you have to use the correct chips for queso fresco "queso". I use fresh tortillas dipped in concrete batter and then deep fry to give the rigidity to the chip needed to scoop.

Leigh Oliver Hatch Queso!!

I've never seen an angrier queso related thread than this one.

Dang, this is a rough thread. Peace and love to all, man I come here because I use like to eat and I like the recipes and ideas bounced around. To each their own, taste is personal thing.

Just so we are all on the same board, because to be honest over the years I've seen alot of things labeled as queso fresco. But to me it means this.....


this cheese crumbles very easily, I use it occasionally on top of refried beans, quite often on top of flautas then topped with crema mexicana, use it on tostadas (we actually called these chalupas growing up). I think maybe the poster was talking about a different kind of cheese, maybe an asadero or something like that. Or perhaps he/she wasn't and that's fine too.

Real queso fresco is like feta, but I have seen cheeses labeled as fresco that isn't like feta.

Real texans eat queso or "chile con queso". And it's made with easy melt or velveta or something like it at every restaurant. Freebirds uses the white kind but I'm not sure what they put in it in addition. I think their salsa

Over the years I've grown to not be able to stand velveeta based queso. Velveeta just has it's own weird unique taste that is more noticeable to me now. I know that most tex-mex restaurants use a similar cheese product, but I believe it's generally cheese you can only buy via food distributors.

Years ago at chili's the manager told me the brand they used was "velvet gold" or something like that, mixed w/their chili.

I've been experimenting with roux based quesos. Flour/butter in equal parts, stir in whole milk, heavy cream, 1/2 and 1/2, etc.

Sautee onions, garlic, peppers (serrano, jalapeno, green chili, etc)in a separate pan.

The magic ingredient I've yet to find is the type/ratio of cheeses to throw in. My last experiment used about 70% mild cheddar, 30% white american from the deli. It was sliced american, i just broke each slice up as I tossed it in. It all melts down anyway.

Once the cheese is close to the thickness I like (thicken with more cheese, thin with milk or chicken broth), I mix in the veggies, a can of diced tomatos (not rotel - I've already added peppers), and cilantro.

Turned out better than any velveeta queso I've had, but the cheese types/ratios can still use some experimentation.

1 large box (2 lbs) of White American Cheese
1.5-2 cups of fresh pico
1 cup fresh cilantro (If you added lots of cilantro to your homemade pico then reduce this amount to 1/2 cup)
1 large lime (squeeze the juice and add some of the pulp)
1 chopped jalapeno
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chipotle paste
1 tsp of extra hot sauce
1/2 cup of cream or half and half
1-2 cloves of minced fresh garlic

Put it all together and heat until well mixed. My wife makes this all the time and it is a hit. Very close to freebirds recipe. Leave out the chipotle paste if you don't want a smoky flavor. It's a big hit when she brings it to parties and people beg for the recipe!

quote:

---

El Chico in College Station used to have great queso

---

loved their queso

+ they used to give it for free, WITH refills!

Holy Cow! I agree w/ GT Fido on Land-O-Lakes and Kraft Deluxe American. No jousting w/ the Gods here. From my commerical Food Tech days, Land-O-Lakes was my favorite goto for all things cheese.

I have a personal vendettta against Kraft for how they "*******ized" Velveeta. Velveeta was originally Cheese Food, then Cheese Spread and lately it is cheaper than either and does not meet any standard of identity for cheese anything! Hopefully it's still a dairy product.

The *******ization came to light w/ me when the standard Rotel & Velveeta just wasn't right. I dug the box out of the trash and Voila! Velveeta contains NO CHEESE.

In addition to Land-O-Lakes and Kraft Deluxe, a good alternative in my opinion is Que Bueno Nacho Cheese Sauce. It's a Nestle product in a #10 can with Cheddar Cheese listed first in the ingredient statement. Available at Costco and Food Service outlets in so. OR. anyway. Que Bueno is pretty good from the can and also makes an outstanding base for the addition of hamburger, sauteed or carmelized onions, more drained Rotel and etc.

FWIW

Jaime the Migrant Worker '63. Re: Authentic Texas Cuisine. Ya think there was kosher salt on the Chisolm Trail?

NetNanny - LOL. I guess I have previously been too politically correct as this is the first time the auto-offensive language editor replaced the offense w/ *****'s. Not too hard to figure out, but the word referenced illegitimate ancestry.

[This message has been edited by JTMW (edited 1/21/2013 3:16p).]

lots of posts on here...but did someone mention adding cream cheese?

ive done that with some owens hot snaussage and had some real good results...

also...i will be trying the deli american cheese trick...i think i will like it better.

also, there was a thread a really long time ago about a group buying in bulk the land of lakes melting cheese they apparently only sell in bulk to restaurants.

im probably bombing the moon with all of that...however it was lots of reading and not a lot of time at work for it.

Land-O-Lakes Extra Melt URL

FYI

http://www.landolakesfoodservice.com/products/viewproduct.aspx?p=92

In case you want to read about it.

[This message has been edited by JTMW (edited 1/21/2013 3:40p).]

[This message has been edited by JTMW (edited 1/21/2013 3:42p).]

Shiner queso

http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?forum_id=34&topic_id=1946508&page=1&nomobile=1

The Village Market in Carmine, off 105, has Land O Lakes Extra Melt. Noticed it while stopping off there, but didn't have an ice chest with me to keep it cold on the way home.

Maybe during the off season, we can enlist the power of Tex Ags to get Land O'Lakes to market Extra Melt processed american cheese at retail!

What think?

Breakfast sausage, hot
Cream of Mushroom soup

Is it just me or has it become exceedingly difficult to find Kraft Deluxe anymore? Virtually nowhere in Bryan/College Station can I find it anymore in a block.

If you want it to taste great put cream of mushroom soup in it. I'm not trolling nor am I joking. That is the secret.

Instead of rotel I use diced green chilis.

quote:

---

If you want it to taste great put cream of mushroom soup in it. I'm not trolling nor am I joking. That is the secret.

---

Staff, please ban poster from this forum

quote:

---

Staff, please ban poster from this forum

---

Enjoy your inferior queso.

quote:

---

If you want it to taste great put cream of mushroom soup in it. I'm not trolling nor am I joking. That is the secret.

---

You may go now.

Second the Leigh Oliver queso! Great cheese and a great person as well.