This Easy Leftover Smoked Beef Brisket Chili Recipe is a perfect warm and comforting dinner recipe for your leftover smoked brisket!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
There is something special about a pot of chili on a cold day, and chili season means you need to make a pot of chili!
Smoked brisket chili is a hearty and flavorful dish that combines the rich, smoky taste of smoked brisket with the comforting elements of chili.
It is the perfect way to repurpose leftover smoked brisket with amazing BBQ Rub to the next level and into a new and delicious meal. And is one of my favorite things to make for football game day!
Besides leftover brisket sandwiches, nachos, and more, this beef chili recipe is a great way to celebrate the beef brisket cut!
Full of smoky flavors in a traditional chili base, you will taste the amazing time and effort that went into making a smoked brisket.
Easily make this beef stew gluten free by skipping the beer or using a gluten-free beer.
Ingredients
You can find a full list of quantities in the full recipe card below.
To make a beef brisket chili, you will need:
Leftover Smoked Beef Brisket
Bacon
Red Bell Pepper
Yellow Onion
Chili Powder
Smoked Chipotle Chili Powder
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo – I like to buy this pre-chopped in a jar mixed with the adobo sauce. If you are using the canned variety with whole peppers, dice up the pepper, mix with adobo, and use the same quantity.
Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
Tomato Sauce
Coffee – you can use leftover coffee that you have brewed. Somewhat of a secret ingredient! You will not taste the coffee.
Cumin
Smoked Paprika
Garlic Powder
Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans – or black beans
Diced Green Chiles – heat level of choice (I like to use mild to better control how spicy the chili is)
Salt
Toppings
Serve this beef chili up with your favorite toppings!
Some ideas include: Shredded cheddar cheese, Sour Cream, Jalapenos (pickled or fresh), fresh cilantro, cornbread, corn chips, tortilla chips, avocado.
Instruction Overview
Heat your large pot or large dutch oven over medium heat.
Cook your bacon and save some of the bacon grease. You could also use vegetable or olive oil instead of bacon fat.
Cook your diced onion in the bacon fat. Add the bell peppers and cook briefly, approximately 1-2 minutes.
Add the leftover beef brisket and spices, and cook to combine and toast.
Add the beer and cook until reduced by half.
Add your remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.
Cook, covered, at a low simmer for at least 30 minutes, ideally 2 hours.
Add more water in small doses if you think it is too thick.
Serve with your favorite toppings! I love to use a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, and jalapeno peppers for an extra kick!
Slow Cooker
To make this in a crock pot, cook the vegetables and spices in the recipe below up until step 7.
Then add everything into your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. The longer, the better!
Instant Pot
I personally think that stews and soups become very one-note when cooked in an Instant Pot. Everything tends to taste the same that goes in the pot, and therefore I recommend cooking this on the stove or in a slow cooker.
But, if you do want to use the instant pot, cook on high or the bean/chili setting for 25 minutes. I do not recommend cooking too much longer as the beans, pepper, and onion will start to disintegrate.
Kim’s Tips
Even with a strongly smoked beef brisket, there are many other flavors and ingredients that the smoke flavor needs to shine through.
Because of this, you will want to use at least one of the smoked chipotle chili powder or smoked paprika, in addition to the diced chipotles in adobo. If you swap out too many of these ingredients for their plain or standard counterparts, you are going to lose the smoky flavor!
This recipe sits in the medium to mild/medium range of spiciness. This will vary with your exact spices as each brand, batch, and spice freshness changes how strong they are. Add more or less spice as per your personal preference.
I found that the chili lost a little of the spicy heat the next day, making the leftover brisket chili more like a mild heat range.
The more you mix and stir the chili, the more the chopped brisket is going to break up. Keep this in mind when you are chopping based on how large or shredded you want the beef to be in the end. Leave your brisket cubes rather large to start if you want decent chunks of beef in the chili.
Want to make a Texas brisket chili? The biggest difference here is to not use any beans in the recipe.
