Home-made Queso Dipping Sauce
I’m trying to make a dip similar to the jarred queso sauces that you see in the chip aisle.
So far the ingredients are:
- 1 lb block of cheese (your choice)
- 1-2 cans of evaporated milk (NOT CONDENSED!!)
- 1-2 Tsp Sodium Citrate
- 1 can diced tomatoes with chile peppers
I’m using real cheese, in my case pepper jack although I’m sure that it will work just as well with mild or sharp cheddar, monterey jack, etc.
The cheese should be shredded by hand or with a food processor just prior to making the sauce.
It’s best to avoid pre-shredded bags of cheese, as they have anti-caking agents added to keep the cheese from sticking together, which is not useful if you’re trying to make the sauce combine.
Make sure you get evaporated milk, not condensed, as condensed milk has sugar.
I use diced tomatoes with green chiles, but you could just as easily use mild, medium, or picante salsa. The liquid in the tomatoes or salsa should be considered when adding the evaporated milk. If you include the tomato or salsa juice, you need less milk, but the creaminess of the sauce will be reduced. I usually dump the tomatoes into a wire mesh strainer.
The secret to making it all come together is an emulsifier, in my case sodium citrate. Sodium citrate is readily available on the internet in all quantities and costs. If it’s food grade, I’d just get the lowest cost item.
The emulsifier and evaporated milk are the keys to the concept, with the evaporated milk adding some richness and liquid. and the sodium citrate keeping the liquid and fat in a creamy emulsion.
The trick is getting the amounts of each in balance. Since everyone’s tastes vary, I’m not going to give any hard and fast rules or amounts.
Once you have everything together, my last bit of advice is to make the cheese sauce using a double boiler.
A double boiler will prevent the cheese and milk from scorching the bottom of the pan, which I guarantee will happen, regardless of how low you set the heat.
If you don’t have a double boiler, you can make do with a medium to large pot, over which you place a mixing bowl, preferably stainless steel, to hold the cheese and milk. The mixing bowl should fit over the edge of the pot.
Place water in the pot or bottom half of the double boiler, and bring it to a boil. The water should not touch the bottom of the top half of the double boiler or the bottom of the mixing bowl.
Place your mixing bowl or top half of the double boiler over the boiling water, and place the cheese and about 1/2 to 3/4 of a can of evaporated milk into the bowl or top half and begin stirring with a small whisk or fork.
The cheese will gradually melt, and start combining with the milk.
It’s best if you stir continually but frequently will also work. Continue until the mix is smooth.
Add about a teaspoon of sodium citrate, and stir it in completely.
At this point, the sauce will be very thick, so now add the tomatoes or salsa and continue stirring.
Once everything is combined and smooth comes the moment of truth.
The sauce at this point will still be thick. If you like it this way, then you’re done.
Just understand that if you store it in the refrigerator at this point, it will harden into a solid mass that will require re-heating in the double boiler or by slowly heating using your microwave.
If you’re using a microwave, I’d recommend no more than thirty seconds at a time, stirring as needed to get everything to the same temperature, with no hot or cold spots.
If you want a thinner sauce, add more milk and a small amount of sodium citrate, stir, and check the consistency.
I also have some tortilla or nacho chips on hand to test the amount of salt, if any, that might be needed.
Once you’re happy with the result, you’re done.
One final thing. If you store the sauce in the refrigerator, you’ll probably get a film similar to what you might see on home-made pudding, on the top of the sauce. The thickness of the film will vary with how thick or thin you made the sauce.
The film will re-dissolve if the sauce is slowly reheated in your microwave and stirred.
I use this sauce all by itself with chips, when I’m making nachos, as cheese for Spanish omelets, on burritos, whatever.
I can’t tell you how long it will keep in the refrigerator, since it never lasts more than a day or two at my house.