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Three brisket tacos on a wooden plate with lime slices behind it and a bowl of guacamole to the side.
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Brisket Tacos

My new favorite taco night calls for a platter of these crispy brisket tacos, and you fellow BBQ lovers will agree! Corn tortillas are stuffed with tender brisket, caramelized onions and melted smoked cheddar and then baked or fried to crunchy perfection. Now let's pour ourselves a margarita, grab a bowl of salsa and devour some tacos.
Course Main Dishes
Cuisine Mexican-American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8 tacos
Calories 162kcal
Author Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

  • Cast-iron skillet
  • Large sheet pan for baking tacos

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons salted butter
  • 1 sliced sweet yellow onion
  • Pinch of sugar, salt and pepper
  • Canola oil
  • 8 corn tortillas
  • 1 cup chopped or shredded brisket
  • 8 tablespoons shredded smoked cheddar slightly more than ½ cup
  • Favorite toppings such as sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cilantro, lime slices, etc.

Instructions

Pan-Fried Brisket Tacos

  • Add butter to a large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Once it melts, add the onion slices and sprinkle the pinch of sugar, salt and pepper on top. Cook until the onion slices caramelize, stirring only occasionally. Reserve.
  • Heat a corn tortilla in the microwave just until it's pliable, about 10 seconds, depending on the microwave.
  • Spoon about 2 tablespoons brisket onto one side of the tortilla and top with a couple caramelized onion slices and about 1 tablespoon smoked cheddar. Fold the other side of the tortilla on top, gently pressing to adhere the tortillas to the brisket mixture. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
  • Add enough oil to a large cast-iron skillet so that there's a layer on the bottom over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to simmer, carefully add three to four tacos to the skillet. Cook on one side until the tortillas brown, about three to five minutes. Carefully flip the tacos and cook on the other side until also brown, another three to five minutes. If necessary, adjust heat as frying. Repeat with remaining tacos. Serve with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

Baked Brisket Tacos

  • Add butter to a large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Once it melts, add the onion slices and sprinkle the pinch of sugar, salt and pepper on top. Cook until the onion slices caramelize, stirring only occasionally. Reserve.
  • Turn oven to 450 degrees. Heat a corn tortilla in the microwave just until it's pliable, about 10 seconds, depending on the microwave.
  • Using a pastry brush, coat one side of the tortilla with olive oil. On the uncoated side, spoon about 2 tablespoons brisket onto one side of the tortilla and top with a couple caramelized onion slices and about 1 tablespoon smoked cheddar. Fold the other side of the tortilla on top, gently pressing to adhere the tortillas to the brisket mixture. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
  • Place filled tortillas on a large baking sheet. Bake until the tacos start to brown on the bottom side, about five to seven minutes. Flip the tacos and bake until the other side browns and the cheese melts, about another five minutes.
  • Remove from oven. Serve with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

Notes

  • I love to use my leftover smoked brisket for these tacos. If you don't have a smoker, you can always pick up brisket from your favorite local BBQ joint and use another cooking method, such as the oven or slow cooker.
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 113mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 173IU | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 1mg