These birria beer cheese brats are what happens when a classic beer brat gets completely overhauled in the best way possible. We’re simmering juicy brats with onions and jalapeños in Samuel Adams Octoberfest, searing them over the fire, then piling all that freakin’ delicious goodness into warm buns with tender shredded birria, rich Octoberfest beer cheese, those beer-braised onions and peppers. Serve them with a side of hot birria consommé for dipping, and you’ve got a ridiculously savory, cheesy, messy sandwich that brings together everything I love about live-fire cooking in one bite.
The Samuel Adams Octoberfest nails all the fall flavors that I want for this recipe. The notes of caramel and the smooth finish are the perfect contrast to the bite from the onions and jalapeños. If you’re looking for the perfect recipe to bring in that German beer hall feeling with a side of spicy Latin-flavored barbecue, these birria beer cheese brats are it.
Post sponsored by Samuel Adams
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love Birria Beer Cheese Brats
- Birria Beer Cheese Brats Ingredients
- The Chile Breakdown
- Cowboy Campfire Is Here
- How to Make Birria Beer Cheese Brats
- What to Serve with Birria Beer Cheese Brats
- Leftovers and Reheating
- All Birria All the Time
- FAQs
- Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire
- Birria Beer Cheese Brats Recipe
Why You’ll Love Birria Beer Cheese Brats
OK, I’m not going to lie to you: this recipe takes some time and effort. We’re being extra by using chiles to make our own birria base and cheese and chiles for beer cheese from scratch. But I promise you, the work you put in is beyond worth it for the flavor bomb that is beer cheese brats. Where else can you get birria, sausages, vegetables and beer cheese all in one bun? Your friends and family (and your tastebuds, honestly) will thank you for taking it on. Plus, you have plenty of time to enjoy a Samuel Adams of our own during the hands-off cook.
I get if you’re looking for an alternative method for this beer cheese brats recipe that’s less labor intensive, so there are a couple shortcuts. Check your supermarket for premade birria starter if you go this route! All you have to do is sear off the meat, add the starter with water and cook. I love chuck roast for the birria beef because of how tender it gets with the loads of connective tissue and rich marbling. It’s almost like the beef version of a pork shoulder. Totally epic piled on top of these brats!
Looking for another beer cheese recipe? Check out Smoked Beer Cheese or Beer Cheese Smash Burgers!
Birria Beer Cheese Brats Ingredients
- Beef: For our birria beef, we’ll season a chuck roast with kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
- Chiles: The birria seasoning is a combination of ancho chiles, guajillo chiles, chipotle chiles, garlic cloves and water.
- Braising & Seasonings: Every great birria needs a great braise. This one has all the classic birria flavorings, with beef broth, tomatoes, white onion, Mexican oregano, black pepper, kosher salt, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves.
- Beer Cheese: Grab some shredded jack cheese, whole milk, Octoberfest, all purpose flour, butter, green chiles, garlic powder and cayenne pepper for this next level beer cheese sauce.
- Brats: Last but not least, the sausages! Have your choice of brats at the ready, along with hot dog buns, sliced yellow onions, sliced jalapeños, and more Octoberfest to braise the veggies.
The Chile Breakdown
This birria beer cheese brats recipe uses three kinds of chiles to flavor the birria. Here’s what you need to know about each one:
- Ancho: This is a dried poblano pepper and the mildest of the bunch, with sweet, earthy and fruity notes.
- Guajillo: The dried mirasol pepper is more mild to medium heat, depending on what your batch of peppers turns out to be. It brings tangy, bright berry notes to our birria.
- Chipotle: As a smoke-dried jalapeño, the chipotle is the hottest of our birria peppers. The deep smoke flavors in the birria, balanced with a little sweetness, come from the chipotle.
How to Make Birria Beer Cheese Brats
Making the Birria
Let’s start with the longest-cooking element of our beer cheese brats: the birria. First, preheat your fire to medium-high heat (around 375 degrees Fahrenheit). Then, slather your whole chuck roast with canola oil as needed and season with 1.5 tablespoons each of kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder. You can also cube it if you don’t want to cook the whole thing at once!
