How To Cook A Brisket In The Oven Overnight

Last Updated on 10th March 2022 by

Would you like to learn how to slow cook a brisket so that it comes out succulent and tasty hours later? You can cook brisket in the oven overnight using this method that’s been perfected by many cooks over the years.

When you prepare a brisket this way, it ends up being very tender and juicy, and it’s perfectly cooked. You don’t have to keep an eye on it or check it every so often.

A brisket does tend to be a time-intensive dish to cook, but if you know that going in, you can fit this lengthy cooking experience into your schedule when it’s convenient for you.

It’s going to take a couple days to complete the entire process, so just be prepared for that.

How to Thaw a Brisket Overnight

Before you start cooking or preparing a brisket, it needs to thaw out. You don’t want to try to cook a frozen brisket, since that will just extend the cook time longer.

A brisket is a large cut of meat, so it’s going to take a while to thaw from frozen. There are two different ways you can thaw the brisket completely. You can either leave it on the counter at room temperature for about 24 hours, or you can take it from the freezer and put it in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Either way you do it, you want to make sure the brisket is fully thawed out before you start to marinate.

So, if you’re looking to thaw out a brisket overnight, it’ll have to be left on the counter.

How to Marinate Brisket Overnight

Most brisket marinating directions will have you marinating for one to two days. Your brisket will be more thoroughly marinated if you let it rest in the marinade sauce for 48 hours, but it can be adequately marinated overnight.

I’ll share with you a recipe for homemade marinade if you’d prefer not to buy it from the grocery and just make it yourself.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of horseradish
1 ½ tablespoons of lemon juice
½ cup of olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons of mustard
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder

You can mix all of this together to create sauce and then pour that over your brisket. Pack the brisket into a sealable plastic bag and place in the fridge overnight. If possible, turn the brisket every couple of hours.

It’s perfectly fine to use a dry rub rather than a liquid marinade. If the recipe I provided for marinating isn’t to your liking, there are tons of others great marinating recipes you can look up, some of which may use ingredients you already have on hand.

How to Cook Brisket in the Oven Overnight

It’s usually advisable to cover your brisket with foil and cook it overnight. This helps trap in the juices and create a very tender, savory brisket. This method for how to cook a brisket in the oven overnight in foil is designed to be very simple and not require any intervention during the cooking time.

That way, you can leave it to cook all night long without having to worry about it whether it’s cooking well or if anything needs to be done to help it along.

Begin by preheating the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. This low temperature allows you to cook the brisket for a long time without having to interfere with it. Take it your marinated brisket out of the refrigerator and place it in the already heated oven.

It should cook for about an hour for every pound of meat. So, if you’re going to be cooking the brisket overnight in the oven, you’ll need a rather large brisket that’s at least six or seven pounds.

That’s if you’re trying to get a good night’s sleep. If that’s not so much a concern for you, then by all means go for smaller brisket that cooks faster.

When you check on the brisket, you’ll know it’s done when it reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit. It can get a little higher than that, which does happen when you leave meat cooking in the oven overnight like that.

Just don’t let it go too much higher and 200 degrees, or it can dry out or burn.

The marinating sauce we use for the brisket and the juices the brisket will create for itself will help the meat cook to a very tender texture. It should come apart easily when you try to shred the meat off the bone.

How to Cook a Frozen Brisket in the Oven Overnight

If you have a frozen brisket and you’re hoping to cook it overnight in the oven, you may be out of luck. It’s going to take at least 24 hours for a frozen brisket to thaw out all the way. If you want to speed up the process, I recommend running it under cold water or resting it in a tub of cold water until it thaws out.

This will take a couple of hours. It’s not advisable to put the brisket to defrost in the microwave (if you even have a microwave that large), since the brisket can start cooking in there, messing up your overall cook time.

If you are really trying to get the entire brisket cooked by the next day, you will want to speed through the thawing out process and then cook the brisket according to the directions I’ve given you above. Don’t try to cook a frozen brisket, as it will have trouble cooking all the way through and will probably cook unevenly.

Try not to shorten the cooking process, as you can burn or dry out the brisket. You can skip the marinating step, if you like, but you will end up with a brisket that’s not as flavorful as it could be.

As I said in the beginning of the article, it’s ideal to have several days of preparation before you stick your brisket in the oven, just so it comes out perfectly. If that’s not possible, there are a few shortcuts you can take that I already mentioned that will still ensure your brisket gets cooked.

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Pauline

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I'm Pauline, a mother of four grown children, my passion for cooking stemmed from the joy i get cooking for my family. I love to try new dishes, especially when dining out but creating and sharing my own recipes is my favourite thing to do!