Food and Recipes Recipes Melted Queso with Chorizo 3.0 (1) 1 Review The cheesy dip of our dreams. By Pati Jinich Pati Jinich Pati Jinich is a cookbook author and PBS host. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on August 11, 2022 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist Christine Kelly Active Time: 35 mins Total Time: 35 mins Servings: 12 Leave it to Pati Jinich to up the ante on cheese dip. The Mexican-born cookbook author and TV show host dials up the flavor in her Tex-Mex queso by inviting ingredients to the party that pack a punch. She starts by broiling poblano peppers, then peeling away the blackened skin, resulting in tender, smoky peppers with just the right amount of heat. Next, she cooks Mexican chorizo in a skillet until it's nicely browned. Pro tip: When shopping for chorizo, keep a close eye on the packaging. Mexican chorizo is uncooked, like breakfast sausage; it's what you want for this recipe. Spanish chorizo is cured, and is too dry for this recipe. After cooking the chorizo, set it aside to top the queso later, but keep the flavorful drippings in the pan for sautéing the onions. To get that deliciously smooth and creamy queso texture, Pati uses a mixture of whole milk, cream, cream cheese, and a surprise ingredient—grated American cheese. Unlike Cheddar cheese, which can get grainy or greasy when melted, American cheese melts super smoothly, making it perfect for this dip. Serve this next-level queso with plenty of corn tortilla chips, or spoon it over your favorite tacos to make them even better. Ingredients 3 medium-size poblano chiles 1 lb. Mexican chorizo, casings removed 1 small white onion, chopped (1 cup) 2 ripe plum tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped ½ cup whole milk ½ cup heavy cream 4 oz. cream cheese 2 lb. American cheese, shredded Tortilla chips, for serving Directions Preheat oven to broil with oven rack 6 inches from heat. Place poblanos on a baking sheet, and broil until skin is charred and blistered, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a medium bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap; let stand 10 minutes. Uncover bowl, and peel poblanos. Discard peel. Cut poblanos in half lengthwise, and remove and discard stems and seeds. Chop poblanos. Cook chorizo in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high, stirring occasionally to break into smaller pieces, until chorizo is brown and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove cooked chorizo with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to drippings in skillet; cook until onion softens, 3 to 4 minutes. Add chopped poblano and tomatoes, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in milk, heavy cream, and cream cheese, stirring and scraping skillet to loosen browned bits. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thoroughly melted and combined, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Scrape queso into a serving bowl, and garnish with cooked chorizo. Serve with tortilla chips. Tips This recipe originally appeared in our September 2022 issue. Rate it Print