Smoked Queso Dip

About This Smoked Queso Recipe

The popular Texan dip gets a delicious infusion of savory smoke as the cheese is melted by the gentle heat of the smoker. Because we use heavy cream as the medium to bind all the dip ingredients the result is a stable cheese sauce imbibed by the flavors of chorizo, tomatoes, chiles, onions and spices. 

Once you assemble the queso components you will not have to worry about it too much. For the most part you will be tending the main smoked food you are working on and the dip will come together with ease as a satisfying side project. 

Who Invented Queso Dip?

Queso is short for chile con queso (also spelled chili con queso) or chile with cheese. Chile con queso is commonly regarded as the unofficial official dish of Texas and its melting-pot food culture. Every household seems to have its own preferred recipe and few social gatherings are considered complete without a bowl of queso.

But how did it come about?

The history of queso is inseparable from the evolution of Tex-Mex food and restaurants that serve it. As far as the precise origin of the dip goes there are more stories than can effectively be summarized in a post like this one. Links have been made to the British dish Welsh rarebit, Mexican stewed green chiles with cheese (Chiles Verdes con Queso) and more. The most comprehensive historical account we have come across is this Brief History of Chile con Queso. 

Smoked Queso Ingredients 

Queso. You need an excellent melting cheese and a great option (used by numerous restaurants with outstanding queso on their menus) is good quality processed cheese such as white American cheese or cheddar cheese.

NOTE: Velveeta cheese can be used in combination with rotel and pepper jack cheese in this smoked queso dip recipe. Simply match the quantity of white American cheese specified. 

Rotel and green chiles. RO-TEL canned tomatoes and diced green chilies do not contain nearly enough chiles to imply a chile con queso mixture which is why we recommend that you supplement with a four ounce can of diced green chiles. (You can also use chopped up chiles toreados - either made specifically for this recipe, or leftovers, or ones you have intentionally made and frozen for just such uses in the future.)

Chorizo. Fresh ground Mexican chorizo - pork only or a blend of pork and beef. It is already spiced with paprika and other savory spices, you need not add heat to it unless you want to. You can substitute with pork sausage, breakfast sausage or ground beef of a combination. Be sure to season generously with paprika, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper.

Onion. Yellow onion packs the most flavor, but white, sweet or red onion will do.

Cooking oil. Sunflower oil or corn oil or vegetable oil. Olive oil (second pressing) will work nicely too. Needed to saute the onion. 

Spices. Ground cumin to accentuate the spiced ground pork and dried Mexican oregano. Both infuse the queso dip with savory notes. 

Heavy cream. The perfect diary product to bind cheese and company together into one cohesive, suave dip. 

Green onions. The green parts only, sliced thin to use as a garnish. If you'd rather employ cilantro - it will taste superb. 

What Wood Chips Are Best for Smoking Queso?

Queso dip has a sweet and savory richness to it owing to the chorizo and dairy ingredients it combines. To that end hickory wood and apple wood (or a combination of both) are excellent for smoking it as they impart suitable meaty (bacon-like) yet sweet notes that enhance the core flavors. 

Oak wood is also really good for smoker queso - if you are using it to smoke your main act protein feel confident that it will infuse the cheese dip with delicious smoky flavor. We advise against mesquite wood as the smoke it produces is too pungent and will overpoewer the base flavors of the queso. 

Smoker Queso Instructions: Step-by-Step

The workflow for this recipe is straight-forward.

You will prepare the actual queso mixture on the stove after which you will transfer it to a smoker appropriate dish or simply a disposable aluminum pan. You will place the vessel directly inside the chamber of a smoker or onto the grates of a pellet smoker, dome charcoal grill, a Big Green Egg or an offset smoker. 

You can also use a cast iron skillet if you prefer a one-pot start-t0-finish process. We prefer the convenience of non-stick inside surface simply for the convenience of the easier clean-up. The pictures below illustrate this.

