What is your favorite Queso dip recipe?

[jlazar]

Better Than Bouillon is normally 1 tsp per 8 oz of liquid. But I have added it to soups without any liquid.

[jjdbike]

So I made a big batch.on the pellet smoker, like double and then some.

I did it at 250 for a couple hours to try to get some smoke flavor in it. About 1:30 in I noticed fat started pooling on top. I started skimming. At that point I noticed it was no longer creamy smooth. Did it break? If so, can it be “unbroken “?
JD

[58limited]

jjdbike I use about 1 teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon. As far as the cream and/or milk there isn't really a measurement; add just enough to get the dip to the consistency that you want. I probably add about 1/2-3/4 cup of milk and cream to start and I might add more when the dip is done on the grill if it is too thick. You can use half and half instead of the milk and cream. Also, do not drain the Rotels, use the juice in the dip.

[jjdbike]

This is my go-to queso recipe

Wild Earth Texas Smoked Hatch Chorizo Cheese Dip

Alas, Wild Earth is no longer in business so I can't get their beef chorizo anymore.

1lb Wild Earth Beef Chorizo or Ground Beef with Taco Seasoning - not the greasy pork Mexican-style chorizo from the store, the beef chorizo that I get is 80/20
1 small yellow onion, diced
1-2 Roasted Hatch chilies, depending on how hot you’d like it!
If you don’t have hatch chilies.. no worries! Just add in 1-2 small cans of diced green chilies
Olive oil for sautéing
1/2 tsp Onion powder
2 C Monterey jack cheese, fresh shredded *
1 C Sharp Cheddar, I prefer white cheddar, fresh shredded *
3 oz cream cheese
12 oz can Rotel or fire roasted tomatoes
1/2tsp onion powder - don't know why this is listed twice but I add both.
Chicken stock (I use Better Than Bouillon chicken base, not stock), Milk, and cream to thin to desired consistency. I sometimes add a little beer.
Salt and pepper to taste

The Steps

Preheat your grill or smoker to about 350^o

With your well seasoned cast iron skillet, brown and cook the chorizo (or taco meat) over med- med-high heat.
Work and chop it with a wooden spatula. The chorizo is a little stickier than the regular ground beef because of the extra spices but just chop it as it browns until you achieve the texture you’d like. Set aside.

Saute the onions in oil with a bit of salt until softened and translucent. Add chilies and tomatoes. Add cheeses, liquids, chorizo and all other ingredients.

Put on grill/smoker until bubbly, stirring frequently. If it’s a little thicker than you like, you can add some liquid to thin it out.

For Serving: Garnish with fresh cilantro. As the dip cools, the cheese will start to harden. So if you're bringing for a party, have a warming dish or a small serving crock. Otherwise y'all just dig in and reheat as needed .

Hello 58 & friends,

I just messaged you. I’m going to make your dip recipe this morning. I realized I don’t know how much bouillon or cream to use.

Can you or anyone else please help me out?

Thanks in advance!
JD

[jjdbike]

Ingredient List for Smoked Queso Meat Church Style

• 1 (2 lb) large block of Velveeta cheese (Generic brands NOT recommended)
• 16 ounces of smoked gouda cheese (Cut slices will melt faster)
• 2 tubes of HOT breakfast sausage (Any ground meats will work. Matt loves venison & chorizo)
• 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes and chilis (Don’t drain the cans)
• 1 can of Cream of Jalapeño soup (The original calls for Cream of Mushroom. You may also use Cream of Chicken)
• 1/2 C chopped cilantro
• 2 T Meat Church Holy Voodoo seasoning (or your favorite BBQ rub)

Thanks jlazar,

I’m a fan of Matt’s. He raves about it. Have you made it? It’s a head scratcher to me. I don’t understand using breakfast sausage vs chorizo. So much velveeta, to me it doesn’t taste like
much and not very cheesy. Why not just use real cheese? But the soup is a bridge too fat for me. I’m sure it’s creamy, but I think melted cream cheese would add creaminess without the soup and artificial cheese like product.

I’m not hating on those who suggest it or like it. I’m just surprised. I appreciate the replies. Knowing you folks and Matt it’s probably pretty darn good. I know I should try it before I knock it.

My first attempt is going to be 58’s recipe. I did order some Spanish (not Mexican) chorizo, I’ll Fran the grease after browning. I also ordered some fresh frozen roasted Hatch chilis. I really like their flavor. Other than that I’ll stick to 58’s recipe. Looking forward to my next smoke this weekend. I’ll report back.

