This to-die-for Easy Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Brisket is tender, smokey, slightly spicy, and super flavorful. It’s everything you love about chipotle flavors with all there is to love about a fantastic cut of beef.
Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Brisket Recipe Highlights
Looking for a new brisket recipe? Then you have to try my Easy Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Brisket! If you love slow-cooked meat, you’ll love this deliciously tender and flavorful brisket.
I love a good slow cooker recipe because it helps me create amazingly delicious meals with zero fuss, minimal prep, and no need to hang over the hob for hours.
Easy Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Brisket is surprisingly simple to make, but since it’s a tough cut of meat, it needs to cook for a long time, so it is perfect for the slow cooker. It’s tender, smokey, slightly spicy, and super flavorful.
This recipe calls for three pounds of brisket, making it perfect for small parties, feeding a large family, or having leftovers. Simply slice your brisket and serve it on a plate with your favorite side dish. Or It can also make a delicious sandwich with some Texas Toast and coleslaw.
What Is Brisket?
Brisket is cut from the lower chest or breast of beef. It’s a tough cut of meat, as it contains the pectoral muscles. Because of this, brisket needs to cook for a long time in order to become the tender meat we enjoy.
Untrimmed beef brisket is still one of the least expensive cuts of beef you can buy. When you order the brisket, ask your butcher for a whole piece, neatly shaped, and free of much of the excess fat that is usually found on the sides.
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
Here’s a rundown of the ingredients you’ll need to gather for Chipotle Beef Brisket. Scroll down for the full recipe with ingredient amounts!
- Chipotle Marinade: To make the marinade/sauce for this brisket, you’ll need garlic, fresh lemon juice, vegetable oil, kosher salt, black pepper, dry oregano, onion powder, cumin, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Check out my Ultimate Guide to Cooking With Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce.
- Beef Brisket: If brisket is not available, you could use beef chuck, pot roast, or even short ribs.
- Orange Juice: Fresh or bottleed will work fine.
- Chicken Broth: Homemade or store-bought.
- Liquid Smoke: This is optional but highly reccomended.
- Bay Leaves: It add a subtle hints of black pepper and almost minty flavor that goes fantastic with the other flavors.
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER CHIPOTLE BEEF BRISKET
1 – Make the Marinade
First, place all the ingredients listed before the brisket in a small food processor and pulse until it becomes a paste.
2 – Marinade the Brisket
Rub the paste all over every side of the brisket.
If you have time, leave the brisket in the fridge after applying the rub for anywhere from 30 minutes up to 24 hours. So, go ahead and prep everything the night before and get that meat ready to drop in the slow cooker first thing in the morning!
3 – Slow Cook
Next, mix the OJ, chicken broth, liquid smoke, and bay leaves at the slow cooker’s bottom. Place the brisket in the slow cooker, cover, and cook for 8-10 hours, depending on the size of your brisket (see the full recipe for details).
When the time is up, remove the brisket onto a foil-lined and sprayed baking sheet.
4 – Reduce the Sauce
Remove the bay leaves and larger fat chunks from the sauce leftovers in the slow cooker. Pour the sauce into a saucepan. Reduce it over medium heat until it becomes the consistency of syrup.
5 – Caramelize in The Oven
Set the oven to broil. Baste the brisket with the reduced sauce. Broil it for a few minutes, baste again, and broil for a few more minutes until your brisket caramelizes. The broiling is technically optional, but I highly recommend it as that brisket crust is lovely.
Serving Ideas
You can serve brisket however you’d like, but here are a couple of ideas:
- Keep it simple, slice your brisket, place it on a platter, drizzle extra sauce over the top, and serve it alongside some roasted veggies and mashed potatoes.
- If you have any leftovers, try a brisket sandwich! Stack your sliced brisket on a bun and top it with extra sauce and some raw or grilled onions and coleslaw. For a side dish, consider roasted sweet potatoes, collard greens, or baked beans.
- Slice your brisket into thin strips and use it for burritos, tacos, salads, or any other Mexican-style dish. Serve alongside black beans and/or Mexican-style rice and corn.
