Elevate Any Fast Food Breakfast Burrito With A Simple BBQ Hack

A yogurt bowl or fruit cup can be a tasty breakfast, but there are times when you just want a big, hearty breakfast burrito. But if you don't want to break the bank by purchasing a pricey option at a restaurant or buying the ingredients at the store, you can elevate fast food versions with a simple hack. First, you'll need to grab one from your favorite place, like Taco Bell's grilled breakfast burrito, which has eggs, bacon or sausage, and nacho cheese, or McDonald's sausage burrito, made with scrambled eggs, pork sausage, cheese, green chiles, and onion.

Then, take a trip to your favorite local barbecue spot to up the ante. According to Brooke Brantley, chef and culinary director at McCain Foods, all you need are a few slices of brisket (via Insider). Just open the tortilla slightly, slip in a little brisket, then seal your burrito back up and dig in. You'll get a richer, more satisfying barbecue flavor, and the meat will likely be more succulent than the original sausage from the fast food joint. Plus, barbecued meat tends to pair well with the other ingredients in a breakfast burrito, like eggs and green chiles.

If your burrito already has sausage or bacon, you may find that adding in the brisket gives it way too much meat and overpowers the other ingredients. In this case, feel free to remove a little of the sausage or just order your fast food burrito without meat. Some options, like Del Taco's breakfast burrito, can be ordered with just egg and cheese, so you can subvert this issue altogether. And you don't have to limit this hack to just burritos — adding brisket to Del Taco's breakfast toasted wrap, which has pico de gallo and salsa, would also be delicious, as would including it in the chain's double cheese breakfast tacos with creamy queso blanco and hashbrowns.

Also, don't forget to take advantage of your fast food or barbecue restaurants' little extras. When ordering your brisket, pick up a side of barbecue sauce to douse all over your burrito, or at McDonald's, get ketchup, mild picante salsa, sweet and sour, or honey mustard dipping sauces. And of course, if you don't want to make two stops in one morning, you don't have to order this type of burrito fresh every time. This hack is perfect for the morning after you get barbecue takeout — just pick up a fast food breakfast, then take it home and incorporate your still-tasty leftovers.