Sandwich Of The Week: Mexicue's Burnt Ends Brisket Sloppy Joe

Mexicue has two locations in New York City, and they're packed from open to close thanks to their creative Mexican-inspired dishes kicked up with real low-and-slow-smoked barbecue. Everything is made from scratch, and as many ingredients as possible are sourced from local vendors. One of their most popular sandwiches is the burnt ends brisket sloppy Joe, which is made with their outstanding burnt ends brisket chili. Chef/partner Thomas Kelly filled us in on the dish's creation.

"Like many great dishes, it started with leftovers," Kelly told us. "We had the really fatty portion of our brisket left over after the smoking process and couldn't figure out what to do with it. I came up with the idea to start using the fatty portions as the base of a chili. Then I began playing around with other ingredients, adding different layers of flavor profiles and textures with the spices and added ingredients. The result was a chili with incredible depth of flavor from the smoking process and rub."

The sandwich starts with its most important component: the chili. Burnt ends (made with brisket that's been smoked for 16 hours) are mixed with Abuelita Mexican chocolate, ground beef, onions, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and spices and slow-cooked. The resulting mixture is piled onto a chipotle butter-toasted brioche roll from Amy's Bread and topped with fresh kale, shredded Manchego, lime crema, and house-pickled jalapeños. It's served alongside a fresh arugula salad with citrus vinaigrette.

The end result is a rich, smoky, and deeply satisfying sandwich. 

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