Thanks again everyone.
Best regards,
JD

[jjdbike]

Thanks much 58!
JD

[58limited]

I vacuum seal and freeze cheese all the time, no problems. In areas with large Latino populations or in border states you can find chorizo seasoning at the grocery store, at Latin markets, or online. If you see a lot of fat on top of the dip, just skim it off. I didn't note this in the recipe but I usually just bump the cream cheese to half a block - 4 ounces. If you have extra peppers in the fridge such as poblano or jalapeno dice them up and add if you wish.

[jjdbike]

This is my go-to queso recipe

Wild Earth Texas Smoked Hatch Chorizo Cheese Dip

Alas, Wild Earth is no longer in business so I can't get their beef chorizo anymore.

1lb Wild Earth Beef Chorizo or Ground Beef with Taco Seasoning - not the greasy pork Mexican-style chorizo from the store, the beef chorizo that I get is 80/20
1 small yellow onion, diced
1-2 Roasted Hatch chilies, depending on how hot you’d like it!
If you don’t have hatch chilies.. no worries! Just add in 1-2 small cans of diced green chilies
Olive oil for sautéing
1/2 tsp Onion powder
2 C Monterey jack cheese, fresh shredded *
1 C Sharp Cheddar, I prefer white cheddar, fresh shredded *
3 oz cream cheese
12 oz can Rotel or fire roasted tomatoes
1/2tsp onion powder - don't know why this is listed twice but I add both.
Chicken stock (I use Better Than Bouillon chicken base, not stock), Milk, and cream to thin to desired consistency. I sometimes add a little beer.
Salt and pepper to taste

The Steps

Preheat your grill or smoker to about 350^o

With your well seasoned cast iron skillet, brown and cook the chorizo (or taco meat) over med- med-high heat.
Work and chop it with a wooden spatula. The chorizo is a little stickier than the regular ground beef because of the extra spices but just chop it as it browns until you achieve the texture you’d like. Set aside.

Saute the onions in oil with a bit of salt until softened and translucent. Add chilies and tomatoes. Add cheeses, liquids, chorizo and all other ingredients.

Put on grill/smoker until bubbly, stirring frequently. If it’s a little thicker than you like, you can add some liquid to thin it out.

For Serving: Garnish with fresh cilantro. As the dip cools, the cheese will start to harden. So if you're bringing for a party, have a warming dish or a small serving crock. Otherwise y'all just dig in and reheat as needed .

I wanted to revisit this.

Regarding the meat.... I do like that greasy Mexican style pork chorizo. On the other hand, this cheese dip looks pretty fatty / greasy, it would be good to not make it any more so.

I was at Costco and saw Mexican beef chorizo. I got excited until I read the ingredients. All kinds of bits and pieces of steer that I would never think about eating.

So now I'm back looking at cooking ground meat with taco seasoning. I will request double ground and lean as I'l like it to be fine to sort of disappear into the creamy texture of the dip.

I considered ground pork, but at the end of the day I am guessing that browned ground beef will add more flavor.

I bought Costco size big blocks of cheese. May I assume that I can vacuum seal and freeze the extra?

I'm looking forward to the results. I will report back.

Best regards!
JD

[58limited]

"...what's up with Texans and their Velveeta?" I normally don't use Velveeta but lots of the cheese dip I see at parties etc. is just the recipe from the Velveeta box. Can't be just Texans, I thought everyone made Velveeta cheese dip.

[snowswamp]

I gained 23 pounds just reading the posts to this point. ❤️

[Argoboy]

I made this tonight I followed 58limited’s recipe and it was very good. I used a plobano pepper, some chorizo spices with ground beef. We liked it and we will make it again. I cooked on the stove, next time I will smoke it. It was something new to us and tasty.

[58limited]

No, the cream cheese and milk/cream hold it together. I forgot to tweak the recipe above: Instead of chicken stock I use a little Better Than Bouillon chicken base and the liquid I add is milk and cream, maybe a little beer too. I just edited the post but it was fine in the original form too, no breaking.

[Potkettleblack]

This is the base. I don’t always do the rajas (not my favorite), and will replace with whatever, some shallots or onions, cut and cooked down a bit.

https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/queso-fundido-with-chorizo-and-rajas/

life is too short to eat a large amount of processed cheese food. Sorry Texas Veveeta fans.

[ecowper]

jjdbike it's what I do any time I'm taking something to a sports event. Everyone loves it.

[Willy]

Same thing with them adding can after can of 'maters to their "authentic" bowl of red. New Mexico has 'em beat any day of the week.