Cast Iron Queso Fundido
By Matthew FairmanPublished on January 27, 2025
Time
50 minutes
Yield
6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Look for bulk Mexican-style chorizo, which is made from fresh, raw seasoned pork. If you can’t find bulk chorizo, look for fresh chorizo sausages and remove the casings. We developed this recipe with V&V Supremo Shredded Chihuahua cheese. If you can’t find Chihuahua cheese (the traditional choice for this dish), you can substitute shredded Monterey Jack. If you’re shredding your own block cheese, toss the shreds with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch before adding to the chorizo mixture in step 3. We like to serve this queso fundido with tomatillo salsa.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Cook chorizo in 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, stirring and breaking up chorizo into small pieces, until sizzling in its fat and lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Off heat, use slotted spoon to transfer chorizo to paper towel–lined plate, leaving fat behind in skillet (if chorizo is very greasy, blot with paper towels); set aside.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet (if you don’t have 1 tablespoon, supplement with vegetable oil). Add onion, poblano, and salt and cook over medium heat until vegetables are softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and 1 teaspoon oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in tomato and reserved chorizo and cook until tomato is softened and beginning to break down, about 3 minutes. Off heat, smooth chorizo mixture into even layer in skillet. Sprinkle cheese evenly over chorizo mixture, to edges of skillet.
- Broil until cheese is well browned on top and crisp around edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer skillet to heatproof surface and sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon oregano. Serve queso fundido spooned into tortillas.
Time
50 minutesYield
6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Queso fundido (literally “molten cheese”) hails from northern Mexico and is a staple appetizer at Mexican restaurants and increasingly in Tex-Mex cuisine. Unlike queso dip—which is pourable and can be easily scooped up with tortilla chips—queso fundido is the stuff of cheese-pull dreams. Scooped up and wrapped in soft flour tortillas, it is eaten more like a taco. For our classic version with chorizo and poblano, we started by browning the sausage in a cast-iron skillet and transferring it to paper towels to remove any excess grease. Then we sautéed a flavorful mix of sliced onion, poblano strips, diced tomato, garlic, and Mexican oregano in a measured amount of fat left in the skillet. Finally, we added the chorizo back to the skillet and topped the mixture with a generous amount of Chihuahua cheese, a luscious, mellow Mexican melting cheese that’s supremely creamy and has just enough chew to create long, enticing cheese pulls. A couple minutes under the broiler gave the bubbling cheese a gorgeous browned crust and crisped edges.
Before You Begin
Look for bulk Mexican-style chorizo, which is made from fresh, raw seasoned pork. If you can’t find bulk chorizo, look for fresh chorizo sausages and remove the casings. We developed this recipe with V&V Supremo Shredded Chihuahua cheese. If you can’t find Chihuahua cheese (the traditional choice for this dish), you can substitute shredded Monterey Jack. If you’re shredding your own block cheese, toss the shreds with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch before adding to the chorizo mixture in step 3. We like to serve this queso fundido with tomatillo salsa.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Cook chorizo in 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, stirring and breaking up chorizo into small pieces, until sizzling in its fat and lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Off heat, use slotted spoon to transfer chorizo to paper towel–lined plate, leaving fat behind in skillet (if chorizo is very greasy, blot with paper towels); set aside.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet (if you don’t have 1 tablespoon, supplement with vegetable oil). Add onion, poblano, and salt and cook over medium heat until vegetables are softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and 1 teaspoon oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in tomato and reserved chorizo and cook until tomato is softened and beginning to break down, about 3 minutes. Off heat, smooth chorizo mixture into even layer in skillet. Sprinkle cheese evenly over chorizo mixture, to edges of skillet.
- Broil until cheese is well browned on top and crisp around edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer skillet to heatproof surface and sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon oregano. Serve queso fundido spooned into tortillas.
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