Texas-style Queso Dip, ISO recipe

Hi,

I'm looking to re-create the version I had a Torchy's last fall. Searching here and elsewhere on the web has yielded some widely varied results and nothing that seems quite right. Does anyone have a recipe they really like? Any tried and true recipe would be appreciated, even if it doesn't quiet approximate the Torchy's version.

Thanks,

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I've had the most success using one eight ounce block of cream cheese, three cups of shredded cheese (2 cups chihuahua, 1 cup mixed cheddar, monterey jack) and 1/2 cup milk (more may be necessary at the end for the right consistency) on low setting in crockpot for 1 1/2 hours. Adding additional queso ingredients as desired (chiles, tomato, etc).

Chile con queso is pretty much the ONLY time I use any kind of processed food in a dish--sad to say but I just don't know how you do this without Velveeta. I do add other fresh and homemade ingredients--chopped tomatoes, chopped green onion, chopped green chilis, chopped jalapeno or serrano peppers, and a few generous spoonfuls of homemade roasted tomato salsa (the pureed kind). I also like to add sautéed chorizo. I'm sure I'll be doing some for Super Bowl!

boudreaulicious wrote:Chile con queso is pretty much the ONLY time I use any kind of processed food in a dish--sad to say but I just don't know how you do this without Velveeta. I do add other fresh and homemade ingredients--chopped tomatoes, chopped green onion, chopped green chilis, chopped jalapeno or serrano peppers, and a few generous spoonfuls of homemade roasted tomato salsa (the pureed kind). I also like to add sautéed chorizo. I'm sure I'll be doing some for Super Bowl!

With a little sodium citrate you can make just about any melting cheese in to a smooth dip, I've used this recipe http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/melty-queso-dip/ many times with great success. I'll usually use a non-hoppy mexican beer and add some dry herbs/spices (cumin, onion powder, oregano etc.) as I see fit.

I decided to take the traditional route and after some poking around on the internet, learned that what I needed was a product called Land O' Lakes Extra Melt. Probably because it doesn't sound very appetizing, I remembered seeing it before and even remembered where. So, I headed over to Restaurant Depot and there it was, in the walk-in, in 5-pound blocks. Next to it was a White American Cheese product called Sabor Nuestro Super Melt. I bought a 5-pound block of that, too.

I ended up going with a 70/30 blend of the 2 "cheeses," favoring the Extra Melt, which was slightly less salty-tasting. I started by crisping up a couple tubes of grocery store chorizo in a large skillet. I removed the chorizo and in the rendered fat, I sauteed a whole mess of diced up jalapenos, serranos, poblanos and scallions.

I diced the cheese into 1-inch cubes and melted it over low heat in a dutch oven on the stove top. For each pound of cheese, I started with a cup of whole milk but that left me with a very thick mixture. So, I ended up adding a lot more milk and in the end, used about a quart for 2 pounds of cheese.

Once the cheese had melted and combined with the milk into the preferred soupiness, I stirred in the cooked chorizo, peppers and scallions. I also added 2 small cans of mild, diced green chiles, some ancho chili powder and some cayenne chili powder. I had planned on adding a can of Rotel tomatoes but I forgot. Once everything was fully combined, I moved it all to a crockpot and ate it throughout the day.

I'd say I got pretty close to what I remembered having in Austin. Obviously, it wasn't exact but it was close enough that it really scratched the itch. And the nice part is the my stash of 2 "cheeses" should still be good when I make this for next year's Super Bowl.

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