Texas style smoked brisket with smoked tomato yogurt, fire-roasted peppers, pickled red onions, and queso fresco.
This recipe was inspired by a friend of mine. When he saw the spicy lamb pita post, he asked if I could do one Texas style with smoked brisket. Here is the result. Soft pita, with smoky tomato yogurt, tender brisket, and fire roasted veggies. A pita to satisfy a Mo’furious hunger.
This recipe has a lot going on and takes quite a bit of time. My suggestion for making life easier is to spread this out over two days. Smoke the brisket and veggies on the first day. Reduce the tomatoes for the sauce and prep the rest of the veggies. Use part of the brisket for dinner. Then, make these pitas with leftovers the second day.
For the sauce, I smoked tomatoes, pureed them, and reduced them. Reducing the puree does two things. It eliminates excess water and concentrates the flavor. Again, this is a lot of work. So I smoked some extra tomatoes. That way, I could save some leftover puree to use for things like tacos or pasta.
I did not include information on setting up a smoker in this post. To learn more about smoking, check out my post for smoked brisket.
The recipe calls for pita or flatbread. Use whatever you enjoy the most. If you would like to make your own, check out my recipe for flatbread.
Smoked Brisket Pita
Ingredients
Brisket
- 3 1/4 pound brisket
- 2 tsp hot chili powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sage
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp aleppo pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp brown sugar
Smoked Tomato Yogurt
- 3 large tomatoes cored
- 1 green onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp oregano chopped
- 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp honey
Pickled Red Onions
- 1/2 red onion julienne
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup lime juice 1 lime
Pita
- 8 pita or flatbread
- 2 bell pepper
- 1 bunch green onions
- queso fresco as needed
- lime wedges as needed
- fresh oregano as needed for garnish
Instructions
Brisket
- Mix the dry ingredients together. Rub the brisket with the spice rub. Let it stand at room temperature for an hour while you start the fire. Heat a smoker to 300 degrees. Place the brisket on the coolest portion of the smoker. Smoke for 4 1/2-5 hours or until it is tender. Flip and rotate every hour. Smoke and roast the veggies at the same time. Remove from the smoker and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes. Slice thin.
Smoked Tomato Yogurt
- Place the tomatoes on the smoker and smoke for 1 1/2 hours. Char all the green onions over the fire in the smokebox. Remove the tomatoes from the smoker and puree. Place the puree in a small pot over medium-low heat and reduce by 1/2. Cool the paste. Finely chop 1 of the charred green onion. Mix all of the ingredients together and chill until ready to use.
Pickled Red Onions
- Mix the onions with salt and allow to sit for 1 minute. Cover with the lime juice and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before use.
Pita
- Char the peppers over the fire in the smokebox. The skin should be blistered and blackened, 15-20 minutes. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to cool. When cooled remove the skin and seeds from the peppers and julienne. Set aside until ready to use.
- Warm the pita bread. Spread the tomato yogurt on the inside of the bread. Fill with brisket, peppers, pickled onion, charred green onion, queso fresco, and fresh oregano. Serve with lime wedges.
