It isn’t often that you sink your teeth into something and immediately think, “Wow, that’s the best I’ve ever had!”. But that’s exactly what happened when I took the first bite of this brisket cheesesteak.
Now, don’t get me wrong… I’ve made some incredible griddle cheesesteaks, like this authentic Philly Cheesesteak on the Blackstone, a Chicken Philly, and this Smoked Prime Rib cheesesteak that literally made me shed tears of joy (there’s a YouTube video to prove it!).
But something about the perfectly smoked, juicy brisket paired with this simple cheese sauce was just better than the rest.
With leftover smoked brisket, a 3-ingredient cheese sauce, perfectly sautéed onions, and a steamed Philly-style sub roll, this brisket cheesesteak sandwich was hands-down one of my favorite griddle sandwiches that I’ve ever made… and I’ve made a TON of sandwiches on the flat top grill, so that’s saying a lot!
If you’ve got leftover brisket and you want to try an awesome and creative cheesesteak sandwich, then this recipe is for you!
Why You’ll LOVE this Smoked Brisket Cheesesteak:
- Perfect combination of flavors. The combination of tender, smoky brisket and the gooey goodness of a classic cheesesteak is a match made in griddle cooking heaven. And the homemade simple cheese sauce perfectly compliments the brisket without overpowering it.
- Easy to customize. Experiment with the cheese sauce by swapping out the cheeses, or add your favorite cheesesteak sandwich toppings like green peppers, jalapeños, or mayonnaise.
- Great way to use up leftover brisket. This is my new favorite recipe to make with leftover brisket… In fact, I’ll be smoking another whole brisket soon just so that I can make these fantastic griddle cheesesteak sandwiches again!
Ingredients for Brisket Cheesesteak Sandwiches
If you have leftover brisket in the fridge, then you only need to add a few ingredients to turn your smoked meat into a fantastic sandwich. Here’s what you need:
For the Brisket Sandwich:
- leftover brisket – You can see a brief explanation of how I made this particular brisket down below. If you don’t have leftover brisket, then you can also try this recipe with leftover pulled pork.
- diced onions – I used a mixture of purple and yellow onions for my sandwich because that’s what I had in the fridge.
- pickled jalapeños – Adding the jalapeños to the onions on the griddle adds a nice punch of heat and tang to the sandwich.
- Philly-style sub rolls – If you can’t get your hands on authentic Philly rolls (like the Amoroso sub rolls), then substitute a deli hoagie roll. Just look for a roll that is softer on the outside, instead of a crusty French bread.
- Butter, salt and pepper – For sautéing the onions on the griddle.
For the Homemade Cheese Sauce:
To make a simple cheese sauce that compliments the smoked meat without overpowering it, you only need these three ingredients:
- evaporated milk
- white or yellow American cheese – Just be sure to get it freshly sliced from the deli counter, NOT the individually wrapped singles. We used Boar’s Head White American.
- sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese block – You definitely want to grate your own block cheese for this cheesesteak sauce. We used Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar.
A Brief Explanation of My Smoked Brisket:
If you’ve ever smoked a brisket before, then you know that there are about a hundred different ways to do it. Some people wrap it in butcher paper part-way through the cook, some create an aluminum foil “boat”. Some let it rest for hours in a cooler, some rest it in the oven on warm.
Here is a quick synopsis of how I smoked the brisket for this brisket cheesesteak sandwich:
- Trim and season the brisket. Put the fat trimmings in a small aluminum pan to smoke and render while the brisket is smoking. This will create your own smoked beef tallow, perfect for using later when you wrap.
- Set up the grill with Rockwood All Natural Hardwood Lump Charcoal and a few pieces of post oak wood chunks. Get the temp dialed in to 250 degrees F.
- Smoke the brisket at 250 degrees F until it reaches an internal temp of about 175 degrees. This took about 6 hours on my Weber Summit Charcoal Grill.
- Use a basting brush to brush the smoked rendered beef tallow all over the brisket, then wrap it in butcher paper.
- Put the wrapped brisket back on the grill at 250 degrees F, and continue to cook until it reaches an internal temp of about 195-198 degrees F. This took about 2 hours for me.
- Once the brisket reached about 195-198 degrees, I shut all of the dampers on the grill and left the brisket on the grill with the lid closed until it reached 202 degrees F internal temp.
- Remove the brisket from the grill, and let it cool down on the counter (still wrapped) until it reaches about 180 degrees F.
- Once the brisket cools to about 180 degrees (still wrapped), place it in a 150 degrees F oven overnight.
*There are a hundred different ways to cook a brisket on the grill or smoker. You can watch another method in this video on my YouTube channel.
