The Fourth of July is sneaking up, so I wanted to come up with a festive snack that can feed a crowd. Choriqueso, a chorizo and cheese dip, is always a crowd pleaser. The chorizo has a spicy kick and lots of flavor, so the seasonings in the queso are kept to a minimum. If you don’t want the fuss of decorating the top, you can simply stir all of the mix-ins into the queso.
RED, WHITE, AND PABST BLUE RIBBON CHORIQUESO
Red, White, and Pabst Blue
Ribbon Choriqueso
Ingredients:
1 pound Zup’s chorizo, thawed
1 can (12 ounces) Pabst Blue Ribbon beer
1 quart heavy cream
2 pounds shredded Monterey Jack cheese (see notes)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 medium white onion, diced
4 ounces crumbled cheese (see notes)
Blue corn tortilla chips for serving
Instructions:
Place the chorizo into a stock pot. Turn the heat to medium high. Cook and crumble until nicely browned. Drain off the grease and set aside, keeping warm. Wipe the pot out and pour in the beer. Place back over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by about half. Meanwhile, heat the cream in a saucepan over medium low heat until it comes to a slow simmer. Once the beer has reduced, add half of the cream. Turn the heat to low. Add half of the cheese. Whisking constantly, cook until smooth. Add the remaining cream and cheese. Whisk again until smooth. Season with salt. Set aside to cool slightly and thicken. Place a square microwave safe reusable container in the upper left corner of an 11x16 inch (approximately) foil pan. Pour the queso into the pan, leaving the square container empty. Sprinkle the chorizo and tomatoes into flag-like lines. Sprinkle the onion and crumbled cheese over the white lines, reserving 2 tablespoons of the cheese. Place some tortilla chips in the square container and sprinkle with reserved cheese. Serve with additional chips on the side.
Yield: 24 servings.
Notes:
I recommend shredding your own cheese for this recipe. Once shredded, let the cheese come to room temperature prior to adding it to the queso. You can use different cheeses if you prefer, such as white cheddar or block mozzarella. Queso quesadilla cheese is a good choice if you can find it. For the crumbling cheese, I recommend queso fresco or cotija, if available. Feta or grated Parmesan will work as well.