In a nutshell follow the steps below (printable detailed summary can be found in the Recipe Card below):

• Over medium-high heat brown the chorizo, then remove from the pan/skillet and discard any excess fat. Add the cooking oil and saute the diced onion until soft.
• In the vessel you will use for smoking place the cubed cheese, the rotel tomatoes, the green chiles, chorizo, onion and drizzle it all with heavy cream. Stir to combine all the ingredients.
• Smoke the queso, stirring occasionally to make sure a homogenous sauce develops. You want to see it bubble up and become smooth. See the notes below specific to smoker temperature and time you should smoke the queso dip.
• Either serve the smoker queso in the vessel you used to smoke it or transfer it to a warm bowl. Garnish with green onions. Be sure to offer plenty of tortilla chips!

At What Temperature to Smoke Queso Dip?

You can relax knowing that you can smoke queso in the wide range of 225 F to 275 -300 F (we like the lower end 225- 250F).

The presence of heavy cream in the mixture and use of deli white American cheese practically quarantee that the dip remains stable whether you go very low and slow or a bit more confident and fast paced towards the upper temperature range.

Simply use the smoker temperature for your main event protein you are smoking.

TIP: You can play with the distance from the heat and smoke source. If you want to smoke the queso a bit longer at a lower temperature you can position it farther away from the charcoals and wood chips or smoking wood you are burning. And vice versa. 

How Long to Smoke Queso?

At a minimum smoke queso dip until all the cheese has melted and the rest of the ingredients have been nicely incorporated (see picture #9 in the sequence above).

This cook time can take anywhere from fifty minutes to well over one hour and a half, depending on the actual smoking temeperature you maintain and the distance of the queso dip from the heat and smoke source. 

TIP: For stronger smoke flavor leave the dip in the smoking chamber a bit longer but away from the heat source. You want it to continue absorbing smoke while just staying warm, not bubbling. Do stir it nicely before you leave it for extra twenty minutes to a full hour. Stirring brings more of the dip to the surface of your pan/skillet and more of it is exposed to smoke.

Serve Smoked Queso

By far the most popular dippable are tortilla chips so make sure you have plenty available!

You can also top burgers or nachos with the smoker queso or ladle some over rice and beans for a scrumptuous, impromptu cheese entree.

How Do You Keep Smoked Queso From Hardening?

The best way to keep your smoker queso soft and gooey is to make sure it stays warm while you and your guests are enjoying it. If you have a fondue set (with a burner or electic) use it to serve the dip. Alternatively you can transfer it to a small crock pot and maintain it on the warm setting.

If you notice that it is thickening even after you have made an effort to keep it warm then simply stir in about a tablespoon of heavy cream to adjust to the desired consistency.

Storage and Reheating

Handling leftover queso dip is easy and because it is so rich it is very likely that you end up with a certain quantity you want to save for later.

To store smoked queso properly transfer it to an airtight container. Keep the lid off until the queso has cooled down completely, then close the container and place it in the refrigerator. Smoked queso dip will keep well refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. 

To reheat smoked queso after you can use your microwave or stove top burner. The combination of processed cheese and heavy cream ensures your success - it should be just as smooth once reheated as on the day you made it. 

• Microwave - place in a bowl and reheat in 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until it is warm to your liking. 
• Stove top - transfer to a small sauce pan and allow to warm through over low heat, stir as needed. 

Smoker Queso Tweaks and Variations

Vegetarian. You can either leave out the chorizo sausage and begin by sauteing the diced onion or substitute with soy chorizo which packs a ton of flavor (great for these Chorizo tacos). If you choose to do so simply add it to the sauteed onion (no fat in it that needs to be rendered in advance). 

Steak, pork or chicken queso. If you have leftover steak, pulled pork or pulled chicken cook it up along with the onions instead of the chorizo sausage. Don't forget to add some extra seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika.

Vary the chiles. You can always add some heat by working in fresh diced jalapenos or other chile of your choice. As you introduce spice in this manner be mindful of the quantity you use.