How to Make the BEST Brisket Cheesesteak on the Griddle
The juicy, smoky flavorful brisket cheesesteak is SO easy to make on the griddle, and it will rival any Philly cheesesteak or restaurant sandwich you can buy. Here’s how to make an awesome brisket cheesesteak on the griddle that will have you wanting to smoke a brisket just to have the leftovers for this sandwich:
Making the Cheese Sauce from Scratch
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… if you’re going to make dang good food, you’ve got to start with dang good ingredients. And that includes making your own cheese sauce from scratch.
Yes, I’m sure that I’ll ruffle the feathers of a few Philadelphians, but Cheez-Whiz just doesn’t cut it for this brisket cheesesteak. The smoky delicate beef calls for a more subtle, creamy pairing and “the Whiz” is anything but subtle, especially when it’s slathered on a sandwich.
So I decided to make my own cheese sauce from scratch, to compliment the tender smoked brisket instead of overpowering it.
Just heat a medium sauce pan on the griddle. Add about a half of a can of evaporated milk to the warm pan. Then, stir in freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese. Allow the cheddar to melt into the milk, and then add the deli American cheese slices a few at a time, until you get the consistency that you like.
We ended up using an 8 oz block of sharp cheddar and about 1/4 pound of American cheese. That gave us a perfectly flavored cheese sauce that had a nice, pourable consistency for the cheesesteaks.
Once all of the cheeses melt together, your 3 ingredient cheese sauce should look something like this:
When the sauce gets to the consistency that you like, you can move the saucepan to the cooler side of the griddle to keep it warm while the other ingredients cook.
CHEF’S TIP – This recipe will make more cheese sauce than what you need for a few cheesesteaks, but you can store it covered in the refrigerator for about 4-5 days . With my leftover cheese sauce, I just added some jarred pickled jalapeños with a bit of the jalapeno juice, and reheated in the microwave for a fantastic queso to serve with tortilla chips!
Prepping the Leftover Brisket
While the cheese sauce is heating up on the griddle, prep your brisket for cheesesteak sandwiches.
Slice the leftover brisket into slices that are about 1/4″ to 1/3″ thick. Depending on the size of your smoked brisket and the size of your sandwich rolls, you will probably need about 2-3 slices per sandwich.
Leftover Brisket Tips:
- Only cut the amount of brisket that you are going to be serving at one time. Leave the rest of the brisket whole and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use the leftovers.
- Wrap the leftover brisket in the butcher paper that it was cooked in, and then wrap that in aluminum foil or plastic wrap. That butcher paper is soaked in beef fat, and it helps to keep the leftovers moist and flavorful.
- Reheat leftover brisket at low temperatures to retain the moisture.
Getting the Other Brisket Cheesesteak Ingredients Ready
While the cheese sauce is cooking, start the other ingredients for your smoked brisket cheesesteak sandwich.
In fact, if you’re familiar with griddle cooking, you know that one of the most important things to remember when flat top grilling is to always have your ingredients at the ready. The high temps and “always on” features of a Blackstone griddle or other flat top grill means that you don’t have to wait for a pan to heat up in between recipe components, and the speed of your cook goes pretty quickly.
For these awesome cheesesteaks, make sure that these ingredients are done before starting to “build” your sandwich on the griddle:
- Dice the onions and sauté them on the griddle. I also added in some pickled jalapeños for a little extra kick.
- Cut the deli hoagie rolls in half lengthwise, but don’t cut them completely through, similar to a hot dog bun.
- Make sure the cheese sauce is heated through.
For the onions, just add about a tablespoon of butter to the griddle, and sauté the onions until tender. Season with salt and pepper, and mix in some jalapeno slices if you like. Then, when the onions are done, you can move them to the side of the griddle to stay warm.
Cooking the Brisket Cheesesteak on the Griddle
Once all of the individual ingredients are ready, this cheesesteak is made like any other griddle cheesesteak.
Just make a pile of the sautéed onions and peppers, positioned on the griddle into the length of your sub roll. Add a few slices of the brisket to the onions. I mixed in pieces of the point and the flat of the brisket for my cheesesteak. Then, “chop” and mix the brisket and the vegetables together like this:
Form the piles of chopped brisket to match the size of your hoagie rolls, and spoon some of the cheese sauce on top of the meat. Then, place the rolls cut side down and open on top of the brisket and cheese.
*One important note – I HIGHLY recommend this method for preparing cheesesteak sandwiches on the griddle. The grease from the meat and the moisture from the cheese sauce, when combined with the heat of the griddle, creates steam… and that flavorful steam in turn rises and softens the bread for your sandwich. Some sandwiches are better on toasted bread, but for this tender brisket cheesesteak, it’s a steamed roll all the way!
Your brisket cheesesteak should look something like this at this point:
After about 2 minutes or so, you’re ready to flip!