Add the chuck roast to the grill to sear for 1-2 minutes per side until it’s completely browned on all sides. Pull off the grill once it’s browned.
Next, place a Dutch oven over the fire to preheat for 3-4 minutes. Add your 3 stemmed and seeded ancho chiles, 3 stemmed and seeded guajillo chiles, 2 stemmed and seeded chipotle chiles, 1/2 sliced white onion, 2 cubed tomatoes and 8-10 garlic cloves to your Dutch oven. Let everything char for 30-45 seconds per side. Once charred, add your 2 cups of water to the skillet and let simmer over the fire for 7-8 minutes.
Once everything’s simmered, remove the Dutch oven from heat. Add your sauteed chiles and veggies to a blender. Blend until completely smooth and pour your paste into a bowl.
Finally, add your chuck roast to the Dutch oven along with the chile paste, 2-3 cups beef broth and all of the braising seasonings (1.5 tablespoons Mexican oregano, 2 tablespoons black pepper, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 2 cinnamon sticks and 2 bay leaves). Cover the Dutch oven and let simmer over medium-high heat until the beef is fork tender (about 3.5-4.5 hours). Make sure to skim the top of the sauce of fat as needed.
Once the beef is tender, pull it off, dispose of the bay leaves, onions and cinnamon sticks. Strain your braising sauce from the meat and any fat until it is a clean consomme. Add the consomme to a new bowl. Shred your beef, then place in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes so it’s ready for your beer cheese brats when the time comes.
Beer Cheese Time!
Next up: the beer cheese. Add a large skillet to the grill. Then, add your 2.5 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon garlic powder and 1.5 tablespoons cayenne pepper to the skillet to melt. Let everything mix for 1-2 minutes.
Once that mixture has thickened into a paste, slowly add 2/3 cup of Samuel Adams Octoberfest in batches so it fully integrates. Let the mixture thicken.
Then, add your 2 tablespoons green chiles. Finally, add your 3 cups shredded cheese and keep stirring until fully integrated and smooth. Thin out the sauce with 3/4 cup whole milk at the end. Once the sauce is done (about 10 minutes), pull it off and keep warm.
Brat It Up
Time to grill up some sausages! Preheat your grill for direct cooking at medium heat (about 350 degrees F). Add a cast iron skillet to preheat, then add your 1 cup sliced yellow onions and 1/4 cup sliced jalapeños to saute for 10 minutes.
Next, add your 32 ounces of Octoberfest and 6-8 brats of your choice to the skillet.
Cover and let cook until the internal temperature of the brats reaches 165 degrees F internal (about 15-20 minutes).
Once the brats hit temp, pull them out of the skillet. Then, place brats on the grill to sear for a quick crust.
Serve the brats on a warmed roll and top with shredded birria, beer sauce and sauteed grilled onions and jalapeños. Dip in the consomme and enjoy!
What to Serve with Birria Beer Cheese Brats
You definitely don’t need a lot by way of side dishes with these beer brats. I’d stick with something simple, like a grilled green vegetable (asparagus or zucchini would be great) or a simple green salad with a punchy vinaigrette. German potato salad for beer hall vibes or blistered shishito peppers for birria flavor would be great too! And, of course, your own can of Octoberfest.
Leftovers and Reheating
- Birria: If you happen to have leftover birria, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. For best results when reheating, place the birria in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat to warm. You can use leftover birria in so many different recipes, like birria grilled cheese, baked potatoes and more!
- Beer cheese: If you’ve got leftover beer cheese sauce, allow it to cool, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge and consume it within 2-3 days. For reheating, you can warm the cheese in a skillet or Dutch oven, stirring and adjusting the consistency as needed. Add a splash of milk if it thickens.
- Brats: Store any leftover brats in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. When you’re ready to eat, reheat on the grill or stovetop over medium heat for 5-10 minutes.
All Birria All the Time
FAQs
Definitely! The birria actually tastes even better if you let it sit for a day. Plus, it’s even easier to skim off the fat when it’s hardened a little in the fridge. You can also make the beer cheese ahead of time and reheat according to the instructions. Then, just grill up the brats and assemble.
