Christmas Brisket with Cranberry-Orange Barbecue Sauce

green christmas platter of sliced brisket with bowl of cranberry bbq sauce, slices of orange, fresh cranberry garnish

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5 from 1 vote

Christmas Brisket with Cranberry-Orange Barbecue Sauce

This festive holiday brisket is slow-cooked and served with a tart & tangy cranberry-orange barbecue sauce.

Prep Time15

Cook Time6

Resting Time2

Total Time8 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 377kcal

Author: Holly Lee

Cost: $50

Equipment

1 Pellet Grill or Smoker recommended, but if you don't have one, use slow cooker
1 Slow Cooker optional--if you do not have smoker
1 Meat Thermometer
1 Immersion Blender or regular blender

Ingredients

Brisket

3-5 pound Brisket
2 tablespoon Yellow Mustard
2 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
2 teaspoon Dried Rosemary
2 teaspoon Dried Thyme

Cranberry-Orange Barbecue Sauce

1 cup Fresh Cranberries
2 medium Oranges
1/2 cup Honey
2 tablespoon Brown Sugar see notes if you want sauce less sweet
2 tablespoon Tomato Paste
3 tablespoon Ketchup
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

Instructions

Brisket Smoker Instructions (See Notes for Slow Cooker)

Remove your thawed brisket from the refrigerator an hour before you'd like to prep it for the smoker. Let it sit on the counter to come to room temperature.
3-5 pound Brisket
Preheat your smoker/grill to 250 degrees F.
Place your brisket on a cutting board and trim excess fat so that the fat cap is only about 1/4 inch thick. Rub 2 tbsp of yellow mustard over all sides of the brisket. Mix the salt, pepper, garlic & onion powders, and dried rosemary & thyme in a small dish, and rub it evenly over all sides of the brisket. You can scale the seasonings up as needed for larger briskets. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the brisket.
2 tablespoon Yellow Mustard, 2 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt, 2 teaspoon Black Pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1 teaspoon Onion Powder, 2 teaspoon Dried Rosemary, 2 teaspoon Dried Thyme
Place your brisket directly on the grill grates fat side down. Close the lid and let it smoke for a couple of hours until the internal temp reaches 165-170 degrees.
Briefly remove the brisket from the smoker to wrap it in aluminum foil. Place it back on the smoker and let it finish cooking until it reaches an internal temperature of 203-205 degrees F. The meat is done when you poke it with a temperature probe and it goes in like butter.
Pull the brisket off the smoker. Leave it in the foil, but wrap it in a towel and place it in a small cooler to rest for 2-4 hours.
After the rest period is complete, remove the brisket from the cooler and it's wraps. Place it on a cutting board and slice it thinly against the grain.
Plate your brisket and serve it with the cranberry-orange barbeque sauce (directions below) and garnishes of sliced orange, fresh cranberries, and sprigs of fresh herbs if desired.

Cranberry-Orange Barbeque Sauce

Rinse your fresh cranberries and wash your oranges. Since we will be including orange peel (zest) in this recipe, you want to make sure your oranges are clean.
1 cup Fresh Cranberries, 2 medium Oranges
Place the rinsed cranberries in a saucepan. Zest the outside of both of the oranges right into the saucepan, then quarter the oranges and squeeze the juice from each quarter into the pot as well, followed by the honey.
1/2 cup Honey
Place your saucepan onto the stove and heat it to medium-high heat. Boil the cranberry mixture until the berries are broken down and the sauce begins to thicken.
Turn the heat down to low while you add the rest of the ingredients--brown sugar, tomato paste, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Increase heat to medium and boil until it reduces to your desired thickness.
2 tablespoon Brown Sugar, 2 tablespoon Tomato Paste, 3 tablespoon Ketchup, 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon Dijon Mustard, 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt, 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce right in the pot to create an even texture. You can also do this in a regular blender, but an immersion blender is less messy.
Your sauce is done and ready to serve! Pour it into a jar or other container and refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

Video

Notes

Wrap or No Wrap? Wrapping the brisket at 165°F is optional, but recommended. The purpose of the wrap is to speed up the smoke and help you get past a stall.

Smaller briskets don't stall as hard as larger briskets do. However, you may still wish to wrap the brisket, even if using a small one. In my experience, it can help keep smaller briskets from drying out.

But if you want a crispier bark and stronger smoke flavor, you can skip the wrap.

Brisket Timing: To get tender brisket, you need to cook it to a high enough temperature that the connective tissue breaks down. An internal temperature between 203-205°F is generally recommended, but each piece of meat varies. I usually pull my briskets off at 205°F.

However, my best tip to see if your brisket is ready to pull off the smoker is to poke it with a temperature probe. It should go in like butter. If there is too much resistance, keep cooking.

Expect 1.5-2 hours per pound for the size brisket listed in this recipe. Larger briskets will need more time.

You can omit the brown sugar if you want the sauce less sweet.

Slow Cooker Instructions: To make this brisket in the slow cooker, still trim the excess fat from the brisket and rub in the mustard and seasonings outlined in the recipe. Put it in the slow cooker with 1 cup of beef broth poured around it for a cooking liquid. Cook it on low for 6-8 hours until it is tender, but not falling apart. Check on it periodically--you can poke it with a probe to see when it's tender enough to remove from the crockpot. If you cook it too long, you'll have shredded beef on your hands.

Nutrition