There is a bit of an art to transferring the meat, cheese, and all of that griddle grease-goodness to your sandwich bread. This is what works best for me after making almost a hundred cheesesteaks on the griddle:
- Place one hand on top of the bread, and use your other hand to get your griddle spatula underneath the cheesesteak ingredients. *If you’re in need of some good griddle spatulas, these are my favorite!
- In one fluid motion, use the spatula to lift the cheese steak ingredients from the bottom (griddle-side) and use your other hand to turn the sandwich bread right-side up at the same time.
- Scrape the spatula upside down across the bread to transfer the cheesesteak mixture from the spatula to the bread. Just be careful because the melted cheese and beef grease are HOT!
Then, as the final crowning touch to your delicious brisket cheesesteak, drizzle on a bit more of that homemade cheese sauce like this:
Another one of my MUST HAVES for making cheesesteak sandwiches is deli-style sandwich wrap. Once your sandwich is done, wrap it up in the deli paper for about 3-4 minutes to cool down. All of that greasy goodness gets trapped inside the deli paper, resulting in a perfectly soft sandwich. And it makes eating this brisket cheesesteak a little less messy, too!
This griddle sandwich is rich, decadent, and it will give the Philly people a run for their money! In fact, my wife and I agreed that we both prefer this brisket sandwich to a traditional Philly cheesesteak, hands down!
Definitely our new favorite way to eat leftover brisket!
Brisket Cheesesteak Video
Want to watch me make this brisket cheesesteak start to finish? Check out this YouTube video for how to make the best cheesesteak with leftover brisket on the flat top grill:
Other Griddle Cheesesteak Recipes to Try
If you’ve got a Blackstone griddle, then I’m sure you’ve already made your fair share of cheesesteaks on the griddle. But here are some of my other favorite cheesesteak recipes for you to try:
Authentic Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich
We actually ordered some Pat’s King of Steaks cheesesteaks and had them shipped to our house to create our own version of the authentic Philly cheesesteak. To be honest… we liked our homemade Blackstone Philly cheesesteak better!
Chicken Philly on the Griddle
Need a break from red meat? This Chicken Philly is absolutely FANTASTIC, and with a quick homemade sandwich sauce to add major flavor, you won’t even miss the beef!
Italian Cheesesteak Sandwich
What happens when you combine a cheesesteak and an Italian beef sandwich? You get this fantastic Italian cheesesteak, stuffed with ribeye, pepperoni, salami, and marinara!
Brisket Cheesesteak with Homemade Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 lbs cooked brisket sliced and reheated if necessary
- 1 small onion diced
- pickled jarred jalapenos Optional
- 4 deli hoagie rolls sliced in half lengthwise, but not all the way through (similar to a hot dog bun)
- 1-2 tablespoons butter
- salt and pepper
For the Cheese Sauce:
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese freshly grated
- ¼ lb deli American cheese slices *Use the freshly sliced American cheese from the deli counter, not the individually wrapped slices
Instructions
- Heat griddle to about 375-400℉. As the griddle is heating, place a medium size saucepan on the griddle top to warm up as well.
- Make the cheese sauce: Add the evaporated milk to the warm saucepan. Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese. Allow the cheese to melt and incorporate with the milk, stirring occasionally. When the cheddar is fully melted, add the American cheese a few slices at a time, stirring often. When cheese sauce is done, move to the cooler side of the griddle to keep warm. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
- While cheese sauce is cooking, add butter to a clear area on the griddle. Saute diced onions in the melted butter. Season sautéed onions with salt and pepper. Optional – add some pickled jalapeños to the sautéed onions.
- Separate the cooked onions into 4 piles on the griddle. Add a few slices of the brisket to each pile of onions. Use your spatula to chop, shred, and mix the brisket and onions together. Then form each of the 4 piles of chopped brisket to match the length of your hoagie sub rolls.
- Add a few spoonfuls of the cheese sauce to each of the 4 piles of brisket. Place the rolls cut side down and open on top of the brisket and cheese. Allow the rolls to steam on top of the piles of meat for about 2-4 minutes. Then, use your spatula and transfer the brisket cheesesteak to the rolls.
- Spoon more cheese sauce on top of the brisket cheesesteaks if you like. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- These brisket cheesesteak sandwiches can also be made in a skillet on the stovetop, a few at a time.
- This recipes makes more cheese sauce than you will need for 4 sandwiches. Store leftover cheese sauce covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Microwave to reheat. *You can add some pickled jalapenos and some of the jalapeno juice to the leftover cheese sauce for a fantastic queso dip to serve with tortilla chips.
- Don’t have leftover brisket? Try this recipe with leftover cooked steak or pulled pork.
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