Smoked Brisket and Beer Queso Dip

For a fun party snack, whip up this fool-proof Smoked Brisket and Beer Queso on the grill. It is a dump and go recipe that will be the hit of your next BBQ.

When you are prepping for a nail bitting Sunday game day or having the neighbors over for the summer block party, this smoked queso recipe will be winning with rave reviews time and time again. Whether you make it with the beer or not, is all up to you. The bigger decision is to make is to decide if you are going to double the batch or not.

Grab that leftover brisket and let’s make this!

🍽️ Why This Works

Fun | I am a huge fan of using leftovers to make a delicious treat. This recipe was a great one to empty the fridge and make some amazing dip.

Easy | There is a little bit of chopping, but this is seriously just a simple dump-and-go recipe. The low temp smoke slowly melts the cheese and a light stirring incorporates the beer.

You Won’t Have Leftovers | This recipe received the family seal-of-approval as my wife and son stood at the counter with chips to eat the queso before I even had a chance to put it in serving dishes.

Great Way to Use Leftover Brisket | Grabbing a 10 lb brisket sounds like such a great idea until you have pounds of leftovers on your hands. This is a creative way to use some of the leftovers without it ever feeling or tasting like it’s the bottom of the batch.

🧀 Ingredients

Cheese: Softer cheese melts easier and I used some classic Velveeta and a Creamy Jack. To make it melt easier, chop it into small, one inch cubes.

Brisket: I had some leftover brisket and needed to use it, I’m sure you can relate to this. This was the perfect choice. We chopped ours in this version but if you have some shredded up brisket, by all means, use that. If you have just under what the recipe calls for, that’s ok. Make it anyways. No one will know!

Seasoning: This is where the fun begins! Rotel, Sazón, and a black lager added the flavors. Definitely add a dark beer. The combination of that and the light smoke added a wonderful complexity that brought out the deep, earthy flavors. That Sazón packet is found in the international aisle right by all of the other hispanic options. You won’t need to visit an international grocery store for it but it will take your dip to the next level.

⏲️ Equipment and Tools

Smoker | No matter which brand smoker you use (Big Green Egg, Masterbuilt, Traeger, Pit Boss or Weber) this recipe will work great. There are instructions below for uses on the different brands as they are just slightly different.

Aluminum Pan | The only precaution with this is to make sure it is sturdy as that is a lot of weight going into the pan. If your pan is a little bit on the lighter side, just double it up or put it on a sheet pan while you smoke it. We have designated pans just for our grilling and smoking so it won’t matter if it gets a bit of char on it.

🔥 Instructions

Step One: Chop up the cheeses into one inch cubes. This just helps it melt more evenly. Add the cheese and chopped brisket to a disposable aluminum pan.

Step Two: Add the Rotel, Cilantro and Sazón to the pan. Pour in rest of the ingredients.

Step Three: Set up your grill or smoker for indirect heat. For a gas grill, turn off the center burners and just heat with the ones on the end. For the Big Green Egg or Kamado style, add the ceramic plate setter. Dial in the temperature to about 275 degrees. This will be a low-and-slow cook.

Step Four: Add your favorite wood chips to the grill. I used a light applewood as I am a huge fan of “a little goes a long way.” A more intense flavoring, like mesquite, would have overpowered the flavors in this recipe.

If you aren’t sure what wood works best with different recipes, grab this free printable on wood pairing. It is a great cheat sheet to use to help you make the most out of your next smoking.

Step Five: Stir the mix every fifteen minutes. You’ll see the cheese slowly start to melt. Don’t worry if the beer doesn’t incorporate into the cheese right away. Once the cheese is fully up to temperature, it will mix in nicely.

Step Six: Continue smoking until the cheese is fully melted and the beer is mixed in fully. It should take about one hour. The time isn’t as important.

Step Seven: Remove from the grill (fight off your family for trying to eat this before you add the toppings! 😀) and top with chopped onions, tomatoes and jalapeños.

Types of Grills

For the Traeger, heat it up to 275 degrees and cook for 45-60 minutes.

For the Pit Boss, set to SMOKE setting and allow it to smoke for 60-120 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Then turn it to 225 and continue cooking for another 60-90 minutes. You will tell when it’s done as it’s all melted and gooey, which is why I suggest ranges of times.

For Masterbuilt, heat up to 250 degrees and add in wood chips. Once it is heated up and ready to go, add in the dip for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

🥡 Storage

If you have leftovers (which I don’t think you will), you can store them in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.

Reheat the leftovers in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring down the sides well each time until it’s hot.

🥣 Meal Prep

This is such a great recipe to meal prep so you don’t have to do it all on the same day. A day or two ahead of time you can:

1. Chop up the cheeses and store in a Ziploc bag.
2. Chop up all of the toppings you want to add. We chopped up our pico ingredients so they were ready to place on the top when it’s pipping hot.
3. Shred or chop the leftover brisket.

Substitutions

There are so many ways to change up this recipe so it’s not the same every time.

Change the Meats | Don’t stick to the brisket. Make some chorizo sausage, smoked chicken, ground beef or crumbled sausage.

Change the Cheese | Smoked Gouda is an amazing choice for this dip. The Velveeta cheese makes this the perfect consistency. If you use less of the Velveeta, you will have to add something to help thin it out or the dip will be a big huge glop of semi soft cheese and won’t really be a dip at all.

Change the Mix Ins | Add in chopped up green or red peppers, onion, garlic – you name it, you can mix it in and change up the recipe. A friend also used cream of jalapeño soup and it was incredible.

Sauté the Onions | You already know how much flavor this simple step adds, so if you want to go the extra mile, this is the place to do it.

Add in Blistered Jalapeños | If you haven’t done this before, it changes the flavor and intensity of the heat. When you blister them, it breaks down the capsaicin and makes them sweeter. Cut the jalapeños in half length wise and remove the seeds. Heat up a cast iron skillet over high heat and char them with a little bit of olive oil for a couple of minutes or until the skins start blackening. This is a great way to tone down a hotter pepper as well.

🍅 How to Make Homemade Rotel

If you can’t find Rotel and want to make your own, you have a couple options. Here are three to consider:

1. Combine two cans of chopped tomatoes with one can of chopped chilis (the green ones in the little can on the top shelf of the grocery store).
2. Combine two cans of chopped tomatoes with chopped jalapeños of your liking. This version allows you to control the heat as well.
3. Add in a garlic clove or two to either version to make it your own.

🌮 Serving Suggestions

We love to serve this up with tortilla chips or the Scoops version so we can get a big portion on a chip.

Serve this on top of a big pile of chips to make nachos and add on all of your favorite toppings including homemade salsa and homemade guacamole.

❗ Expert Tips

The biggest mistake I see people make when smoking is to try to get a big, billowy smoke in the grill. Time and again, this results in the recipe tasting like an ash tray. Blech! Instead, aim for a very light trickle of smoke. It will provide just a hint of the smoky flavor.

Stir, stir and stir. Don’t skip stirring every fifteen minutes. Even though the grill is set up with a heat deflector, the bottom of the pan may still burn if you are not careful.

Be creative. The best part about this recipe is that it is customizable. Use what you have in the fridge and mix up the seasonings.

If you change up the cheeses, make sure to stick to at least 50% Velveeta to keep it creamy. If you go less than that, add in a little bit of milk or half and half.

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