Barbecued Brisket
These smoky, wonderfully juicy tacos mix two great culinary traditions—Mexican and Texas barbecue, both notable for their intense, but subtle seasoning. In the United States, the cooking of the Old West was heavily influenced by the charros (Mexican cowboys) who cooked over open fires that infused meat with a smoky essence that so many of us find addictive. In Texas, the wood both of choice and necessity is mesquite, usually mixed with oak to soften the hard green tones of the mesquite. This recipe is easy to do, but requires some advance planning, as the brisket must sit in its rub overnight, and a little patience during the slow cooking. But the results are some of the best tasting barbecue that you have ever eaten. Buy fresh, not prepackaged, brisket that isn’t overly fatty—the fat should cover no more than one-third of its surface. Or, you can buy the leaner, thinner end, if you prefer. A piquant cabbage slaw makes a good accompaniment.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 12 tacos
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
To make the barbecue rub, in a small bowl, combine the smoked salt, ancho chile powder, chipotle powder, and black pepper. Sprinkle the rub over the entire brisket and massage the spices well into the surface of the meat. Place the brisket in a nonreactive pan, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 to 6 hours.
Step 2
To make the barbecue sauce, in the jar of a blender, add the 2 cups chipotle barbecue sauce, roasted garlic, tomatoes, onion, Tabasco, chipotle puree, and liquid smoke and puree until smooth. You should have about 3 1/2 cups sauce. Reserve 2 1/2 cups for cooking the brisket.
Step 3
To make a sauce for the tacos, put the remaining 1 cup barbecue sauce in a saucepan with 1/2 cup water and cook, covered, over low heat, 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside at room temperature if using the same day. Or transfer to a container and refrigerate until needed; gently reheat before serving.
Step 4
To cook the brisket, in a very large skillet (12 to 14 inches), heat the canola oil over high heat until very hot. Decrease the heat to medium-high and sear the spice-rubbed brisket on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. The spice rub on the meat should be a dark mahogany color, but not burned. Remove from the heat, reserving any browned crusty bits from the pan.
Step 5
Preheat the oven to 275°F. Line a roasting pan with two 18-inch-long sheets of 12-inch-wide heavy-duty aluminum foil. Have another 18 by 12-inch sheet of heavy-duty foil ready. Place 1 1/4 cups of the reserved barbecue sauce on the foil. On the sauce, place the brisket and any browned, crusty bits from the skillet in the center of the foil. Pour over the remaining 1 1/4 cups barbecue sauce. Seal into a tight packet by crimping the ends of the foil together and mold the remaining piece of foil around the packet to keep steam from escaping. Place in the oven and cook until you can insert a fork with just a little resistance, about 4 1/2 hours (or about 5 hours if you prefer a more tender brisket).
Step 6
Remove from the oven, open the foil to let the steam escape (be careful, the steam is hot), and let the meat cool in its juices for about 15 minutes. The meat should pull apart with 2 forks and still have a toothsome texture. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the meat juices and add to the reserved barbecue sauce and rewarm to serve with the tacos as a sauce.
Step 7
Shred the meat along the grain with forks and reserve in a saucepan with some of the remaining pan juices. Serve immediately or keep warm in the pan until ready to serve.
Step 8
To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the slaw and filling equally between the tortillas and top with crema and barbecue sauce. Grab, fold, and eat right away. Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla, open face, in one hand. Spoon on some slaw and filling, top with crema and barbecue sauce, and eat right away.
