Amount of each ingredient
Trimmed beef brisket. 4-5 pounds of kosher salt. 2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper and 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika. 1 teaspoon of powdered onion 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon of Olive Oil 2 tablespoons of sliced onion 1 big piece of garlic (chopped) 3 pieces of garlic 1 cup of beef broth Balsamic vinegar or red wine 1/2 cup of brown sugar 1/4 cup of tomato paste 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons of bay leaves and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme. Some guidelines:
Prepare and season (10 minutes):
Dry the beef brisket with paper towels by patting it. This helps the seasoning stick better.
In a little bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. This is how you make your tasty seasoning mix.
Cover the brisket generously with the spice mix on all sides.
Cook the brisket on each side for 5 minutes.
Warm up olive oil in a big frying pan on medium-high heat. Cook the seasoned brisket on each side for 3-4 minutes until it has a nice golden brown crust.
After browning, move the brisket to your crockpot.
Cook quickly and then add liquid to the pan (5 minutes):
In the same pan you used for browning, put the chopped onion and crushed garlic. Cook them in a pan for around 3 minutes, until they are soft and smell good.
Add the beef broth to the pan to loosen the browned bits. This involves removing any browned pieces stuck to the bottom by using the liquid. Use a spoon to remove these pieces and add them to the tasty broth.
Enhance taste and let it cook for 2 minutes.
Add balsamic vinegar (or red wine for a stronger taste), brown sugar, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce to the pan after deglazing. Let it cook gently for 2 minutes so the flavors mix together.
Cook slowly until tender (8-10 hours).
Pour the tasty sauce from the pan onto the meat in the slow cooker.
Put the bay leaves and some fresh thyme sprigs on top of the brisket.
Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours until the brisket is tender when pierced with a fork. Cooking the meat slowly at a low temperature makes it very tender and juicy.
Take a break and help if you want.
After cooking, switch off the slow cooker and allow the brisket to rest before cutting it. This helps the juices spread evenly in the meat, making it even tastier.
Cut the brisket in the opposite direction of the fibers to make it as tender as possible. Serve with the tasty juices from the slow cooker, strained if you want a smoother sauce.