Recipe: BBQ Brisket (in oven)

Tasty Catering, based in Elk Grove Village, Ill., served this 18-hour beef brisket at this summer's picnic for employees in Google's Chicago office.


Yield: 20 servings

8 cups Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce or another molasses-based smoky barbecue sauce
? cup garlic powder
? cup coarsely ground black pepper
? cup Cajun seasoning
6 to 8 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
• Preheat oven to 240 degrees.

• Combine the first four ingredients to make the sauce. Reserve 1 cup of sauce. Immerse the brisket completely in the sauce, and rub vigorously.

• Transfer brisket to a sheet pan lined with parchment. Place brisket in oven and cook for 18 hours, or until the meat registers 175 degrees on a meat thermometer. Remove from oven and let cool.

• Slice brisket 1/8-inch-thick and transfer to a 12 x 10-inch disposable foil pan. Top meat with reserved sauce and cover with aluminum foil.

• Freeze for two or three days. (Freezing and thawing tenderizes the meat.)

• Remove from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator for two days.

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Uncover brisket and warm for 40 minutes.