Yes, you can use the oven to make a good Texas Slow-Roast BBQ brisket! It’s not quite the same as the melt-in-your-mouth meats that came out of my Aunt Barbara’s backyard smoker in Jacinto City, Texas. But slow roast anything for a good long while and add a sauce with soaked and pureed ancho and chipotle peppers and you get delicious eats. To make this brisket, you’ll wrap the meat in bacon, which then becomes part of the thick and zesty sauce. If you have brisket leftover, chopped fine and served with the extra sauce it makes great BBQ sandwiches.
Ingredients
For the BBQ Dry Rub (Store extra in jar for future use)
-
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp dry mustard powder
- 1 Tbsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp Chipotle chili powder
- ½ tsp oregano
- 1 tsp dried minced onion
For the BBQ Brisket
- ½ cup dry rub mix
- 1, 5-lb beef brisket
- 1 lb nitrate-free bacon
- For the BBQ Sauce
- 8 dried ancho chilies
- 4 dried chipotle chilies
- 1 white onion, chopped to make 1 cup
- ½ cup cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup meat juices from the cooked brisket
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Roast the Brisket: Place oven rack in middle position. Preheat oven to 275º. Rub the brisket with ½ cup of the dry-rub spice blend. In a large Dutch oven, lay out half of the bacon strips, side by side. Place brisket fat side down on bacon, fold the bacon ends over to wrap the brisket. Place the remaining strips of bacon over the top of the brisket, tucking ends under so that you have a brisket completely wrapped in bacon. Cover the Dutch oven with the lid. Place in preheated oven and roast for 4 hours. Turn oven heat off, leaving brisket in oven to rest while you make the sauce.
- Make the Sauce: Remove and discard seeds from the dried ancho and chipotle chilies. Break the dried chilies up and place in medium bowl. Pour ½ cup boiling water over all and set aside for 15 minutes until very soft. While chilies soften, scoop 2 Tbsp of bacon fat from the Dutch oven into saute´ pan. Saute´ onion in fat over medium heat until soft. Mix vinegar and brown sugar and add to the onion in the pan, stirring for three minutes until syrupy. Remove brisket from oven. Pour accumulated juices into a bowl; skim off and discard fat. Unwrap bacon from brisket; chop bacon and add to the onion and syrup in the saute pan. Drain the ancho and chipotle chili pulp; blend until smooth. Add with the tomato paste to saute´ pan over medium heat, stirring to incorporate. Add beef juices and chicken broth to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place all in a blender, or use an immersion blender, to blend until smooth.
- Finish Brisket: Turn oven setting to broil. Brush brisket with 1 cup of sauce. Watching carefully, broil just until top is charred a bit, and fat crisps. Place brisket on cutting board; slice. Serve immediately with extra sauce.