BBQ Barbecue brisket for chili

[Shel_B]

A new project here is to develop a "Texas Red" chili recipe, and I'd like to run this idea by you.

 

I was thinking about going to one of the local bbq places and buying some already cooked and smoked brisket to use in the chili. Since moving to an apartment, I no longer have my smoker, so using an outside source is a good option.  Buying the cooked meat would save time and cleanup, which, in my dotage, is a nice bonus.

 

Any thoughts on using already cooked and smoked brisket for the chili?  I suspect that some modifications to time and technique would be required, such as adding the meat later in the cooking cycle. What do you think about this?

 

 

[beerdoctor]

The use of brisket that had been BBQ'd for a 'Bowl of Red' would be regarded as sacrilege in Texas!

The dish has its origins in Chile con Carne, most famously from the Chili Queens of San Antonio, who used only meat and peppers.

Some traditionalists even regard the addition of onions, tomatoes  or beans as anathema

.

The Chili Queens would cook in the market square in big cauldrons which they used to do laundry during the day time  before cooking chili in the evening. Maybe this is the 'secret' ingredient!

 

[Shel_B]

30 minutes ago, beerdoctor said:

The use of brisket that had been BBQ'd for a 'Bowl of Red' would be regarded as sacrilege in Texas!

The dish has its origins in Chile con Carne, most famously from the Chili Queens of San Antonio, who used only meat and peppers.

Some traditionalists even regard the addition of onions, tomatoes  or beans as anathema

.

The Chili Queens would cook in the market square in big cauldrons which they used to do laundry during the day time  before cooking chili in the evening. Maybe this is the 'secret' ingredient!

 

Thank you for the history lesson. I'm quite familiar with the Chili Queens of San Antonio.

 

Not being in or from Texas, it's of little consequence to me if Texans would find my idea a sacrilege. To confess, I got the idea from a Texan, albeit indirectly and through a circuitous route.

[C. sapidus]

1 hour ago, beerdoctor said:

The use of brisket that had been BBQ'd for a 'Bowl of Red' would be regarded as sacrilege in Texas!

 

Yeah, I'm sure brisket chile would be good, but it does seem like you would lose a lot of what makes smoked brisket special. I have had fantastic smoked brisket tacos, though. Perhaps that would be another option.

 

1 hour ago, beerdoctor said:

The dish has its origins in Chile con Carne . . .

 

 

. . . and chile con carne has its origins in carne con chile colorado.

[Katie Meadow]

I see chile or chili as being about the most adaptable of meals in America, so calling a "bowl of red" authentic can mean many things to many people in many places. That said, the problem with using brisket already cooked is this: how do you get a meaty broth  if you are not simmering the meat yourself?

 

As for BBQ,  if you fancy that in a chile,  it would be more like Brunswick Stew in parts of the South, but typically it's pork. But you could invent a Texas version with brisket. Although that might already be a thing.

[Maison Rustique]

I think it would be OK to use the pre-cooked brisket, but I'd use some other meats in it, too. You're going to want some meat cooking in your pot to add flavor to the entire dish. I always like to use a combination of meats in my chili (usually pork, beef and sometimes a little ground turkey). Think about at least a little other meat to actually cook in that pot.