Brisket Flautas Banderas
Crispy corn tortilla flautas filled with tender shredded beef brisket and topped with avocado-tomatillo salsa, Mexican crema, and warm tomato broth. The green, white, and red toppings give these flautas their festive bandera, or Mexican flag, presentation.
Servings: 24 to 30 flautas
Ingredients
Beef Brisket and Flautas
- 1 beef brisket or boneless beef chuck roast 2–2½ pounds, trimmed of fat
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon peppercorn medley
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups water
- 24–30 corn tortillas
- Canola oil for deep-frying
Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa
- 4 tomatillos husked and rinsed
- 2 jalapeño chiles stemmed
- 1 clove garlic unpeeled
- 3 avocados halved, pitted, and peeled
- Handful of fresh cilantro sprigs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Water as needed
Tomato Broth
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes
- 1/4 white onion roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup water
For Serving
- 2 cups Mexican crema
Instructions
Make the Brisket
- Preheat a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the brisket and sear, turning once, until a nice brown crust forms on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
- Transfer the brisket to a cutting board or plate. Make 3 evenly spaced slits, each about 3 inches deep, in the meat. Insert 1 bay leaf, 1 garlic clove, and one-third of the peppercorns into each slit.
- Place the brisket in a slow cooker and add the salt, ground black pepper, and water. Cover and cook on LOW for about 6 hours, turning the brisket after 3 hours, until fork-tender.
Make the Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa
- While the brisket is cooking, preheat the broiler. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and arrange the tomatillos, jalapeños, and garlic on the pan. Broil until blistered and blackened on top, about 5 minutes. Flip everything over and broil until blackened on the second side, about 4–5 minutes, watching the tomatillos carefully so they do not burn.
- Transfer the jalapeños to a small plastic bag, close the bag, and let steam for about 10 minutes, until the skins loosen. Meanwhile, peel the garlic and let the tomatillos cool. Peel and discard the blackened skins from the jalapeños.
- In a blender, combine the tomatillos, jalapeños, garlic, avocados, cilantro, and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding water as needed to reach a good consistency. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and set aside.
Make the Tomato Broth
- Rinse out the blender. Add the whole tomatoes and their juices, onion, garlic, Mexican oregano, salt, ground black pepper, and water. Purée until smooth.
- Just before serving, pour the tomato mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.
Shred the Brisket
- When the brisket is ready, transfer it to a cutting board. Discard the bay leaves and peppercorns and let the meat rest for a few minutes to firm up.
- Coarsely shred the brisket, then cut it into small bite-size pieces. Return the meat to the slow cooker and allow it to soak up the cooking juices.
Assemble and Fry the Flautas
- Heat a comal or heavy frying pan over low heat. Warm each corn tortilla, turning once, until pliable, about 20 seconds per side.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of shredded brisket down the center of each tortilla. Roll the tortilla tightly around the filling and secure with a toothpick. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and brisket.
- Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line a sheet pan with paper towels and place it near the stove.
- Pour canola oil to a depth of about 2 inches into a deep, heavy pot and heat over medium heat to 375°F. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, carefully slide the flautas into the hot oil. Fry, turning at least once, until crispy and lightly golden, about 2–3 minutes.
- Using tongs, transfer the flautas to the paper towel-lined sheet pan to drain. Place them in the oven to keep warm while you fry the remaining batches.
Serve
- Remove the toothpicks and serve the flautas piping hot. Top with stripes of avocado-tomatillo salsa, Mexican crema, and warm tomato broth to create the green, white, and red colors of the Mexican flag.
Notes
- Shortcut: To save time, use store-bought red and green salsa in place of the tomato broth and avocado-tomatillo salsa.
- No toothpicks? Make a slurry with equal parts all-purpose flour and water. Brush a little along the edge of each tortilla before pressing it closed to help seal the flauta.
Nutrition
Serving: 8servings | Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 568mg | Potassium: 446mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 141IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 2mg