Bacon Beer Cheese Dip -

Bacon Beer Cheese Dip

Ingredients

1/2 cup beer
8 oz. cream cheese room temperature
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 slices bacon
1 shallot finely chopped
1 jalapeño ribs and stem removed, finely chopped
Cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions

In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon. Drain cooked bacon on a paper-toweled lined plate. Chop roughly. Set aside.
In the same skillet, cook shallot and jalapeño in bacon fat until softened. (Remove some of the bacon fat if there is quite a bit in the pan. You only need a tablespoon or less.) Set aside.
Lightly coat a 4 quart crockpot with non-stick spray. Add cream cheese, cheddar cheese and shallot/jalapeño mixture. Pour beer over mixture. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours. Stir occasionally until dip is creamy and cheese is melted.
Stir in bacon and cayenne pepper to taste. Serve with bread cubes, pretzels or crackers.

Notes

You can cook the bacon and shallot/jalapeno mixture in advance and keep in the fridge. Then assemble as instructed.

I also recommend shredding the cheese by hand versus buying pre-shredded cheese. I find pre-shedded cheese can be a bit grainy when melted and you want this to be nice and creamy. It’s worth the extra few minutes and you can do it in advance, if needed, too.