Juicy, sweet, and smoky: brisket is a barbecue staple. Encrusted in caramelized barbecue sauce and a smoky char, it is especially delicious with medium-bodied, fruit-forward red wines. Read on for our recipe and the options for brisket and wine pairing. This combo is so easy to prepare, you’ll have extra time to make side dishes!
The Wine Pairing
With its sweet sauce and generous marbling, brisket needs a wine that is both tannic and fruit-forward. I personally love Grenache or a Grenache-based blend like Syrah-Grenache-Mourvedre. Grenache is a medium-bodied wine grown in warm regions. It exudes ample fragrances of black cherry, raspberry, star anise, and licorice. Depending on the winery, it can also have hints of smoke, black olive, and orange peel.
For this pairing, I chose RD Winery’s Hundred Knot Grenache. This is a wine that I would easily bring to any backyard barbecue or cookout. It is brimming with smoky black cherry, black plum, five spice, star anise, and black pepper. I love that its spice notes almost perfectly match the spices in the brisket. The Hundred Knot Grenache has plenty of vibrant dark fruit, but its finish is still entirely dry. Its smooth, fine-grained tannins and clean acidity hold up nicely to the smoky char on the meat. The long finish yields hints of cocoa.
Can’t find Grenache in your local store? It won’t always be labeled as such. Look for wines from the Southern Rhône region of France, including Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône, Gigondas, and Vacqueyras. In particular, Châteauneuf-du-Pape produces some of the best, ageworthy Syrah-Grenache-Mourvedre blends. Vacqueyras, a neighboring region, produces similar, slightly more rustic wines at a lower price. Gigondas is renowned for its spicy, herbal Grenache-based wines. The Côtes du Rhône also produces plenty of Grenache-based blends, but proceed with caution as the quality here is inconsistent. You can also turn to Spain, which produces Grenache under the name “Garnacha”. Seek out wines from Priorat and Aragon (which includes Campo de Borja, Calatayud, and Cariñena).
Tips for Easy Slow Cooker Brisket
- Don’t flip, just baste! Through trial and error, we have found that the meat gets dried out if it is flipped too much. The seasoning also falls off. Leave the meat in place, but baste every two hours to help it caramelize and prevent drying.
- Place the fat cap of the meat facing down. The heat will render the fat, while the rub seasoning stays on top of the meat.
- Trim the fat cap to about ¼” thick. If you leave too much fat cap on, people will slice it off before they eat it, along with all of that delicious seasoning.
- Healthy tip: For a leaner dish, make the brisket one day ahead. After cooking, put the cooled brisket in the fridge. Do not simmer or reduce the sauce. The next day, you’ll be able to easily skim all the fat off the sauce before you cook it. You’ll get all the same flavor, but without the extra satiation from animal fats.
- Time-saving tip: Many recipes call for making the barbecue sauce yourself out of ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and spices. These ingredients are almost identical to those of store bought sauces. After the juices from the meat mingle with the sauce, it’s hard to tell whether a brisket is cooked in sauce made from scratch or from bottled sauce. I would opt to save time by using bottled sauce, and use the time I save to make sides instead.
Easy Five Spice-Braised BBQ Beef Brisket
Ingredients
- 3 lb beef brisket
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
Rub
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp five spice (sold in most Asian supermarkets)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the rub. Massage it all over the meat.
- Place meat in slow cooker, fatty side down. Pour barbecue sauce on top.
- Cook on low for 8-9 hours, basting meat with the sauce every two hours.
- When the meat is tender, but still firm enough to slice, remove to a cutting board. Let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour (or, however long your guests can wait!).
- While the meat is resting, pour the juices into a small saucepan and simmer until it has the thick consistency of barbecue sauce.
- Enjoy the sauce alongside sliced meat and a glass of Grenache!
Enjoyed this brisket and wine pairing? Check out our other wine pairings with classic American dishes:
