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So you’ve gone through all the trouble of smoking a brisket, but here’s the thing: everybody – yourself included, is full of BBQ… but there’s still a TON of leftovers.
Having brisket leftovers isn’t a shocking outcome – no matter whether you smoked it yourself or picked some beef up from your local BBQ joint. After all, a whole brisket can be upwards of 12-16 pounds, so it’s not uncommon at all for there to be a ton of leftovers.
There’s no doubt that you can do a lot with brisket leftovers, but one of my absolute favorites is leftover brisket tacos. They’re incredibly easy to make, and there’s something just so right about eating this type of BBQ on a taco.
In this article, we’ve created a complete guide to leftover brisket tacos and we’ve also shared our favorite leftover brisket tacos recipe. By the end, you’ll be well on your way to getting the most out of your tasty BBQ seconds.
Why Leftover Brisket Tacos
When it comes to crowd pleasing food, brisket is at the top of the list of universally liked BBQ beef.
It’s the staple cut of meat for sale at BBQ joints across the country, and it’s also a rewarding meat to smoke at home when you do it right. Fire up your smoker, pick some wood to burn, and cook your brisket low and slow to a perfection of beefy flavor, tenderness, and signature BBQ bark.
Brisket is a tasty entree on its own, whether it’s sliced or chopped. When it comes to the best way to eat brisket though, brisket tacos probably fly a little bit under the radar.
So what makes leftover brisket tacos so great? To me, it comes down to two big reasons.
First and foremost, they’re super easy to make. I find that most times the day after a big BBQ, the last thing I want to do is spend a bunch of time preparing another huge meal. Leftover brisket tacos are great because you can whip up quite the delicious meal with minimal time and effort. All you need is your reheated brisket, tortillas, and a few other ingredients to go in your leftover brisket tacos.
The second thing that makes leftover brisket tacos a fantastic choice is that there is lots of versatility in what you’re able to do with them. No matter who you’re preparing them for, the options for toppings and ingredients are almost endless for making your tacos.
The Key to Great Leftovers
Any time we’re talking leftover BBQ, there’s one super important step to be aware of when whipping up your seconds.
It’s an absolute must that you reheat your brisket the right way. If you don’t, you’re going to be left with chewy, tough tacos that frankly aren’t worth the trouble of putting together.
We’ve put together a complete guide with multiple methods for how to reheat brisket here, but here are a few steps to take to make sure your leftovers are just as tender and tasty as when they came off the smoker:
- Preheat your oven to 300°F.
- Grab a baking dish and place your brisket leftovers inside. Pour over any juices and drippings that you might have saved from your BBQ. If you didn’t save any drippings or juices then you can splash a little bit of broth or apple juice over your meat instead.
- Cover your baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Place the brisket into the oven.
- If it’s a hunk of unsliced brisket, plan on the reheating process taking 45 minutes to an hour. Sliced brisket will reheat faster, about 20-25 minutes.
- Remove after your brisket has warmed for the above time suggestions. If you want to be really precise, measure the internal temperature of your meat with a probe thermometer. It’s ready to serve once it reaches 160°F.
If you follow these steps and don’t overcook your preserved brisket, you’ll be well on your way to delicious leftover brisket tacos!
Our Favorite Leftover Brisket Tacos Recipe
After you’ve got your reheated BBQ ready to go, it’s time to put together your leftover brisket tacos recipe! They are really easy to construct, and there are a ton of different types of tacos you can make with brisket – but our favorite is a smoked brisket street tacos recipe that has some major carne asada tacos vibes!
Here’s a list of the ingredients you’ll need for our favorite simple leftover brisket tacos recipe:
- About 1 pound of reheated brisket
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1/4 cup white onion, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, diced
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/2 cup cotija cheese
- 1/4 cup sliced jalapeños (optional)
The beauty of this recipe? All you have to do from here is construct your tacos – that’s it! Start with a tortilla, place some brisket on the tortilla, then top brisket with the other toppings.
Personally, I like to warm my tortillas before constructing the tacos too. You can do this on a stove top, in the oven, or on the grill – whatever is easiest!
Smoked Brisket Street Tacos (Leftover Brisket Tacos Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 lb brisket reheated
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1/4 cup white onion diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro diced
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1/2 cup cotija cheese
- 1/4 cup sliced jalapeños sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F to reheat leftover brisket.
- Place brisket leftovers in a baking dish. Pour over any juices or drippings that you saved to add moisture. You can also splash a little bit of apple juice or broth instead.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place the dish into the oven.
- Heat brisket to an internal temperature of 160°F. This typically takes 20-25 minutes for sliced or chopped brisket.
- Distribute heated brisket evenly across corn tortillas.
- Top brisket with remaining toppings. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Other Easy Ideas for Leftover Brisket Tacos
You might not have all of the fixins ready and available for our Mexican street taco inspired recipe, so here are a couple of other simple and tasty ideas for your leftovers!
Fully Loaded Brisket Breakfast Tacos
I’m going to let all of you in on a little secret. Most people don’t consider brisket often as an ingredient for breakfast tacos – but let me tell you, leftover brisket breakfast tacos are the perfect way to get your day started. Here’s what you need:
- Flour tortillas
- Refried beans
- Scrambled eggs
- Leftover brisket
- Hash browns
- Shredded cheese
- BBQ sauce, salsa, or hot sauce – whichever you like best
This one is simple too. Grab a tortilla and smear refried beans as a base layer. Then add eggs, top with leftover brisket, hash browns, and shredded cheese. Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce, salsa, or hot sauce.
Tex Mex Leftover Brisket Tacos
Another tasty option is Tex-Mex style tacos that center around a delicious balance of pico de gallo (which consists of diced tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and spices) and avocado.
- Leftover brisket
- Corn or flour tortillas
- Pico de gallo (homemade or store bought both work)
- Smashed avocado
This recipe works great with both corn and flour tortillas.
Traditional BBQ Brisket Tacos
This recipe is as simple as it gets, but incredibly delicious. All you need is:
- Leftover brisket
- BBQ sauce
- Diced white onion
- Flour tortillas
Boom – that’s it. Place your brisket inside the flour tortillas then top with diced onion and drizzle BBQ sauce over the top. These take less than a minute to put together and deliver incredible flavor.
Final Thoughts
I hope this article has inspired and given you a few ideas for how to get the most out of your brisket! It’s just one of those foods that I always seem to order too much of, so I’m always looking for new ways to enjoy leftover brisket.
Leftover brisket tacos are a great way to make the most out of your extra BBQ. Did you try out any of our recipes? How did you like them? Have a brisket taco recipe that you want to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
Check out our brisket mac and cheese recipe next for more ways to get the most out of your leftover beef!
