This article is about the cut of meat or other dishes made with it. For the smoked brisket dish popular in Texas, see Texas smoked brisket. Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower smoked corned beef of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally.
Brisket can be cooked many ways, including baking, boiling and roasting. Basting of the meat is often done during the cooking. This normally tough cut of meat, due to the collagen fibers that make up the significant connective tissue in the cut, is tenderised when the collagen gelatinises, resulting in more tender brisket. Popular methods in the United States include rubbing with a spice rub or marinating the meat, and then cooking slowly over indirect heat from charcoal or wood.