Smoked Brisket Tacos Recipe
Why go out for tacos when you can make the best ones at home? I know you typically find brisket sliced along with the standard BBQ sides, but trust me once you’ve had a Smoked Brisket Tacos, you’ll fall in love! For this recipe you’ll need a whole packer brisket. I picked one up at Sam’s Club weighing just over 15 lbs. The first thing you want to do is trim the brisket so it lays flat on the grill. Remove a good portion of the fat leaving about ¼” for insulation & flavor. On the meat side you want to trim off as much of the silver skin as possible but don’t get over aggressive. Of Course Brisket needs a good dose of Salt and Pepper, but I also want it to have more of a Southwestern flavor to really give it a kick. First hit the brisket with a generous amount of my Killer Hog’s AP Rub on both sides. Then it’s time for the Mexican Seasoning (see the recipe below) for these Smoked Brisket Tacos. Whole Brisket can take a lot of seasoning, so don’t be stingy here.







Smoked Brisket Tacos Recipe
Scale
Ingredients
- 14–16lb Whole Brisket
- ¼ cup Killer Hogs The AP Rub
- ¼ cup Mexican Seasoning* recipe below
- 24oz Brisket Jus* recipe below
Mexican Seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Cumin
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Ground Chipotle Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Ground Ancho Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Avocado Crema
- ¾ Cup Sour Cream
- 2 Avocados
- 1 Chipotle Pepper
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- Juice of ½ lime
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Prepare UDS barrel style pit or other indirect smoker for cooking at 275⁰. Add 2 chunks of hickory wood for smoke flavor.
- Remove brisket from packaging, remove silver skin from meat side and trim fat to ¼” so the brisket lays flat on cutting surface.
- Season both sides with Killer Hogs AP rub and Mexican Seasoning (recipe below).
- Place brisket on pit and smoke for 3 hours or until the color of the brisket starts to turn dark.
- Place the brisket in a full size aluminum pan and pour in Brisket Jus (recipe below). Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the flat and cover pan with foil.
- Continue to cook until internal temperature reaches 204⁰.
- Remove brisket from pit, vent the steam from the pan, and rest in a dry cooler for at least 2 hours.
- Separate the flat and point. Slice flat across the grain into ¼” slices. Shred the point end of the brisket by hand. Reserve the Brisket Jus for added moisture if desired.
For the Tacos
- Warm corn or flour tortillas on the grill or oven.
- Top each tortilla with a slice of brisket or with shredded point.
- Add finely chopped cilantro, Pickled Red Onion, diced white onion, slice of avocado, and squeeze of lime. (Substitute your favorite toppings)
- Drizzle Avocado Crema (recipe below) and serve.

Comments 13
Damn – that looks good. I want to do the Taco dance as well!
Malcolm,
You kick the big @$$!!!
Your recipes are always a win when I serve them!
Joe
I have tried this several times and with rave reviews, tonight it is going down again.
Thanks
I want to do this on my BGE. Do I need to make any changes to the temp or cook time? I love trying your recipes. Thanks!
Author
No – just hold the temps steady.
Got a twelve pound brisket, could you let me know approximate time in the foil pan to reach 204?
Author
really depends on what temp it is when you wrap it… but expect it to take anywhere from 3-5 hours. It’s really all about internal temp. Give yourself plenty of time and hold it in a dry cooler and let it rest if it gets done early.
Excited to learn your methods pertaining to BBQ.
Hey Malcom, I was wondering about pulling the brisket. I have made brisket only twice, but both times I used only the flat, and only sliced it. to be honest I never thought about pulling it till I saw this video. Can you pull it as well when the meat comes from the flat? Do you have to cook it to a different temperature to get it to pull like you do with pork? or will it just pull apart? Thanks for the advice, love your videos, I have learned a TON from them.
Author
you can pull a flat but there’s not as much fat content so the point really works better. You have to take it to well over 200 degrees internal to pull/shred.
You guys are doing great
Malcolm I made this on Labor Day Monday and let me tell you it was my best yet. I couldn’t even slice the flat, the whole thing just shredded apart in my hands. Complete hit for the whole crowd. Thanks dude!
Hi Malcom,
I just purchased my first Gateway Drum and will be doing a few cooks on it this weekend. From your videos it looks like you do not use the heat diffuser. Is that correct?