Brisket

Halal Brisket, a Cut Like No Other

Halal Beef Brisket is known as the king cut for low-and-slow cooking. Well known for its delicious flavour, it’s worth the wait. If you have ever tried Brisket, you’ll have fond memories of flavoursome, tasty beef. If you have ever cooked Brisket, you’ll remember exerting patience, as the longer you let it cook, the deeper the flavour. 

If you don’t have the patience for the long cooking time, we have you covered with our Halal Smoked Prime Beef Brisket!  A pre-cooked brisket smoked over a lengthy 16-hour period by experts in the smoking space. This way, you can skip the slow-cooking process and enjoy delicious flavours in the comfort of your own home!

What is Brisket?

Brisket is a popular cut among meat-lovers worldwide. Halal Beef Brisket has fat covering one side and is perfect on a smoker, slow-cooked in the oven, or grilled on a BBQ. There are so many ways to prepare Brisket, whether you’re making pulled beef or want a halal meaty Brisket burger. Whatever you are in the mood for, we have the cut for you at Saffron Alley. Our Brisket is one of our most popular cuts across our large range of halal beef online order options. To make cooking easier, we offer halal brisket diced, whole, or rolled and tied.You can also leave notes at checkout for our experienced butchers to keep in mind when preparing your order.

Our grass-fed Halal Brisket (and all products across our site) are antibiotic-free and hormone-free. All animals are free to roam and graze on nutrient-rich pastures. We believe in promoting better animal welfare standards and total transparency and are always happy to answer any questions.

Our range includes everything from Halal Wagyu steaks to Halal Angus smashed burgers. Whether you are a novice or an avid beef expert, we have the cut you want, ready to deliver to your door.

We also stock a range of 100% halal products you can order online and have delivered to your doorstep, including Halal Chicken, Lamb, Steaks, Halal Turkey, Burgers, Sausages, and Broths. We also have a range of Marinades and Deli items to make your cooking experience easier.

Halal or Not: The Truth About Brisket

Beef Brisket is Halal as long as it is reared and slaughtered in accordance with Islamic principles. This means that it should be reared ethically, allowed to roam free and fed a natural diet. At the time of slaughter, the animal should not experience pain, nor witness any pain. Maintaining halal standards at every step is key. Rest assured, here at Saffron Alley, Halal Tayyib (Pure) is a priority in all we do.

Which Animal Provides Brisket: Cow, Pig, or Another Source?

Halal Brisket is a cut of beef (from a cow) from the lower breast or pectoral muscles beneath the first five ribs and behind the foreshank. Because this area is well-defined, halal brisket is a tough cut full of connective tissue and muscle. Hence, it is best cooked slowly and at a low temperature. The longer it cooks, the more the brisket breaks down, bringing out the deeper flavours.

While it is not very common, some butchers stock Pork Brisket, which comes from the same part of a pig. Rest assured, Saffron Alley does not stock any pork items. We only stock Halal items. Our Halal Beef Brisket is sourced from cattle that have been reared naturally and cared for.

How do you cook Brisket?

You can cook brisket in many ways, but the key is always patience and timing. The longer you cook it, the more you are rewarded. You can grill brisket on the BBQ or oven-roast it. The more traditional way to cook Brisket is in a traditional smoker.

One key thing to note about Beef Brisket is that it holds a lot of connective tissue and muscle, which is what makes it such a special cut. The longer you cook your Brisket, the better the flavour. Slow cooking produces the best flavours and textures. Our personal go-to is slow cooking on the BBQ or in a smoker to get the perfect balance of tender meat with hints of smoke.

Is brisket good for smoking?

Absolutely! Many consider brisket one of the best cuts of meat for smoking. During the smoking process, tough connective tissue turns into juicy, tender flavour. 

Seasoning and Prep:

1. We recommend marinating your brisket overnight if you can. You can either use a dry rub or inject your favourite sauce into the brisket
2. Ensure you pat your brisket dry prior to seasoning
3. Season to your preference; we recommend being generous! Use salt and black pepper, and feel free to add a BBQ rub or your favourite spices. If you want to skip the steps (we usually do), you can use our OG SPC Rub or our Sweet n’ Smokey Black BBQ Rub. Our rubs are gluten-free and sulphite-free, and we do not add any extra caking agents.
4. Remove your brisket from the fridge around 30 minutes before you start cooking to allow it to come to room temperature

Cooking Brisket In An Oven:

