So this is queso, it’s melted cheese. That’s it. We took cheese, which was fine, and we said, ‘You know what this needs? To be a liquid.’ Now look at this. It’s dripping. It’s everywhere. This is not food, this is a liability. …Okay. It’s warm. It’s salty. It’s smooth. You don’t even have to chew. It just… slides into your life. And you can’t stop. You’re like, ‘I’ll just have one more,’ and then suddenly the bowl’s empty and you’re blaming other people. It’s not complicated. It’s just cheese that gave up on structure. And somehow… that makes it better…just…don’t tell anyone I said that.

Suitcase Queso

Ingredients

20 corn tortillas
vegetable oil for frying
Drax’s Paborito ang Adobo Salt
1 tbs bacon fat
1 tbs flour
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup whole milk
1 10 oz can fire roasted Rotel tomatoes with chiles
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 cup mild cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 tbs hot sauce
1 tbs pickled jalapeño brine
2 tbs minced cilantro, plus 1 tbs more for garnish
1/4 cup pickled jalapeño slices

Directions

Preheat the oil to 350 degrees F in a large dutch oven or deep fryer.
Cut your corn tortillas into quarters and fry in batches for 3-4 minutes in the oil. Remove from oil and cover with Drax’s Paborito ang Adobo Salt seasoning.
Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add the bacon fat, ground cumin, and flour. cook flour until it begins to to smell slightly nutty, 3-5 minutes.
Drain the liquid of the Rotel tomatoes into the saucepan and add the milk. Bring mixture to a simmer.
Cut the cream cheese into 1/2 inch cubes and grate the cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses. Add the cheeses, along with the Romano cheese, to the saucepan. Stir in the cheese until melted and add the Rotel tomatoes with chiles and hot sauce. Bring mixture back up to a simmer and stir in the jalapeño brine and cilantro. Remove from heat.
Arrange tortillas on a plate and top with queso, or place queso in a bowl, garnish with remaining cilantro and pickled jalapeños.
Serve.