Yeah, that’s right. I made queso out of brie. (Because a girl can only watch so many hours of Big Game Pre-Game Nonsense.)
Brie. And caramelized onions. And a little milk. And 1/2 teaspoon of a secret ingredient that will let you turn just about any cheese into a smooth, melty cheese sauce: sodium citrate.
I’ve also made excellent chile con queso using real cheeses (no processed cheezes at all), macaroni and cheese, and a nacho sauce out of a cheese you’d never think to make nachos with… but those – those are for another day. Today, we’re talking brie.
So that sodium citrate – I spied it on the Huffington Post a couple months ago. It basically allows cheese to dreamily melt without separating into a clumpy, oily mess. Add some to a little milk, add your cubed or shredded cheese, and then dig out your stretchy-waisted pants. Because your going to need them.
The sweetness of the caramelized onions and the richness of the brie are a match made in queso heaven.
Brie and Caramelized Onion Queso
A cheesy queso dip made from brie, caramelized onions, and a secret ingredient: sodium citrate.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1/2 cup caramelized onions (yield from 1/2 large white onion)*
- 8 oz wheel brie
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp sodium citrate
Instructions
- To caramelize the onions, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium high heat.
- Add the onions and cook covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add 1/2 cup water to the onions and stir well, covering and cooking for another 10 minutes.
- Add 1/2 cup more water to the onions and stir, cover and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Remove lid and cook another 5-10 minutes, reducing heat if necessary, until desired color is reached (I usually call it around 30-35 minutes).
- While the onions are cooking, take a spoon and scrape the white rind off the brie.
- Cut the brie into 4 wedges. Take a vegetable peeler and make one pass over the scraped surfaces to remove the thin rind.
- Cut the brie into small cubes.
- Transfer the onions to a small bowl and rinse out the pan.
- Heat milk in the pan over medium heat and add the sodium citrate, stirring to dissolve.
- Add the brie and stir occasionally at first, and then more frequently as it slowly melts.
- When the brie has melted, add 1/2 cup of caramelized onions to the queso and stir.
- Serve hot/warm.
Notes
Yields: 1+ cup
Estimated time: 45 minutes