Week #43: Texas - Lone Star Brisket and Queso Pizza

State:  Texas

I traveled once to Texas for a business trip, but really did not get to experience what the state offers.  I went to Dallas and Houston airports, but did not see the cities.  I did stay in El Paso, TX for a couple of days and I tried to explore, but you really need a car to see some of the historical sites.  What I do remember most, is the great Tex-Mex food and definitely Queso!  So I wanted to make a pizza focused on traditional homemade queso.  I hope you enjoy, because we surely did!!

Ingredients:

Chile Con Queso:

1/2 onion diced (about 1/2 cup)

2 tsp of minced garlic

1 tsp of cumin

1 jalapeno pepper diced

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of flour

1 cup of whole milk

1 bunch of chopped and minced cilantro

½ lb of White American Cheese – Ask the deli to cut in blocks, then cut in squares

2 tomatoes, peeled and diced (about 1/2 cup)

Salt and pepper to taste

Queso:

1. Melt butter in a sauce pot on medium-low heat, and then cook the onions & peppers for about five minutes or until onions are translucent.

2. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

3. Whisk the flour into the butter, vegetable mix and cook for about 30 seconds.

4. Add the milk to the pot, and cook on medium, whisking constantly until sauce is thick, about five minutes. Stir in the cilantro, cumin and tomatoes.

5. Turn heat down to low, and slowly add the cheese stirring into the white sauce until completely melted. Repeat.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meat:

So this step was very easy.  I didn’t have 8-10 hours to slow cook a brisket, so I ordered from Holy Hog BBQ here in Tampa.  When I get a nice smoker, I will definitely do my own brisket.

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450.  Cook crust for 10 minutes or until slightly browned.  Turn down heat to 400 degrees.  With a ladle, scoop out queso and ensure to cover all of the crust.   Tear up pieces of the brisket and lay onto pizza spreading out accordingly. Put into oven for 5 minutes to warm up queso and brisket.  Remove from oven and allow pizza to cool before eating.  Enjoy!

Pairing:

So when pairing a beer with this pizza, I would go with an IPA or Imperial stout.  I would usually pair a citrusy beer with this pizza, so it will balance out well.

Learning Moments:

So I learned how easy it is to make queso and not with Velvetta.  Seriously, if you are using synthetic processed cheese, you are not going to make it far in life.  That stuff will kill you!  Anyways, off of my ranting about synthetic cheese.  I really love fresh queso and using fresh ingredients, you can alter it to the way you want it.  I love cooking and this challenge is definitely helping me get outside of the box.  Hope you enjoy it too!