Enjoy a juicy, tender, mouth-watering leftover Texas brisket sandwich
I started thinking about brisket sandwiches the last time I was at a Buc-ee’s and tried one of their chopped brisket sandwiches. My first thought was “oh, this is delicious”, and my second thought was, “I have to go home and make some.”
Thus, this recipe was born. I started with smoked brisket, chopped it and fried it with BBQ sauce, and served it over a crusty, toasted bun with cheese and coleslaw on top. The result was an incredibly moist sandwich (due to the coleslaw topping), that was savory and delicious thanks to the tender brisket. Ingredient wise, it’s a fairly straightforward sandwich, but I think that allowed these ingredients to really shine.
How do I make brisket?
The first, and perhaps most important, step to this recipe is to get yourself some brisket. I found an incredible deal on brisket at Kroger for $2.50/lb, so I grabbed the biggest one I could find.
Brisket has to be cooked “low and slow”, aka for a long time at a low temperature, for it to become the tender delicious beef needed for this sandwich. This means you’re either going to have to slow cook it, or preferably, smoke it.
I documented how I smoked my brisket here. The smoked brisket came out great, and fueled a number of meals over the weekend.
What makes this a Texas Brisket Sandwich?
In short, this is a Texas brisket sandwich because the brisket was spiced and cooked in the Texas style. This means the rub was primarily based around coarse salt and cracked pepper, and smoked using a texas crutch (basically a foil wrap.)
If you were looking for a brisket sandwich served on Texas toast, that sounds great. You can easily use Texas toast instead of a bun in this recipe. If you use an oven to toast the bread, I recommend flipping it part way through so that both sides get good and crispy.
Do I need to use leftovers?
This recipe was written intending you to start with cold leftover brisket. However, it’d be supremely easy to use fresh, hot from the smoker, brisket for this sandwich. If you want to use hot and fresh brisket, I’d consider the pan frying step as optional, since it’s primarily intended to re-head the brisket.
If your BBQ sauce is particularly cold, you may wish to fry the meat anyway to avoid having a lukewarm sandwich.
If you elect to skip the frying step, I also recommend slicing your onion into half-moons and using them as a topping, rather than mixing cold raw onions into the hot brisket.
What kind of toppings go on a leftover Texas brisket sandwich?
I kept this sandwich simple with a slice of cheese and some coleslaw. Here are some other inspirational ideas to spruce up your sandwich:
- No toppings: Buc-ee’s sells their sandwiches as just meat mixed with sauce on a white bun, and they’re delicious!
- Pickles: A tangy dill pickle goes great on beef brisket the same way it would on a hamburger.
- Mustard: Tangy mustard contrasts well with a sweet BBQ sauce
- Sauteed peppers and onions: Think of it like fajita vegetables on top.
Awesome BBQ sandwich sides
If you’re looking to serve up some BBQ sides for this sandwich, consider these options:
- Parsley Potato Salad
- Honey Cornbread
- Leftover mac and cheese – just with brisket!
Other leftover brisket recipes
If you still have a ton of leftover brisket like I did, try some of these other meals I made with leftover Texas style brisket:
Recipe for Smoked Pot Roast
Leftover Texas Brisket Sandwich
Equipment
- 1 Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 6 oz Cooked Brisket
- 2-3 tbsp Barbeque Sauce
- 1 small onion
- 1 slice cheese
- 1 bun large, crusty
Instructions
Bun Instructions
- Slice the buns if not already, and butter each side. Lay a slice of cheese on the top slice, and bake both slices at 425F for 10 to 12 minutes. Check the buns for 10 minutes, and give them the extra 2 minutes if not sufficiently toasty. You can cook the brisket during this time.
Meat and Sandwich Instructions
- Start by thin slicing 6oz of leftover brisket. My slices were generally between 1/8 and ¼ inch thick, and I used a kitchen scale to weigh the brisket. Really, you just need to eyeball however much you want per sandwich.
- Cross cut the brisket slices every half inch or so, so that you’re left with small squares of brisket. Cross cut an onion until you have similarly sized squares of onion.
- Heat a pan to medium high heat and add a splash of cooking oil. When hot, add the sliced onion, and fry for around 3 minutes until the onions begin to turn translucent and brown. Add the brisket and a couple tablespoons of BBQ sauce. Mix the meat and sauce together, and continue to add small amounts of sauce until you find a consistency you like.
- Let the meat fry for 2-3 minutes, and stir occasionally. You can let the meat continue to fry until it reaches a crispness level you desire.
- When the buns are ready, pull them out of the oven, and pile the onion and brisket mixture onto the bottom bun. Spoon a couple tablespoons of coleslaw onto the cheese, close the sandwich, and enjoy!