Beef · Slow cooker

Slow Cooker Beef Brisket (Todd's Kitchen)

Todd's Kitchen beef brisket the slow cooker way: trim the fat, rub it overnight, then sit it in a homemade tomato barbecue sauce for 8 hours on Low. The sauce reduces at the end and pours back over the sliced brisket like a gravy.

R By Richard · Adapted from Todd's Kitchen · Published 10 June 2026
👁 204.7k source views ❤️ 1.8k source likes
⏱Prep 20 min
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 4 hr (High)
🍽Serves 6
How to cook BEEF BRISKET in a Slow Cooker Crock Pot

Source video by Todd's Kitchen on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

Todd trims the thickest fat caps from a beef brisket but leaves a thin layer for flavour, then dry-rubs it (composition not stated on camera, applied off-shot) and fridges it for at least two hours and up to 24. In the slow cooker, he builds a homemade barbecue sauce: two cloves of minced garlic, half a cup of apple cider vinegar, one and a half cups of ketchup, half a cup of firmly packed brown sugar, two teaspoons each of onion powder and mustard powder, a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, two teaspoons of black pepper and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. The brisket nests into the sauce; lid on, Low 8 hours (he says bump to 12 if you have the time). At the end the sauce gets thickened by boiling it down or using the sear function, then poured over the sliced brisket.

Slow cooker notes: Already a slow cooker recipe; no adaptation needed. The only thing to handle yourself is the dry rub, since Todd doesn't state its composition on camera (it was applied off-shot). A standard brisket rub of brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, salt, garlic powder and a touch of cayenne works fine.

Ingredients

Brisket
  • beef brisket, thick fat caps trimmed, thin layer of fat left on
  • dry brisket rub, rubbed all over the brisket and fridged for at least 2 hours, ideally 24
BBQ sauce
  • 2garlic cloves, minced
  • 120 mlapple cider vinegar
  • 360 mltomato ketchup
  • 120 mlsoft brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 2 tsponion powder
  • 2 tspmustard powder
  • 1 tspcayenne pepper
  • 2 tspblack pepper
  • 1 tspWorcestershire sauce

Method

  1. Trim the thickest fat caps from the brisket with a sharp knife. Leave a thin layer of fat all over for flavour. Apply your dry rub all over and pat it in. Cover and fridge for at least 2 hours, ideally 24.

    ~15 min

  2. In the slow cooker, combine 2 minced garlic cloves, 120 ml of apple cider vinegar, 360 ml of ketchup, 120 ml of firmly packed soft brown sugar, 2 tsp each of onion powder, mustard powder and black pepper, 1 tsp of cayenne and 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce. Mix until uniform.

    ~4 min

  3. Sit the rubbed brisket into the sauce. Push it down if needed so it sits in the liquid; it does not need to be fully submerged.

    ~1 min

  4. Lid on. Cook on Low for 8 hours. Don't lift the lid.

    ~480 min

  5. Lift the brisket onto a plate to rest. The sauce will be thin at this stage.

    ~5 min

  6. Reduce the sauce: either pour it into a saucepan and boil for a few minutes until it thickens to a barbecue-sauce consistency, or use the sear function on your slow cooker on high for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly so the base doesn't burn.

    ~8 min

  7. Slice the brisket across the grain. Pour the reduced sauce over the slices and serve more on the side.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked

Why leave a thin layer of fat?
The fat carries the flavour through the 8-hour cook and bastes the meat as it renders. Strip it all off and the brisket will be drier and blander.
What's in the dry rub?
Todd doesn't state it on camera; the rub was applied off-shot. A standard brisket rub of soft brown sugar, paprika, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a touch of cayenne works fine.
Can I cook on High instead?
Yes, 4 hours on High will get the brisket cooked through, but Todd specifically says it comes out better on Low. Brisket rewards slow more than most cuts; if you have the time, run it on Low.
Do I have to reduce the sauce at the end?
Yes, otherwise it pours like watery ketchup. Five minutes on the boil is enough to bring it back to a glossy, thick barbecue-sauce texture.
Extraction notes (transparency): Brisket weight is never stated on camera. Dry rub composition not stated on camera; rub was prepared and applied off-shot. Servings not stated; estimated at 6 from a typical brisket. All barbecue sauce quantities explicit; cup measures converted to ml (1 cup = 240 ml).