Chorizo Queso
UPDATED April 21, 2018
I used to frequent a local Mexican restaurant that served a Chorizo Queso Fundido that was to die for. This is a low-carb version of Chorizo Queso with home-made cheese sauce. Oh yeah!
This easy cheesy Chorizo Queso makes a great appetizer
There was a certain spice in the Chorizo (at this Mexican restaurant) that I could never nail down. Turns out I was purchasing the wrong kind of Chorizo. Once I found the Hatfield ground Chorizo at the grocery store it was on! I realized that the mystery spice was also in Chinese Five Spice Powder! This was a welcome revelation, because I had that in my spice cabinet! Even though the flavor profile fit, I’m still not quite sure because the ingredients of Hatfield Chorizo only allude to “spice.” Still, I’m convinced that Five Spice powder (or a component of it) is what makes it so good!
The idea is simple: Cook the chorizo like you would ground beef, drain it, add a home-made cheese sauce, add chopped tomato and chili peppers (or salsa in a pinch), mix it up and serve with pork rinds. It’s awesome.
The key to good cheese sauce is using sodium citrate as an emulsifier for the cheese. Just a little of this magic stuff and a little water turns melted cheese into ooey-gooey-luscious cheese sauce!
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 1/2 lb ground Chorizo sausage
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp Sodium citrate
- 8 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 8 oz shredded Mild Cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped tomato and chili peppers (or salsa)
Ingredients
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- Crumble and cook the chorizo in a pan over medium heat until brown and a little crispy (7-8 minutes).
- Shred your cheese. I used 1/2 Jack and 1/2 mild cheddar.
- In a saucepan, bring water and sodium citrate to a boil. Slowly mix in shredded cheese, one handful at a time, until completely incorporated. Turn heat down to low. Continue to stir over low heat until the sauce becomes thick and velvety.
- Combine Chorizo and cheese sauce in the Chorizo pan. Add your salsa or tomato/chili combination, and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with chicharrones (pork rinds) and enjoy
That looks awesome.
I think it’s common for Mexican or TexMex places to actually use American cheese cause it melts soooooo well.
The flavor you are looking for may be annato, aka anchiote. It gives the orange color to cheddar cheese and is used in Mexican cooking. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annatto#Traditional_cuisine
And it’s very common to use Velveeta cause it melts even better.
Just listened to the podcast (Great Stuff!) and while the asian five spice was a good guess, that’s not what most traditional Mexican Chorizo recipes contain.
They are varied depending on what part of Mexico you come from. Some are more intense in their chiles, some are more vinegary, some more meaty, some with more organ meats (the best!!).
If you are not fortunate to live in a place where you buy Mexican chorizo from your local grocery (Mexican chorizo not Spanish chorizo, they are very different things) here is a link where you can find many varied takes on this beloved pork tasty treat: http://www.mexican-barbecue-recipes.com/chorizo-recipe.html
I think the tastes you can’t place are probably a good mix of clove, cinammon, and apple cider vinegar and whatever chile or paprika was used for coloring.
Choriqueso or Queso Fundido is much beloved and easy to make.
Butter fry your chorizo and put half of it at the bottom of your oven safe container. Preheat oven to 350. Use Mexican white Oaxacan cheese or Asadero cheese (very similar to mozarrela in consistency and meltiness) to cover your chorizo. Then place the second half of your chorizo on top of your bowl. Heat for about 15 minutes or until gooey and meltey.
You can put green onions or fresh diced jalapenos on top. Even the nacho jalapeno slices give it a nice vinegary kick to cut through some of the richness.
Scoop with your favorite pork rinds or put it on top of your eggs. Delicious!