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Chupaqueso! For those of you wondering what a Chupaqueso is, you need to read . Go ahead, I'll wait... Okay, welcome back. Basically, it's a cheese dish with extra cheese and some additional cheese, sometimes with bacon. In his recipe, you use Cheddar and Jack and Parmesan, I believe. That's good, but it's not what I had on hand. 
Ingredients of this Chupaqueso: Kraft American Slices (they melt particularly well) Cheddar cheese, Shredded Jarlsberg (we had it in the fridge and it adds a different flavor to the party) and bits of chopped up bacon (Great Trader of Pork Bellies, there's bacon in this thing!) 
Here's the pan, with some non-stick spray in it. I'm not sure the non-stick spray is really necessary, but it can't hurt. 
Here I've laid out the base that will form the shell of the Chupaqueso. I try to fill the bottom of the pan and go a little up the sides with some of it. In this pan, that's 2 slices next to each other down the middle, with the other two slices split in half and added to each side. You could probably make a 4x4 square, but I'd end up placing it off-center and have it sticking way up one side, and barely touching the other. 
Here is the base when it's mostly done cooking the first side. This takes a few minutes for it to fry enough to get some structural integrity. Don't mess with it too soon. 
Once it's starting to brown around the edges, I'll turn up the edge all around the whole thing. Then I'll go back around and try to pry it up slightly and get the spatula underneath it. If it starts wrinkling too much, I'll put it back down and give it another 30 seconds before I try again. Once the spatula goes underneath, slide it around a little to help it separate from the pan. It works best to go sort of all the way around the edge doing this a little at a time, rather than trying to scoop it all up from one part. 
Once it has separated all the way around, flip it over and let this side cook. This will take about 1/3 the time of the other side, so watch it closely. Same procedure as the other side, turn up the edges, separate it gradually from the pan, then flip it again. 
Here we are, flipped again. Now we have to work fast adding all the insides before the bottom gets charred. You could probably turn down the heat a bit at this point. 
Mmm...the insides. Here's where we add the other cheeses (and the bacon) you don't want to add so much that it won't melt or that you won't be able to fold it closed. Remember that thinner slices or shreds melt more quickly than thick ones, so slice it fine or shred it for the best results. 
Here it is, all rolled up and ready to eat! Tasty! To paraphrase Howard Tayler, you now have a Chupaqueso. Either you can suck (chupa) the cheese (queso) out of the middle, or this cheese (queso) thing you made sucks (chupa.) If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know |