My Favorite Mexican Cheese Dip: How to Make Queso Fundido by Cleo Coyle #Superbowl

To my American ear, fundido sounds a little like an advertising slogan invented by a group of Mad Men trying to sell tortilla snack chips. "Party with our queso fundido. It’s fun, fun, fun!"

The truth is, fundido doesn't translate into fun, not literally anyway. In Spanish it means melted; consequently, queso fundido means melted cheese, and if you’ve sampled it, you may agree with me that it’s about the best cheese dip on the planet. 

Cleo Coyle, who sees
the fun in fundido,
is author of The
Coffeehouse Mysteries

Tex-Mex fans know it’s served in Northern Mexico, the Southwestern US, and Mexican restaurants in other parts of America. Culinary roots take it back to campfire eating. The version in today's post is the one my husband (and partner in crime writing) Marc and I enjoy, and we hope you do, too. 

~ Cleo

Cleo Coyle's 
Queso Fundido

("Melted Cheese" Dip)

Traditionally, queso fundido is presented while still bubbling hot. Some restaurants serve it flambé, adding a flammable alcohol and lighting it. We prefer the broiler method of finishing this dish, which is much easier than flambé and just as tasty--plus you don’t need to have a fire extinguisher on hand. 

As for the ingredients, some cooks use cilantro in their recipes; we don't but you're welcome to. Rick Bayless does a version with tequila. Our Hispanic neighbors in Queens (NYC) believe cerveza is the way to go, and we do, too. That's why we’ve gone with beer in our recipe, an ingredient which should be easy to find in refrigerators across America this Super Bowl weekend.

Finally, on the question of meat, chorizo is traditional. We keep it optional. Sometimes we include it, sometimes we don't. 

If you'd like to add chorizo (or your favorite sausage), we suggest you slice open the casing, cook the meat (mashing it with a fork while heating until it looks like ground meat), drain the fat, and sprinkle it over this dish before the final broil. Though some recipes direct you to cook the chorizo in the same pan that you cook the veggies and melt the cheese, we find that creates a very greasy dip. We like our method, which gives you an ooey-gooey, cheesy pool of fundido flavor without the grease.

To download a PDF document of this recipe that you can print, save, or share, click here. 



Ingredients

1 plum tomato, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (For more options on peppers,
   see my note at the end of this recipe.)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Dash of black pepper

1/2 cup Corona or another pale lager beer (Never measure the foamy,
      white head when using beer in a recipe; allow the beer to settle first.)     

6 ounces Monterey Jack, roughly chunked

6 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, roughly chunked

Tortilla chips 

(optional topping) chorizo or your favorite sausage 

Variation: For white cheddar dip, replace the extra sharp cheddar with 6 ounces of Queso Blanco


Cheese note: Do not use pre-shredded cheese for this recipe (the kind found bagged and hanging in most grocery stores—did you know it has wood pulp in it? Read more about that here). The coating prevents it from melting as nicely as pure block cheese. 

Step 1 – Rough chop the cheeses: Break your block cheese into 1-inch pieces. (See my photo below.) Set the cheese aside.

Step 2 – Prep the veggies: Chop your tomato, onion, and jalapeno pepper. I recommend using only the green part of the jalapeno in this dip, discarding the seeds and the white membrane, which hold more heat than flavor. (For advice on working with jalapenos and suggestions on other peppers you might prefer to use in this dish, depending on your taste, see my notes at the end of the recipe.)

Step 3 – Cook the veggies: Toss the vegetables into a nonstick, oven-safe saucepan, or a well-oiled, cast iron saucepan and cook over medium heat. Sauté all the veggies until the onions are soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. 

(Note: If you do not have an oven-safe pan, no worries. Just note that in Step 6 of this recipe, you will need to transfer the dip to a casserole dish, a pie plate, a cake pan, or some other oven-proof container before placing it under a broiler and serving. In all cases, be sure to grease the pans with oil to prevent the cheese from sticking.)

Step 4 – Simmer: When the veggies are soft, add the oregano, salt, and pepper to the saucepan. Then add the 1/2 cup of beer (do not measure the white head, wait until the beer settles before measuring) and heat the mixture to simmering, stirring occasionally and scraping browned bits that may stick to the pan. Let simmer 3 to 5 minutes, or until half the liquid evaporates.

Step 5 – Add the cheeses: Do not add all at once. Add your chunks, a handful at a time, while stirring vigorously. Allow each addition to melt and the mixture to become blended and smooth before adding more.

When all the cheese is added, melted, and blended, you're ready to finish. You can serve now or save it for a few hours before service. (For tips on how to properly hold this dip, see my note at the end of the recipe.) If you'd like to add chorizo, sausage or bacon bits, now is the time (for directions on how, see my note at the end).

In this photo, I'm transferring the dip
 from my skillet to a small, well-oiled
cast iron pan. The next step is
broiling the top before serving.

Step 6 - Finish under broiler: With the cheese melted and blended, you can now finish by...

A. Broiling the top for 2 to 5 minutes and serving in the same pan in which you cooked it or...

B. Transfer the dip to another serving container (a casserole dish, pie plate, or cake pan) before broiling. Whatever pan or dish you use, be sure the container is safe to place in your oven and well-oiled to prevent sticking. 

Broil the cheese dip until the top just begins to go golden brown--about 2 to 5 minutes (see my photos below for appearance)--and serve it immediately, bubbly and hot.

Want to make the dip a few hours before your party? If you need to hold the dip before serving, follow the recipe up to Step 5. Then cover the cheese dip and keep at room temperature on top of the stove for up to 3 hours. (Do not refrigerate and do not hold in a warm oven; you want to keep it at room temperature--but, again, for no more than 3 hours.) To finish the dish, you must reheat it, stirring to re-liquefy the cheese and then place it under the broiler for 2 to 5 minutes. Be sure to serve the dip hot, right out of the oven.

Serving tips and notes on chorizo: Use tortilla chips for dipping. You may also garnish the finished fundido with cooked chorizo, sausage, or bacon bits. For the chorizo or sausage, slice open the casings, and cook the meat inside, mashing with a fork until it resembles ground meat. Drain and sprinkle it on top of the queso fundido before it goes under the broiler.

How to Reheat: Just warm the fundido over medium heat; stirring until melted and bubbly once again. 

Pepper options: Jalapeno is our favorite pepper for this dip. If you’d like zero heat, go for a bell pepper. For milder heat than a jalapeno, use a banana, cherry, or poblano pepper. For more heat than a jalapeno, try a fresh Serrano, or sprinkle in some dried cayenne. Suicidal heat? Try a Thai chili, Scotch bonnet, or habanero. To see a visual guide to common chili peppers, click here, along with their heat rating on the Scoville scale. 

Pepper safety: As many of you know already, take care when cutting jalapenos or any hot pepper. The capsaicin in the peppers can burn skin. If you a tiny scratch or winter-chapped skin, the burn can be painful. Should you absently touch your nose, lips, or your eyes while cutting hot peppers, you will surely regret it (ask me how I know). Use latex gloves to protect chapped hands; otherwise, work with care. 

FYI: The cast iron pans in my photos are Lodge brand (6-1/2 inch size). I love these baby skillets. For more info or to purchase, click here and...

Cook with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle 

New York Times bestselling author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries

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