Smoked Corned Beef Quesadillas
Smoked corned beef layered with Swiss cheese and sauerkraut in golden flour tortillas, with barbecue mustard dipping sauce.
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
Smoked Corned Beef
- 3–4 lbs corned beef brisket
- 2 TBS Dijon mustard
- Jeff's original rub salt-free or low-salt preferred
Quesadillas
- 2 large flour tortillas per quesadilla; repeat as needed
- olive oil, butter or cooking oil for browning
- Swiss cheese
- smoked corned beef thinly sliced
- sauerkraut
Spicy Mustard Sauce
- ¼ cup Jeff's barbecue sauce
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
Instructions
Smoke the corned beef
- Unwrap the corned beef and discard the seasoning packet. Rinse the beef and place in a foil pan.
- Optionally soak in cold water in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to reduce salt, changing the water every 30–45 minutes. Cook a small sample before tasting to check the salt level.
- Coat both sides and the edges with Dijon mustard, then season generously with salt-free or low-salt rub.
- Prepare the smoker for 250°F using pecan wood or pellets. Smoke corned beef fat side up, directly on the grate or on a rack.
- Apply smoke for about the first 4 hours. At about 160°F internal, transfer to a foil pan fat side up and continue cooking to about 200°F, approximately 7–8 hours total.
- Rest for about 30 minutes, then slice about 1/8 inch thick across the grain.
Make the quesadillas
- Combine barbecue sauce and Dijon mustard for the dipping sauce.
- Layer Swiss cheese, pieces of smoked corned beef, sauerkraut and more cheese over one tortilla. Top with a second tortilla.
- Oil a pizza stone or baking sheet and heat the cooker or oven to 375°F. Place the quesadilla on the oiled surface.
- Cook about 5 minutes or until the first side is as brown as desired. Brush the top with oil, turn over and cook until the second side is browned.
- Cut into about 8 wedges and serve hot with the spicy mustard sauce.
Notes
The 7–8 hour cook time is for smoking the corned beef; quesadilla browning takes additional time. Use cooked leftover smoked corned beef to skip that stage. Optional desalting takes at least 3 additional hours. Tortilla quantity is per quesadilla; filling quantities and total yield are not specified.
Estimated servings: Estimate for one quesadilla cut into eight wedges, allowing two wedges per appetizer serving. The corned-beef smoking batch can supply additional quesadillas.