{{Short description|Dish of hot melted cheese and spicy chorizo}} {{Infobox food | name = Queso flameado | image = Queso Flameado de Oaxaca.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = Queso flameado made with Oaxaca cheese and chorizo | alternate_name = | country = Mexico | region = | creator = | course = Hors d'oeuvre | type = | served = Flambé | main_ingredient = Cheese, spicy chorizo | minor_ingredient = | variations = }}
'''Queso flameado''' ({{literally|flamed cheese}}), also known as '''queso fundido''' or '''choriqueso''',<ref name=Bayless/> is a dish of hot melted cheese and spicy chorizo that is often served flambé. Often compared to cheese fondue, it is a party dish; it is popular at cookouts and in restaurants as an appetizer.<ref name=Bayless/> Almost unique in Mexican cuisine,<ref name=Bayless/> in the cuisine of the United States this dish has been widely adapted and is considered a native dish in El Paso.<ref name=Rosengarten/><ref name=WagnerMarquez/> In Mexico, it occurs in restaurants more often in the north.<ref name=Bayless/> Typical main ingredients are melted cheese and a characteristic meat sauce of loose fresh chorizo, tomato, onion, chile and spices. It is served in a small, shallow casserole or other ceramic or metal heat-proof baking dish. The cheese and sauce are prepared separately, and combined just before serving. This may be done at the table, especially if finished with a flambé: high alcohol liquor is poured on the cheese and ignited, and as it burns the server folds in the sauce. If not flambéed, the mixture may be quickly broiled. Either way, the finished dish is presented while it is still bubbling hot, and it is spooned onto small soft tortillas for individual servings.
Queso flameado is said to originate in the borderlands of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, as a campfire dish.<ref>{{cite book |title=The border cookbook: authentic home cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico |author=Bill Jamison |publisher=Harvard Common Press |year=1995 |isbn=1-55832-103-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bordercookbookau00jami/page/500 500] |url=https://archive.org/details/bordercookbookau00jami |url-access=registration }}</ref>
<!-- distinguish this dish from other stuff of the same name --> In Tex-Mex restaurants, this dish is sometimes confused or conflated with chili con queso, a cheese sauce served with tortilla chips for dipping.<ref name=Rosengarten>{{cite book |author=David Rosengarten |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |year=2003 |isbn=0-316-05315-5 |pages=487 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFHAq0Mjn3cC&pg=PA120 |title=It's all American food: the best recipes for more than 400 new American classics }}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref> The term ''queso fundido'' also refers to processed cheese<ref>{{cite book |title=La elaboración de la leche en las aldeas |language=Spanish |series=Estudio FAO. Producción y sanidad animal |author=Lambert, J.C. |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |year=1990 |isbn=92-5-302679-0 |pages=71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nbA70ynA0-0C&pg=PA55 }}</ref> and is defined as such in the Spanish version of Codex Alimentarius.<ref>{{cite book |title=Leche y productos lácteos |volume=12 |series=Codex Alimentarius |author=FAO |edition=2 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |year=2001 |isbn=92-5-304497-7 |pages=130 |language=Spanish |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0HZIxxiE5IC&pg=PA34 }}</ref>
==Variations== Both the cheese and the meat sauce are prepared just before serving, and are served hot. Oaxaca cheese and Chihuahua cheese are popular, but other melting cheeses (cheeses such as whole milk mozzarella, which remain stringy when melted) may be used. Some consider stringy cheese to be an essential part of this dish,<ref name=Bayless>{{cite book |title=Mexico One Plate At A Time |author=Rick Bayless, JeanMarie Brownson |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=2000 |isbn=0-684-84186-X |pages=384 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q1VfactfpoEC&pg=PA22 }}</ref> but if this quality is not desired then a fresh farmer's cheese or goat cheese is a good alternative.<ref>{{cite book |title=Coyote Cafe: foods from the great southwest |author=Mark Charles Miller |publisher=Springer Science & Business |year=1989 |isbn=0-89815-245-3 |pages=192 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSduBycUJRcC&pg=PA52 }}</ref> If fresh chorizo is not available, pieces of dry chorizo or another sausage may be used. Common additions are strips of roasted chiles and sautéed mushrooms.<ref name=Bayless/><ref name=WagnerMarquez>{{cite book |title=Cooking Texas style: 10th anniversary edition |author=Candy Wagner, Sandra Marquez |edition=2 |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=1993 |isbn=0-292-79081-3 |pages=272 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DLehmp_C8qoC&pg=PA5 }}</ref> For the flambé, popular liquors include rum, brandy, and tequila. Of the two most common types of tortilla in Mexico and Texas, corn or wheat, may be used. In Puerto Vallarta, flour tortillas usually are served only with certain dishes, including queso flameado, corn tortillas otherwise being the norm.<ref>{{cite book |title=Fodor's 2008 Puerto Vallarta: Plus Guadalajara, San Blas, and Inland Mountain Towns |series=Fodor's Gold Guides |editor=Laura M. Kidder |publisher=Random House, Inc. |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4000-1856-7 |pages=300 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xEyCd7I9j2kC&pg=PA87 }}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Mexico|Food}} * List of cheese dishes * List of hors d'oeuvre * Chile con queso
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Mexican cuisine}} {{Cheese dishes}}
Category:Hors d'oeuvres Category:Cheese dishes Category:Flambéed foods Category:Mexican cheeses