Note from Seth: I’m sorry but there will be no Opponent Watch this wee—

Note from Readers: Booooooooooooooo /throwing of things oooooOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seth again: …k, but in its place we got Joe Pichey to bring back MGoBBQ, thanks to an incredible new sponsor who’s the kind of dude whose sponsorship calls are 95% about Big Ten basketball (he’s a Purdue f—

Readers: Boooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Seth: …an). When not watching the Boilers knock off #2-ranked Big Ten contenders, Derrick crafts metal homegoods for college superfans. Gridiron Metal Works makes officially licensed grilling and decor products, where “makes” in this sentence actually means “CUTS HIGH-QUALITY STEEL WITH PRECISION LASERS,” so you can do your alma mater proud for years to come. Check out his stuff at gridironmetal.com, and maybe accidentally drop that link where people who buy you holiday gifts are looking.

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Holy Cow….It’s been awhile since I got to do this. Thanks to the great folks at GRIDIRONMETAL…We are back! We will go with our regular Thursday schedule postings right before lunch, because I remember how everybody loved that. HA. I hope everyone stayed healthy and safe and is enjoying this fun season. Now let’s get to cooking. Today, we are going with an old favorite and smoking some QUESO. This one can be done on the grill, in the oven or even the trusty crockpot.

Here is what you will need:

• 1 brick of Velveeta (2 lbs)
• 2 chubs of breakfast sausage (I went with HOT) Chorizo is also a solid choice.
• 2 Cans of Rotel
• 1 or 2 cans Diced Green Chilies
• 1 can of Cream of Onion Soup (Any Cream Of will work)
• 16 oz of Gouda
• Cilantro
• Ruffles
• Duck fat spray or PAM

[After THE JUMP: And a cast iron pan, and some Maalox]

DIRECTIONS :

Fire up that smoker to 275 – 300 degrees. I’m using my KJ and lump charcoal for this one. This is a short cook, so you don’t really need much fuel.

As your smoker is getting up to temp, get your ingredients ready. This is more of a “Dump everything in the pot” kinda recipe, so it won’t take long. I used the grapeseed oil to season my new grates with.

You will need to cook your breakfast sausage first and crumble it up into small bits. You can do this ahead of time if it helps or do it on the grill. Let’s assume I did it on the grill and definitely not on the stove where it’s easy and more convenient the night prior.

Once this is done, go ahead and dump it in a good sized cast iron pot or foil pan. I love my cast iron because it stays warm longer during the tailgate festivities.

Add everything into the pot except for your cilantro and ruffles.

Once everything is in the pot, give it a good mix. I’ll be honest, I had a few licks of the spoon at this point. Feel free to add some of your favorite rub as well. It doesn’t look like much yet, but we are only 30-45 mins away from ooey gooey cheesy goodness.

Once your smoker reaches temp, toss in a few chunks of your favorite wood. I love pecan but only had cherry for this one. You really can't go wrong unless you over-smoke it with something like mesquite.

After a few mins, you should have a nice steam of smoke and you are ready to add your cheesy pot to the smoker. Notice it’s not too smokey. We don’t want this tasting like an old ashtray from the 70s.

Let this ride for 20-30 mins before stirring. After about 20 mins, you should see the cheese bits start to combine.

After 45 mins, you should be able to combine into this sexy looking pot of gold. Some leftover brisket or pork wouldn’t go bad here either. Add your cilantro in the last few mins and top with additional jalapenos if needed.

Once the queso is near done, grab those ruffles and give em a spritz with either Duck Fat spray or Pam. Then hit 'em with your favorite seasoning. I went with my buddy Kenny’s rub as he gave me this recipe a few years back. Trust me…Smoked ruffles are addicting. Toss them on the pit for about 20 mins or until they start to darken. Eat them HOT!

These go so well together. You will not be able to put them down. Grab a few cold ones because the salt content is a bit high on these.

I wish I had some tomatoes to throw on the top but forgot to grab them at the store. Oh well, next time. Hope you enjoy these for the big game on Saturday. I’m glad to be back and look forward to more fun recipes in the coming weeks. Don’t forget to check out www.gridironmetal.com when you get a chance. They have some great Michigan products we will be featuring over the next couple months. They really are some great people. Don’t forget to check me out on Instagram at @gobluebbq for more fun recipes. GO BLUE!!!