Growing up in West Texas I was fortunate to have been (unknowingly at the time) exposed to several regional culinary classics that remain hallowed for many of us even today.
Real Chile – both Green and Red.
The list could go on and on (and it does). There’s one from those years growing up I’m almost a little ashamed to admit to now, even though we still do it now and again – Chile Con Queso made with a block of (cough, wheeze) Velveeta Cheese Product and a can or two of Rotel tomatoes. If we were entertaining folks of higher caliber we’d even fry up a pan of spicy Jimmy Dean sausage and dump it in.
When we did that folks would be licking the pan down to bare metal with their fingers before the party was even to halftime (most of our guests are very easily entertained).
Recently we’ve been on a wild run to eat things that we can identify all the ingredients of (don’t try that with Velveeta) and a need arose to make a big batch of Chile con Queso for a get together. So I fired off a call to chef friend Libby in Austin who confirmed a suspicion I had – real (Tex Mex) queso is made by melting grated cheese in what French chefs would call a béchamel sauce.
You can – and should – add a number of fixin’s to your queso to get it just right; once you stir this recipe (The Real Deal Tex Mex Chile con Queso) together you’ll find it’s nearly as easy as the Velveeta – Rotel roadhouse version and many , many times better.
And just in time for your holiday entertaining.
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
1 small poblano pepper, seeded and diced small
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced small
1 small serrano pepper, seeded and diced small
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 + 2 tbsp. butter
2 generous tbsp. flour
1 cup of whole milk
3 cups grated medium sharp cheddar cheese
3 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese
2 roma tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Sauté time. Melt the 1 tbsp. of butter in a medium saucepan and sauté the onion and peppers until the onions are near translucent; add the garlic and cook another minute. Scoop the vegetables into a bowl.
Make your béchamel sauce. Melt the remaining 2 tbsp. butter in the same saucepan and whisk the flour into the butter until smooth and cook for 30-45 seconds. Now slowly whisky in the milk and keep whisking until the sauce thickens (4 or 5 minutes for us over medium-low heat). Stir in the tomatoes and cilantro, then the onion-pepper mixture.
Make your queso. Turn the heat down to low and mix in the cheese, roughly 1/2 cup at a time, stirring the sauce until each drop of cheese has completely melted in. Libby sometimes thins her sauce if too thick with creme fraiche or more whole milk.
Get it to the table hot and stand back.
Enjoy.
