BBQ Brisket Chilli

Right, we’re going to be making a couple of assumptions with this recipe here. 

The first being that you know how to smoke a packer cut brisket, Texas-style. If you don’t, please head to our product page for some straight-forward instructions by chef Richard H. Turner.

Secondly, we are making a rash suggestion that after smoking a 6kg lump of beef over oak, hickory or cherry, for up to 13 hours, you might just have some leftovers. 

Of course, this could be an absolute nonsense. And if it is, you can always cook this dish from scratch, using a 1.5kg cut of either point end or flat end. 

A big part of this low and slow treatment is to assemble the chilli in a cast-iron pot and then leave it cooking in your BBQ with the lid ajar, so that the braise can soak up all those smokey flavours. And brisket will certainly benefit from this approach, as would short rib or bone-in shin.

But if you’ve had a party and managed to squirrel some of the good stuff away and out of sight, do try this approach the next day.

Just try to remember where you hid it.

BBQ Brisket Chilli - serves 10

Ingredients

1.5kg leftover smoked brisket (or freshly cut point or flat, depending on the situation)

100g beef dripping

2 large onions, peeled and sliced

2 celery sticks, sliced

6 garlic cloves, crushed

250g Waberthwaite pancetta

2tbs tomato purée

2tbs cumin seeds, toasted and ground

2tbs Ancho chilli paste

2 tins of chopped tomatoes

2 tins of red kidney beans

700ml beef stock

Maldon sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

Jacket potatoes

Cheddar cheese, grated

Sour cream

Lime, cut into wedges

Method

First, set up your BBQ for indirect cooking and bring up to 115°C. Add a good amount of soaked oak or hickory chips to the coals (for a touch of smoke) and slice your brisket, cooked or fresh, into even strips.

Place your cast-iron pot or casserole on the hob over a medium heat and add the dripping, followed by the onion and celery. Sweat down for 10 minutes until soft and then add the garlic, followed by the pancetta and cook for another 5 minutes.

Next, add the ground cumin, Ancho chilli paste, tomato purée and cook off for another couple of minutes before adding the brisket, chopped tomatoes and red kidney beans, stirring everything to combine.

Add the beef stock and a generous amount of salt and pepper and bring up to a simmer before transferring to the BBQ. Remember to set the lid ajar on top.

Leave to cook for 4-5 hours, stirring every now and then, until the sauce has reduced and is looking dark and rich.

Serve on jacket potatoes with sour cream, grated cheese and crispy dried onions on top, along with a wedge of lime to squeeze over.

TOP TIP: If using fresh brisket and your pot is big enough, try placing the cut in whole with the vegetables and stock. And then once cooked, simply shred the meat up in the pot.