Please help me make queso dip

I'm missing something with technique or ingredients. I've been trying to make a white cheese dip like they serve at El Nopal. I can't figure out how to get the cheese to melt/blend/dilute/thin like it is in the restaurant. All I seem to get is a stringy mess. I've tried various Mexican melting cheeses, white cheddar, and others. Not even close!

I'd appreciate whatever help you can give me.

Thanks
Jim Dantun

I found this recipe several places, so it must be the standard. I suspect the half-and-half is what makes it nice and oozy/pourable. Are you using a double boiler?

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QUESO BLANCO

1 cup finely shredded cheese (Monterey Jack, Asadero or Chihuahua)
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 of an 8 oz. pkg)
4 oz fresh green chiles, chopped
1/4 cup half & half (more as needed)
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 serrano pepper, finely chopped
2 tsp cumin
salt to taste

Put all ingredients into a double boiler and cook over medioum heat until melted and well blended. Stir occasionally; more half & half may be added to create desired consistency.

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And, welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the club, Jim.
I don't know if this is standard or not as I don't make queso, but my SIL coats the shredded cheese in a little corn starch and that seems to keep everything together and smooth.

I went through a white cheese dip quest a year or so ago. Here's a link to the most useful info I found.

http://www.xenite.org/white_cheese/ques ... ecipe.html

The Asadero cheese can be quite difficult to find. American white cheese works quite well.

Gordo's Cheese Dip (usually found in WalMart deli section) is a decent product that only requires a bit of half & half to approximate El Nopal's dip.

Welcome to the forum and ¡Felíz año nuevo!

Thanks everyone -- this really helps. I'll run some tests and report back with the results. It looks like I've been really going about it wrong!

Test # 1

I finally found some white American cheese at Meijers. It was at their deli counter, not with the rest of the cheeses! Land o Lakes brand.

It melted just fine in a double boiler. I just kept adding half-and-half until the consistency seemed right. I didn't have any fresh jalapenos, so I used pickled. Fresh would be much better.

I used the recipe that Tom Holstein suggested as the basis of my test. Here's the final ingredient list:

White Queso Dip

½ lb white American cheese
4 oz Jalapenos, drained and chopped
1/2 C Half & Half
2 T Onion; finely chopped
2 tsp Cumin, ground
Heat all ingredients over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cheese is melted. Serve warm with corn chips.

The next batch will be with fresh peppers and I may try blending in some other cheeses and the cream cheese.

Thanks again for the help.