Sometimes, you have to rely on the classics. If you ever made gravy or a myriad of other thick sauces or soups, you’ve likely made a roux to create a bechamel. If you haven’t, ignore the fanciness of those words, cause the main ingredient in making anything with this method is your attention.
Gameday Queso Level 2: Bechamel
Bechamel is what’s known as a Mother Sauce because it’s essentially a base that you start with, then take it in a hundred different directions depending on your ultimate goal.
It starts with a roux, which is literally just equal parts butter and flour. Add the butter first and keep things around medium-low while it melts.
Then, with whisk in hand, add your flour (and seasoning, depending on the recipe) and stir. And stir. And stir. You’re doing two things here: getting any clumps out of the flour, and also cooking the flour so it’s safe to eat.
Hint: Though people often think the reason you shouldn’t eat raw cookie dough is because of the eggs, it’s actually because of the flour. Raw, uncooked flour can carry E.coli or salmonella. For recipes where you know you’ll be snacking on the dough, prepare heat-treated flour ahead of time.
Once that cooks down and is well blended (it will likely look and feel like you’re just scraping the bottom of the pan), you have a roux.
Slowly start adding the milk and whisk constantly until smooth, then add more milk and whisk and more milk and whisk, you get the picture, until you’ve used up the milk or reached the consistency you want (it will get thicker, especially when cheese gets added). Now you have a bechamel.
Give that some time to cook and thicken, then slowly start adding the shredded cheese.
As always, obligatory “shred your own cheese” warning, or pre-shredded from the store will be a grainy mess.
Keep whisking constantly until all the cheese has melted in and you’ve got a beautiful, silky smooth cheese bechamel.
You can eat it just like this if you’d like, especially if you used something like pepperjack, which has its add-ins already added in. But if you’re adding more, be sure you drain as much liquid as possible from whatever you’re adding, and, guess what… add slowly and whisk constantly. For my example, I used some homemade salsa to make salsa con queso.
The main reason this is a level up from Gameday Queso Level 1 is because it’s far less forgiving. You won’t get many breaks once you start this, so have your ingredients ready to go before the butter hits the pan.
As always, may all your cheeses melt perfectly or your coaches be fired.
Gameday Queso Level 2
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp All-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 cups Milk 2% or whole
- 1 lb Cheese, shredded 1-1.5 lbs, roughly 4-6 cups shredded
- Salt/pepper or all-purpose seasoning (optional) to taste video uses my personal all-purpose seasoning
- Salsa (optional) to taste remove as much liquid as possible
Instructions
- Add butter and melt on medium-low.2 tbsp Butter
- Add flour (and seasoning, if desired) and whisk until there are no more clumps of the flour and the flour is cooked enough to be safe to eat.Hint: The reason you shouldn’t eat raw cookie dough isn't because of the eggs, but because of the flour. Raw, uncooked flour can carry E.coli or salmonella. For recipes where you know you’ll be snacking on the dough, prepare heat-treated flour (flour that has reached a temp of 160 degrees) ahead of time.Once cooked down and blended, it will look and feel like you’re just scraping the bottom of the pan. You now have a roux.2 tbsp All-purpose flour, Salt/pepper or all-purpose seasoning (optional) to taste
- Slowly start adding the milk and whisk constantly until smooth, then add more milk and whisk, etc. Repeat until you’ve used up the milk or reached the consistency you want (it will get thicker when the cheese is added). You now have a béchamel.2 cups Milk
- Once it reaches the desired consistency, slowly start adding the shredded cheese.As always, obligatory “shred your own cheese” warning; pre-shredded from the store will work-ish, but it won't be smooth.Keep whisking until all the cheese has melted in and you’ve got a beautiful, silky smooth cheese béchamel.1 lb Cheese, shredded
- If desired, this is the point where you can incorporate any add-ins. In my recipe, I used a homemade salsa that's really just roasted jalapeños and tomatoes. Remove as much liquid from any add-ins as possible so your sauce doesn't break.Salsa (optional) to taste
