Brie and Brisket Quesadillas

If you’re thinking that brie and brisket sounds like a weird combination, I’d say you’re right.  It sounds weird but this recipe was so intriguing to me as I flipped through The Pastry Queen for my second Project Pastry Queen recipe choice.  Brie is right at the top of my favorite cheeses list and I absolutely can’t pass it up when served all warm and melty.  And it’s the brie that drew me to this recipe; the brisket was only a bonus.

It took me a long time to get to making this recipe since Project Food Blog seems to be taking up large parts of my weekends so I ended up cooking the brisket one weeknight after dinner and making the quesadillas the next night.  For me, this worked out really well since my workdays seem to be getting longer and sometimes cooking a full dinner is the last thing I want to do when I get home.  On the night we made the quesadillas, I quickly threw the mango bbq sauce together (easy!!) then cut and reheated the brisket in some of the sauce.  (I kept the rest of the sauce in a glass jar for later use.)  And let me tell you, for a meal that came together in 15 minutes, this was certainly one of the best we’ve had in quite a long time.  Each of the three main components (brie, mango bbq sauce, and brisket) are all dominant flavors by themselves but put together, they are just so right.  Sweet, salty, tangy, savory…plus the crunch of the tortillas…yum!!  I mixed a little mango chutney into some sour cream for dipping and served alongside some rice or black beans, this meal is a keeper!

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Brie and Brisket Quesadillas
source: Rebecca Rather, The Pastry Queen

Ingredients:

For the Brisket:

• 1 (3lb) beef brisket
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 (12oz) can cola drink

For the Mango Barbecue Sauce:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup Fischer & Wieser Mango Ginger Habanero sauce or bottled mango chutney

For the Quesadillas:

• 8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
• 8 oz Brie cheese, thinly sliced, with rind left on
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions:

1. To make the brisket:  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Rub the meat with the salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic; set it in a large ovenproof casserole dish.  Pour the cola over it, cover the dish, and bake about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until tender.  Turn the brisket over once during the cooking, after about 1 1/2 hours.  Remove the brisket from its cooking liquid and remove any visible fat.  Slice about half of the brisket against the grain.  (The remaining brisket can be wrapped and frozen; there will be enough left over to make a second meal for 4 people. Alternatively, the brisket can be cooked and chilled in an airtight container 2-3 days in advance.)
2. To make the barbecue sauce:  Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Saute the onion for 5 minutes, add the garlic, and saute 1 minute more.  Stir in the ketchup, lemon juice, Worchestershire sauce, mustard, salt, pepper, and mango sauce or chutney.  Cook the sauce until heated through and puree it in a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Measure 1 cup of the sauce for use in the quesadillas; the remaining sauce can be refrigerated in a glass jar up to 1 week.
3. To make the quesadillas:   Set a large frying pan or griddle on medium-high heat.  Coat with a thin layer of cooking spray.  Lay 2 tortillas on the griddle and cover each with 3 to 4 slices of brisket and the Brie, 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack, and a spoonful of barbecue sauce.  Top with 2 tortillas.  Grill the quesadillas until the bottoms are crisp and golden brown.  Repeat for the remaining tortillas and filling.  Transfer the quesadillas to a large serving plate and cut each into quarters.  Serve hot.

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