Slicing the Brisket
PRO TIP: If the meat is so tender that it falls apart when you try to cut it, try cutting it with a very sharp knife in one direction only, in a smooth, even stroke. Don’t run your knife back and forth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brisket is cut from the lower chest or breast of beef. It’s a tough cut of meat, as it contains the pectoral muscles. Because of this, brisket needs to cook for a long time in order to become the tender meat we enjoy.
Untrimmed beef brisket is still one of the least expensive cuts of beef you can buy. When you order the brisket, ask your butcher for a whole piece, neatly shaped, and free of much of the excess fat that is usually found on the sides.
In short, yes, you can! Other cuts of meat such as beef chuck, pot roast, or even short ribs can be substituted for beef brisket in my Chipotle Beef Brisket recipe.
For maximum flavor, marinade the brisket for anywhere from 30 minutes up to 24 hours.
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are sold in most groceries store in the international aisle. You can also buy them online at Amazon.
Yes, follow the same instructions and pressure cook at high pressure for 75 minute and natural release for 15 minutes. Remove the lid carefully.
Storing & Freezing Instructions
Store: Beef Brisket will keep well in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about four to five days. Reheat it wrapped in aluminum foil at a low oven temperature (300°F works) for 20-25 minutes or so.
Freeze: The brisket can be frozen for up to three months. You can wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap, then foil or a zip-top freezer bag before freezing, or you can freeze the slices individually by laying them out flat on a baking sheet and popping them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, put the frozen slices in a freezer bag or container and label them.
To reheat your brisket, pull it out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then cover it tightly with foil and reheat in a 300°F oven until hot (at least 30 minutes).
More Slow Cooker Recipes You’ll Love
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Carnitas
- Instant Pot Beef Tips with Gravy
- Slow Cooker Oxtail Stew [Video]
- Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Pork Loin
- Slow Cooker Beer Pork Chops
- Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Pork Chops
- More slow cooker recipes…
❤️ Love what you see? JOIN my Private Baking Club. Also, SUBSCRIBE to Mommy’s Home Cooking, so you’ll never miss a recipe! And FOLLOW along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more fun!
Easy Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Brisket
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup (60 ml) lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (45 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 individual chipotle peppers from a can of Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo
- 3 lb. (1.3 kg) beef brisket
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice (about 1 orange)
- 1 cup (240 ml) chicken or beef broth
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (optional)
- 2 dried bay leaves
Important
Don’t forget to check out the step-by-step photos above in the post—they’ll guide you through the process and make everything super clear!
Instructions
MAKE THE MARINADE:
- Place garlic, lemon juice, brown sugar, oil, salt, black pepper, oregano, onion powder, cumin, chipotle peppers, and adobo sauce in a small food processor. Pulse until well combined, and a paste is formed.
MARINADE THE BRISKET:
- Rub the brisket with the chipotle paste, rubbing it thoroughly on all sides. If time permits, leave it for 30 minutes to 24 hours in the fridge to marinade.
SLOW COOK:
- Place orange juice, chicken broth, liquid smoke, and bay leaves in the slow cooker; mix to combine. Add seasoned brisket into a slow cooker. Cover with the lid.
- Slow cook for 8 hours (1.5 kg / 3 lb) to 10 hours (2 kg / 4 lb).
- When the time is over, remove the brisket onto a plate or tray.
REDUCE THE SAUCE
- Strain the cooking juices. Pour cooking juices in slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat and reduce until it thickens to a syrup consistency, about 10 – 15 minutes.
CARAMELIZE IN THE OVEN
- Turn on the broil of your oven. Line one baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking oil.
- Place brisket onto a baking sheet, baste generously with sauce, broil for 3 – 4 minutes. Then remove and baste again, then return to oven for 3 – 4 more minutes until it caramelizes.
- Cover the brisket with foil and let it rest 15 – 20 minutes before slicing. Slice brisket thinly across the grain and serve with remaining sauce.
- When you order the brisket from your butcher, ask for a neat-shaped whole piece, trimmed off any excess fat on the side.
- If the meat is so tender that it falls apart when you try to cut it, try cutting the meat with a very sharp knife in one direction only, in a smooth, even stroke. Don’t run your knife back and forth.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Eggless Baking Frequently Asked Questions
You’ve asked, and I’ve answered! Read on for a handful of answers to the most frequently asked questions about eggless baking.
Originally posted in April 2021, the post content was edited to add more helpful information, with no change to the recipe in May 2022.