Chuck roast is ideal because of its heavy marbling and connective tissue, which breaks down into incredibly tender, shreddable meat over the long braise. Short ribs would be a fantastic (if pricier) alternative. Brisket also works well — just know it may need a little extra time to get fully tender.
You can absolutely tailor the level of heat level to your spicy preferences. The chipotle chiles bring the most heat to the birria. If you want it milder, just use one chile. For the beer cheese, the cayenne pepper is your main heat source. The jalapeños in the brat braise also add a kick, so you can dial those back if you want.
Get The Cookbooks!
Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire
All the major tastes—salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami—are explored in depth, along with an investigation of other components you should consider when it comes to flavor, such as aroma, heat, and texture.
Birria Beer Cheese Brats
Ingredients
Beef:
- 1 Whole Chuck Roast
- 1.5 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1.5 tbsp Black Pepper
- 1.5 tbsp Garlic Powder
- Canola Oil as needed
Chiles:
- 3 Ancho Chiles stemmed & seeded
- 3 Guajillo Chiles stemmed & seeded
- 2 Chipotle Chiles stemmed & seeded
- 8-10 Garlic Cloves
- 2 cups of Water
Braising & Seasonings:
- 2-3 cups Beef Broth
- 2 Tomatoes cubed
- 1/2 White Onion sliced
- 1.5 tbsp Mexican Oregano
- 2 tbsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 2 Bay Leaves
Beer Cheese:
- 3 cups Jack Cheese shredded
- ¾ cup Whole Milk
- ⅔ cup Sam Adams Octoberfest
- ½ cup All Purpose Flour
- 2.5 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp Green Chiles
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1.5 tsp Cayenne Powder
Brats:
- 6-8 Brats of your Choice
- Hot Dog Buns of your choise
- 32 oz Sam Adams Octoberfest
- 1 cup Sliced Yellow Onions
- ¼ cup Sliced Jalapenos
Instructions
Birria:
- Preheat your fire to medium high temperature (around 375F)
- Slather your chuck roast with oil and liberally season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add to the grill to sear for 1-2 minutes per side until completely browned on all sides. Pull off once done.
- Add a dutch oven over the fire to preheat for 3-4 minutes. Add your ancho chile, guajillo chile, chipotle chile, onion, tomatoes and garlic cloves to your dutch oven and let char for 30-45 seconds per side. Once charred, add your water to the skillet and let simmer over the fire for 7-8 minutes.
- Once simmered, pull the dutch oven off of the heat. Add your sauteed chiles and veggies to a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Pour your paste into a bowl.
- Finally, add your chuck roast to the dutch oven along with the chile paste, beef broth and all of the braising seasonings. Cover the dutch oven and let simmer over medium high heat until the beef is fork tender (about 3.5-4.5 hours). Make sure to skim the top of the sauce of fat as needed.
- Once the beef is tender, pull it off, dispose of the bay leaves, onions and cinnamon sticks. Strain your braising sauce from the meat and any fat until it is a clean consomme. Add the consomme to a new bowl. Begin to shred your beef then place in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes.
Beer Cheese:
- Add a skillet to the grill. Add your butter, flour, garlic powder and cayenne powder to the skillet to melt and mix for 1-2 minutes.
- Once thickened into a paste, slowly add your Sam Adams Octoberfest in batches to fully integrate it and let the mixture thicken.
- Once mixed, add your green chiles. Finally, add your shredded cheese and keep stirring until fully integrated and smooth. Thin out the sauce with the milk at the end. Once the sauce is done (about 10 minutes), pull it off and keep warm.
Beer Brats:
- Preheat your grill for direct cooking at medium heat (about 350F).
- Add a cast iron skillet to preheat, then add your onions and jalapenos to saute for 10 minutes.
- After, add your beer and brats to the skillet. Cover and let cook till 165F internal (about 15-20 minutes).
- Once done, pull the brats off and sear on the grill for a quick crust.
- Serve the brats on a warmed roll topping with shredded birria, beer cheese and sauteed onions & jalapenos. Dip in the consomme and enjoy!