1. Sear your brisket on all sides in a hot pan, forming a rich crust
2. Transfer into a roasting tray or a cast iron / Dutch oven pan of choice
3. Add in your beef stock, onions, garlic and herbs
4. Cover with foil or tightly with a lid and put in a pre-heated oven (140–160°C)
5. Cook for around 1 hour per kilogram or until your meat is nice and tender (cooking time will always vary based on the thickness of the brisket, so keep an eye on tenderness rather than the clock)
6. Ensure you let your brisket rest before slicing and serving

Cooking Your Brisket In A Smoker:

1. You can wrap your brisket during cooking to help retain moisture
2. Smoke at 110-120°C
3. Cook until the internal temperature reaches around 92-96°C
4. Once your brisket is cooked, leave it to rest for one hour before slicing and serving
5. This allows juices to redistribute and keeps your brisket tender and full of flavour

How to Make Tender Pulled Brisket

Keep cooking your brisket until you can shred it with two forks with no effort.

You can head to our Butcher’s blog for more guidance and recipes to help you decide how to cook your halal Brisket. One of our top recipes that is easy to follow for cooking brisket would be the Rolled, Tied and Stuffed Halal Beef Brisket Recipe - perfect for a cosy winter night.

Don’t forget to tag us in your pictures on socials @Saffron_Alley so we can admire, get inspired and re-share.

How much Brisket should I order/prepare per person?

It really depends on what you are making and what you are serving alongside your Brisket. We’d usually recommend around 250g per person, but you can adapt this as required. Given how long Brisket takes to cook, we recommend cooking a generous portion and enjoying all the time you have invested.

Brisket for Beginners: Is Your First Time Worth It?

We always recommend giving new options a try - it may just be your new favourite! To help you try it, we have affordable variations of the product. You also get plenty of meat when you opt for brisket, making it a great option if you’re dining with others (although you may not want to share). You could also give our smoky sliced brisket slices a try.

To give you an idea of the flavours to expect: brisket is perfect for someone who enjoys meaty flavours. If you enjoy a good beef burger, a steak, or beef rashers, you will most likely enjoy brisket. 

Can I freeze beef brisket?

Yes, you can freeze brisket, raw, cooked, whole or sliced. We send our brisket vacuum-sealed to maintain freshness and make it easy to freeze items, should you wish to do so. Please follow safety guidelines and note down when you freeze items.

Is grass-fed brisket different from grain-fed brisket?

Yes, you can taste the difference. Grass-fed cattle grow much more slowly compared to grain-fed cattle and can be more expensive; they also tend to be lower-weight animals. That is why many mainstream butchers opt for grain-fed cattle. Grain-fed cattle also tend to have more marbling and can be slightly easier to cook. On the other hand, grass-fed cattle are considered better for nutrition and health and result in leaner beef. It also results in higher nutritional value. Grass-fed beef can have up to five times more omega-3 fatty acids, along with higher vitamin E and vitamin A. Overall, grass-fed beef has a stronger, earthier taste, while grain-fed beef has a mild flavour. 

Saffron Alley vs. the Local Butcher: Why Online Wins

At Saffron Alley, our ethics are at the core of everything we do. When you shop at Saffron Alley, you can buy high-quality, fairly priced meat from animals treated with care. Our entire range is hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and free from any Nasties. We focus on a natural grass-fed diet with animals roaming freely as nature intended.

Sourcing Halal Brisket in the UK can be difficult and often isn’t available at your local butcher. To address this, we maintain strong links with our farmers to provide premium-quality meat without the high markups.

One challenge of shopping locally at your butcher is that you are always unsure what you will find. You are also often purchasing old meat that has been sitting in a fridge for up to 10 days; hence, meat often starts to smell or goes off relatively quickly. When you shop at Saffron Alley, you know your meat is fresh. Our butchers cut your meat before dispatch and vacuum-seal each item. We then place it in a chilled box and deliver it directly to your door. This means you get your order as soon as possible and your items haven't been sitting around. This keeps items fresher for longer and ensures they taste better too. 

We believe in high-quality control standards to ensure animals are treated with the highest standards and ethically reared. Maintaining Halal Tayyib standards and prioritising animal welfare is at the heart of all that we do. To make this possible, we work only with select partners and follow strict quality control processes. 

Halal Tayyib (Pure) is of utmost importance to us, and the proof is in our reviews. We take customer feedback very seriously and are always updating our processes. If you have any questions or feedback, please reach out via info@saffronalley.com or use our Contact Us form here.