patti! Yikes about the molasses! Yeesh. This dish needs a bit of sweetness, and while I haven’t tried it personally, I think you could sub honey. It will miss the dark brown color, but fingers crossed that the honey will work! – Wendi
I used dates for another brisket Auto Immune Wellness recipe and it turned out great. 1:1
Maple Syrup
OMG. I would give this 10 stars if I could. Mouth. Watering. And like most things, it gets better with age. The leftovers tasted even better two days later. This was my first brisket cooking adventure. So easy! Thank you so much for continuing to create delicious AIP meals.
Can this be cooked in a crock pot? I refuse to use foil or aluminum pans for anything I heat or cook as its very harmful to us.
I use a ceramic coated cast iron pan for my brisket.
I’d love to make this in the Instantpot. Do you know how I would adapt this? My husband will love this!
I just made this and it’s super salty. Is 1 Tablespoon of salt correct. I love salt, but we cannot eat this. My house however smells absolutely amazing. I’ll make this again, but maybe a tsp instead of a tbsp?
Thx for mentioning about the SALT, I want to make this – but I will cut the salt in half.
I didn’t know that molasses were AIP friendly…do you know of a place to check for all “allowable” foods?
Hey TJ! We have a printable list if you sign up for our email newsletter – just scroll to the bottom of the page and you’ll see a signup. Good luck!
I just made this last night for a family dinner. I’ve had a 6 1/2 pound brisket in the freezer for the past year that I’ve been unsure how to cook. So, I decided to go for it and use this recipe. I doubled everything including the cooking time. Sadly, that did not work. It was what our family calls “a burnt offering”. I don’t know why that didn’t work. I didn’t have a pan or pot with a lid that was large enough for it so, I used my turkey roasting pan and covered it with foil. It seems like the moisture must have escaped or that the temperature was too high or too long. My husband salvaged about half of it by trimming off the sides and bottom and I made more sauce in a pan on the stove simmering it for half an hour and thickening it with tapioca. Everyone loved the sauce and it helped rescue the dry remainder of the roast. I don’t want to give the recipe low stars since I must have just not known how to adjust it to work for my large brisket. I bet it would be amazing if I’d had a 3 pounder.
Hi Kirsten! This isn’t my recipe, but a couple thoughts – yes, doubling can affect the cooking time, and using a different pan and lid setup. It does sound like too much moisture escaped your setup. Sorry it didn’t work out for you guys!
I put this recipe in the crockpot and it turned out very well! Thank you for the recipe!
Hey Jo! How many hours did you cook the brisket in the slow cooker? Thanks!
I used Emile Henry Modern Classics Large Rectangular Baker and tightly sealed my brisket with aluminium foil. However, the pureed asian pear & organic apple pureed as a substitution for the molasses in this recipe poured over the brisket along with the rest of the same ingredients listed in this recipe did not make enough liquid to cover the bottom of the baker. After the 3 hour mark, as I placed the purple cabbage, both the sides of the baker and the bottom of the baker surrounding the brisket were all burnt. I still bake it for another one hour to cook the cabbage and the brisket. Why did the moisture evaporated from the foil sealed baker? How could I fix it going forward to enjoy this recipe? Do you only use a foil when you used your Pyrex rectangular glass for this recipe, Mickey? I look forward to your advice and to be able to enjoy this recipe going forward!! Thanks.
Hi Olivia! This isn’t my recipe, but I see you’ve made some substitutions – unfortunately when you use different ingredients than called for in recipes, you aren’t always guaranteed results.
This was my favorite brisket yet (4th go round), as it got fork tender as I was hoping. As per other comments I used less salt, but probably about 2 tsp. I put it in a big ceramic-coated dutch oven and that made it simple — able to brown and bake in one pan.
I wanted lots of healthy leftovers for the busy days leading up to Christmas so made this recipe using a 6.5 pound brisket. I didn’t alter a thing, not even the salt. The important thing is the last part. Shred the meat and mix in the gravy and onions throughly. It was delicious. We all thought so.
Fantastic! Everyone (even non-AIPers) loved it. I’ve always shied away from brisket because it seemed so expensive. But it makes so much that the cost per meal is extremely reasonable,