Modifications and Substitutions
Want it spicy? Add more chili powder or more chipotle in adobo.
For a mild heat, reduce the regular chili powder to 1 Tablespoon.
FAQs
What is brisket chilli?
Brisket chili is a beef chili recipe made with leftover smoked brisket, tomatoes, beans, seasonings, and more. A great comfort food for cold weather.
Can you use brisket for ground beef?
Yes! Many recipes that call for ground beef can use brisket in place of it, especially if it is leftover brisket. This beef chili is a perfect example of that.
What cut of meat is a poor man’s brisket?
Chuck roast is often called a poor man’s brisket. You can easily use leftover smoked chuck roast in this recipe!
Is brisket the toughest meat?
It is not the toughest, but it is definitely tough. Brisket takes a long time to cook and leftover brisket can be used in many recipes.
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Easy Leftover Smoked Beef Brisket Chili Recipe
Equipment
- Large pot Ideally a Dutch oven, and ideally 7.5+ quarts as this is a lot of food
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring spoons
- Knife
Ingredients
- 1 pound leftover smoked beef brisket approximately 4 cups when coarsely chopped, see note 1
- 2 Tablespoons bacon fat from cooking the bacon, or vegetable oil
- 1 cup yellow onion diced (approximately half of 1 medium to large onion)
- 4 strips bacon
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- ½ Tablespoon chipotle chili powder see note 2
- 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika see note 2
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo peppers finely diced and in sauce, see note 3
- 1 beer stout or porter is best
- â…“ cup coffee optional but brings great flavor balance
- 4 ounces diced green chiles heat level of choice
- 15 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes (1 can)
- 15 ounces tomato sauce (1 can)
- 15 ounces kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces pinto beans drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Heat your pot over medium heat.
- Add the bacon and cook until crispy, approximately 3-5 minutes.4 strips bacon
- Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside. Leave approximately 2 Tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot and drain the rest.2 Tablespoons bacon fat
- Add your onion to the reserved bacon fat and cook until translucent and starting to soften, approximately 3-5 minutes.1 cup yellow onion
- Add your chopped bell pepper and cook until just softening, 1-2 minutes.1 red bell pepper
- Add the coarsely chopped brisket, chili powders, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and chipotle in adobo. Stir to combine and cook until fragrant and toasting, approximately 1 minute.1 pound leftover smoked beef brisket, 2 Tablespoons chili powder, ½ Tablespoon chipotle chili powder, 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 Tablespoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo
- Add the beer and cook until reduced by about half to cook off the alcohol, approximately 1-2 minutes.1 beer
- Add the coffee, green chiles, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans. Chop the cooked bacon and add back into the pot. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.â…“ cup coffee, 4 ounces diced green chiles, 15 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes, 15 ounces tomato sauce, 15 ounces kidney beans, 15 ounces pinto beans, 4 strips bacon
- Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes, ideally 2 hours or longer.
- Season to taste as desired with salt. To make it spicier add more chili powder, hot sauce, or chipotle. Serve with your favorite toppings such as cornbread, corn chips, sour cream, cheese, jalapeno, pickled jalapeno, cilantro, salsa, etc.
Notes
- The beef will continue to break up as you stir it. Consider this when you choose how large to cut the beef chunks. For larger chunks, minimize stirring.Â
- You can substitute plain paprika for smoked, or more plain chili powder for the chipotle chili powder. But it is recommended to keep at least one to bring forward the smoky flavors.
- I like to buy my chipotle peppers in adobo pre-chopped and in the sauce. If you use the can with the whole peppers, finely chop the peppers and mix with the adobo sauce to measure out. The more pepper chunks you include, the spicier it will be.
- This chili tends to mellow in how spicy it is the next day.
- This chili is approximately a medium heat when eaten fresh (mild the next day). Adjust spicy flavors up or down as desired (chili powders, chipotle in adobo, hot sauce, etc).
