Smoked Brisket Rangoon
A barbecue trip to Kansas City has long been on my to-do list but I only got around to finally taking it last Spring. I had just over 36 hours in the city and I was determined to make that time count and was able to hit up four barbecue spots. Of those, some of my favorite bites were the Thai mash-up dishes served at Buck Tui BBQ. While I was incredibly happy with the sausage, pork belly, ribs, and potato salad I got, the meal, and the entire trip really, suffered from a couple follies—I was solo, limiting how much I could order, and I cannot eat the way I used now that I'm in my mid-40s. I would have loved to try so much more on the menu since a lot grabbed my attention, and when I got home, I decided to make one of those I couldn't sample the way I imagined it would taste—smoked brisket rangoon.
I have a decent barbecue joint right down the street from me, but part of not being able to eat like I used to means I also rarely go there anymore. I needed brisket for these rangoon though and my initial thought was to smoke a whole brisket and then freeze the majority I didn't use, but that seemed overkill and instead I took the five minute stroll to Q Shack and bought a pound of sliced brisket. Back at home I had a couple slices for lunch before chopping up the rest to get it ready to become rangoon filling.
While not part of my original plan for this rangoon, while out shopping I saw that my grocery store had an unexpected bin of hatch chiles that drew me in. I immediately thought they would be a great addition to the filling and picked up a bunch. To prep them, I first charred them all over on a gas range—this can also be done in the broiler or on the grill—then let them steam in a covered bowl until cool enough to handle. I then peeled away the charred skins, removed the stems and seeds, and finely chopped the remaining flesh.
I started the base of the filling with the required cream cheese and then built it up with flavors I knew would go well with the beef and peppers. This included grated sharp cheddar, scallions, and garlic powder.
Making rangoon is not really hard, but the process of filling and shaping them can be a bit time consuming and tedious. Because of this, I like to make a whole lot at once and freeze them so I don't have to go through the construction again for quite some time. On this day, I made a double recipe of the brisket version and also did a vegetarian variation that swapped the beef for lion's mane mushrooms.
To form the rangoon, I began by setting out as many wonton squares as fit on my work surface, then placed about one tablespoon of filling in the center of each. From here, there's many ways to close them up, but the shape I chose was a pyramid which I achieved by brushing the edges with water, then bringing the four corners over the filling and pinching them together at the top. I then sealed each side, making sure to remove all the excess air before closing up the last side. Once done, I placed the tray of rangoon in the freezer and when they were completely frozen, I transferred them to a Ziploc bag for storage.
Rangoon just isn't right without some sort of dipping sauce, so I whipped up a batch of sweet and sour sauce to pair with these. The recipe is simple with merely bringing a mixture of pineapple juice, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes to a boil and then adding in a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up. Once done the sauce can be stored in the fridge for awhile, so this is another good make-ahead step.
With the rangoon and sauce both done, there was actually very little work when it came time serve. I put enough oil in my wok to mostly cover the rangoon and brought it to 375°F over medium-high heat. Next I placed the rangoon in and let them cook, turning occasionally, until they were starting to brown around the edges. After letting them drain on a paper towel lined tray, it was time to serve with the sweet and sour sauce that I had reheated first.
I obviously can't tell you if these are anything like the brisket rangoon from Buck Tui BBQ, but if they're anything like these, then I can imagine they would be a very popular app. I worried a bit that straying from the traditional crab would cloud my judgement, but instead of having feelings of conflict, I was left overjoyed by how tasty these ended up being. The cream cheese definitely provided the traditional base, but the brisket, cheddar, and hatch chiles gave them a distinct Tex-mex tilt whose flavor wasn't as overpowering as I thought it might be. The large plate of these I has put out for my friends went quick and I had to fry off a second batch, but luckily I made so many that I still had plenty on hand for future meals, letting me look forward to having these over and over again.
