This was pretty good for a come together quick meal on a steamy hot summer night. We used leftover beef brisket for this recipe and most of the sandwich ingredients I had prepared ahead. There’s a lot going on in the recipe, so if you want to take some short-cuts, I’ve offered some simpler suggestions at the bottom of the page. Whether you smoke your brisket or slow cook it in your oven, this recipe using the leftover meat will work. Consider the seasonings you’ve used and if they will marry well with the raspberry barbecue sauce and coleslaw. I’m having a hard time thinking of any flavors that wouldn’t go well with this summer sweet sauce. We loved the dill butter on the brioche bun. It added another level of summery flavor and some of us in this family opted to slather chipotle mayonnaise on their buns as well. I didn’t. But I heard it was delicious, so I included it in the recipe line-up as an optional ingredient.
Makes 4 sandwiches
INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 C Raspberry Barbecue Sauce (or more, depending on taste) (recipe below)
- 2 C creamy coleslaw (recipe below)
- 1/2 C chipotle mayonnaise – optional (recipe below)
- 3 T dill butter, softened (recipe below)
- 4 brioche buns (or hoagie rolls), sliced in half and toasted with dill butter
- 1/2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 3-4 C leftover beef brisket, shredded
We’re going to start with some of the foundations of the sandwich so flavors bloom because all these elements of the sandwich get better with time.
RASPBERRY BARBECUE SAUCE
Makes approximately 1 quart
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots, finely chopped (approximately 1/2 cup)
- 2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 large chipotle pepper, chopped
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced (approximately 2 tablespoons)
- 2 tsp smoked paprika (we used Penzy’s)
- 1 T Dijon mustard
- (1) 6 oz can organic tomato paste
- 2 T water
- 1 T adobo
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 2 T apple cider vinegar
- 3 C fresh organic raspberries (or marion berries or blackberries)
- 1/4 C fresh organic basil, chopped
- 1/4 C organic brown sugar
- 1/4 C raw honey
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, add olive oil, shallots and thyme and sauce for 3 minutes. Stirring so not to burn. Add chopped chipotle, garlic, paprika Dijon, tomato paste, water, adobo, liquid smoke and vinegar and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add raspberries, basil, sugar, honey, salt and pepper. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. If you need to add a little more water for desired thickness, you can. With an emulsion blender, blend all ingredients until smooth and silky. Once blended, push sauce through a sieve to remove raspberry seeds. Refrigerate in a glass jar with lid until ready to enjoy!
DILL BUTTER
Makes (1/2) Cup. If you need more, simply double
- 1 cube unsalted organic butter, softened at room temperature
- 2 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp of fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 C fresh organic dill, finely chopped (1 tablespoon if using dry dill)
Mix all ingredients so well incorporated. Keep at room temperature. If not using right away, refrigerate. Butter will keep in refrigerator for up to two weeks or you can freeze for up to 6 months. I always have herb butters in my freezer. They are great to use on grilled meats, in sauces and soups or just simply on a brisket sandwich!.
CHIPOTLE MAYONNAISE
Makes (1) Cup. If you need more, simply double
- 1 C good mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 chipotle pepper, finely chopped (or 1 teblespoon dry chipotle chili pepper)
- 1 T adobo
- 1 T fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp fresh lime zest
In a small mixing bowl, place all ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep in refrigerator for up to two weeks.
CRUNCHY CREAMY COLESLAW
Makes 1-1/2 – 2 quarts
- 1 C good mayonnaise
- 1/4 C sour cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 T raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 T fresh lime juice (or lemon juice)
- 2 T honey
- 1 T organic white sugar
- 1 tsp celery seeds (we use Penzy’s https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/celery-seed-whole/c-24/p-1244/pd-s)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
You can make this several hours in advance. It just keeps getting better. Should stay crunchy for at least one day.
In a large mixing bowl, add shredded cabbage, red onion, green onions, parsley and basil. Set aside until ready to dress. In a medium mixing bowl, add mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, vinegar, lime juice, honey, sugar, celery seed, sea salt and black pepper. Mix well. Adjust seasoning as needed. Once incorporated, pour over cabbage slaw ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for two hours before assembling sandwiches.
BRISKET SANDWICH ASSEMBLY
Slice brioche buns in half and slather with dill butter. Placethe 8 halves on a parchment lined sheet pan. Turn your oven broiler on high and toast buns, being watchful so not to burn. If you don’t want to heat up your house, you can place buttered halves on your outside grill. Again, carefully watching so not to burn. Set aside until you’re ready for assembly.Min a small mixing bow
In a medium size non-stick pan on medium high heat, add olive oil and shallot. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add shredded beef brisket and warm through. Approximately 5 minutes. Add approximately 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the raspberry barbecue sauce. Cover and keep warm until assembly.
On the parchment lined sheet pan, begin assembly by heaping approximately 1/2 – 3/4 cup of the brisket onto the bottom half of the butter toasted bun. Drizzle a little more barbecue sauce on the meat. Shovel about 1/2 cup of the coleslaw on top of the meat. On the top half of the bun, slather a tablespoon or two of the chipotle mayonnaise. Serve sandwiches with extra raspberry barbecue sauce and crisp dill pickle spears. Oh, and napkins!
COOK’S NOTES
If you do not have raspberries to cook into the barbecue sauce, you can use raspberry preserves or other berry preserve. You’ll want to reduce the honey and sugar levels OR increase your heat levels to balance flavors.
If you don’t have brisket, you can use another tender slow cooked beef cut or even shredded roasted chicken. Chicken is amazing with these ingredients!
If you’re not a fan of the dill, I think a good substitute would be basil. It would go great with the coleslaw since that has a bit of basil in it. BUT if you don’t have either, you can just use plain salted butter.