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–+ servings
brisket egg rolls cut in half on a cutting board
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Brisket Egg Rolls

Crispy deep-fried egg rolls stuffed with smoky chopped brisket point and a savory cream cheese filling, served with a homemade Asian-style BBQ dipping sauce. The ultimate use for leftover smoked brisket — or reason enough to smoke one from scratch.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Asian, barbecue
Keyword: brisket egg rolls
Servings: 16 egg rolls

Ingredients

  • 3-3½ cups chopped brisket see notes
  • 16-18 egg roll wrappers
  • vegetable or canola oil for frying enough for 3-4 inches of depth in your pot

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

  • 2 8 oz blocks cream cheese softened
  • 2 green onions thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chili crisp or crunchy garlic chili oil (like Mr. Bing or Chef Troy's)
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce optional

For the Asian BBQ Dipping Sauce:

  • 1 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
  • ¼ cup barbecue sauce like Traeger Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce like Bachan's Japanese BBQ Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tablespoon fish sauce optional

Instructions

  • Make the dipping sauce: In a bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients until fully combined - including Thai sweet chili sauce, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and optional fish sauce. Set aside. The sauce can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to one week.
  • Make the cream cheese filling: In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, thinly sliced green onions, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and chili crisp (or crunchy garlic chili oil), and optional fish sauce. Mix until everything is fully incorporated.
    cream cheese, thinly sliced green onions, and chili crisp in a mixing bowl
  • Heat the oil: Heat neutral oil for frying (vegetable or canola) in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F. Use a thermometer - maintaining oil temperature is the key to crispy egg rolls.
  • Roll the egg rolls: While the oil is heating, wrap the egg rolls. Lay one egg roll wrapper flat in a diamond orientation with a corner pointing toward you. Spread about 2½ tablespoons of cream cheese filling towards the bottom third of the egg roll wrapper (closest to you), leaving about 1/2" of space on the outer edge. Top with about 3 tablespoons of chopped brisket - don't overfill or the wrapper won't seal. Dip your finger or a pastry brush in a small cup of water, and moisten the entire outer edge of the egg roll wrapper. Fold the bottom corner up over the filling, tuck in the two side corners, then roll up toward the top corner. Dab the top corner with a bit more water, if needed to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
    adding water to the outer edge of an egg roll wrapper with cream cheese and brisket on the inside
  • Fry the egg rolls: Working in batches of 4–5 egg rolls (never overcrowd the pan), carefully lower the egg rolls into the hot oil. Fry for 4-6 minutes, turning occasionally, until deep golden brown and crispy all over. Transfer to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate to drain.
  • Serve: Serve immediately with the Asian BBQ dipping sauce on the side. These are best hot and fresh.

Notes

  • Leftover chopped brisket - This is an ideal recipe for leftover smoked brisket. Reheat using your preferred method – I prefer to reheat brisket using my sous vide stick. Then roughly chop into very small chunks – you want some texture, and you want those little barky bits mixed in well, but you don’t want large pieces that will poke through the delicate egg roll wrappers.
  • Don't overcrowd the oil - Adding too many egg rolls at once will drop the oil temperature and result in greasy, soggy wrappers. Four to five at a time, and let the oil come back up to 350°F between batches.
  • Keep your work surface dry - You will be using a pastry brush or your finger to moisten the outer edges of the egg roll wrapper, and you may drip excess water. Every few egg rolls that you roll, use a clean towel to dry the work surface so the excess water doesn’t cause your wrappers to become gummy or tear.
  • Fill one egg roll as a tester - Add filling and roll one egg roll first, and then test it in the fryer to make sure that the filling stays inside and the egg roll doesn’t come undone. It’s much easier to get your technique right, instead of rolling all of them the wrong way and figuring out that they bust in the oil.