You can use any tender beef cut for this, think slow cooked short ribs or even a thinly sliced picanha. For us however it's got to be brisket for the wow factor. Serve your sliced beef in a soft taco with a fresh spicy Pico de gallo salsa and balance with a rich espresso mayo.

 

This is great party dish which can be prepped in advice or cooked as a collaboration with your friends and family. A great alternative to the sunday roast, nail the timings and have the brisket ready to pull off the smoker with your guests and they will be seriously impressed with your BBQ prowess!

To make these delicious tacos you'll need:

  • Soft mini tortilla wraps (corn or wheat)
  • Full fat mayonnaise
  • Espresso coffee
  • Beef
  • BBQ Rub of your choice (we used SPG)
  • Wood chunks
  • Firm tomatoes
  • Red onions
  • Red chillies 
  • Garlic
  • White wine vinegar
  • Lime juice
  • Fresh fresh
  • Sea Salt

The Beef

If frozen or refrigerated, bring your brisket up to room temperature and generously coat with your favourite beef BBQ rub, we recommend something not too spicy or sweet as there will already be lots of flavours going on in these tacos! We went for SPG which is delicious a blend of salt, pepper and garlic.

Cooking times for the brisket will vary depending upon size and quality, smoke the brisket using a mild wood until cooked and ready to slice. We once cooked a brisket seriously low and slow for 24 hours (read more) but often use the "hot and fast" method to smoke a brisket in just 6-8 hours. You're looking for a core temp of around 99 Celsius or 210 Fahrenheit.  Aim for a BBQ temperature of around 150C or 300F.  

The brisket is the only "hard part" really, once you've set up your smoker you can get on with entertaining your guests or prepping the rest of the taco!

The Salsa

To make your salsa you'll need to finely dice your tomatoes and onions, then mix with finely chopped garlic, vinegar and lime juice. Quantities to taste, we used one red onion to 5 tomatoes, 1 red chili, 2 garlic cloves, juice of 1 lime, a splash of vinegar and generous pinch of salt. Add finely chopped coriander just before serving, stir well to combine.

The Mayo

Making espresso mayo is easy! The quantities should be to taste but as a rough rule you can do what we did and use two shots (50ml) of espresso to a cup of mayo. Let the coffee cool and stir into the mayo to combine, you're looking for a fairly light colour. Give it a taste, the more you like the taste of coffee, the stronger you'll like your espresso mayo.

The Tortillas

These should soft and warm, either quickly grill these or if you're feeding a big crowd, 10 seconds in the microwave will do the job.

To build your taco you'll take a soft warm taco, add a dollop of mayo then a slice or two of tender brisket. Next top with a heaped spoon of fresh salsa, wrap it up and tuck in!