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.
Comments & Reviews
Chris says
This is delicious. Michael doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Never trust an opinion from someone who starts their sentences with lower case letters.
Michael says
only reason I put this at a 2 was the wood used. Hotdogs are cooked with post oak (post oak) lets cut down the fence. Brisket is to be savored at minimum you use hickory never post oak it’s cheap wood. guess being oklahoma raised I’m just have my flavor preference. oak for beef is to light and doesn’t carry that deep wood smoke. cheese sauce was good I used cream vs e.milk it’s not canned, 2tbls cream cheese and a tsp of Dijon for the added kick.