[0 - 2] - I am Saul Montiel, I'm a professional chef,
[2 - 5] and today I'm gonna teach you everything you need to know
[5 - 7] to make the best queso fundido.
[7 - 10] This is Queso Fundido 101.
[10 - 13] What's the difference between queso and a queso fundido?
[13 - 17] A queso, it's just a melting cheese, kind of like a saucy.
[17 - 19] And then when it becomes a queso fundido,
[19 - 22] with the real Mexican ingredients, with the chorizo,
[22 - 25] with the mushrooms, with the poblano peppers,
[25 - 29] that's what I'm talking about, like queso, queso fundido.
[29 - 36] Now it's time to make queso fundido the best way. My way. [bright music]
[36 - 39] One of the most important ingredients in a queso fundido,
[39 - 41] it's the type of cheeses that you use.
[41 - 44] Typically I would use Oaxaca and queso quesadilla,
[44 - 46] but in this case I'm gonna use mozzarella
[46 - 48] and Monterey Jack cheese because they're more accessible
[48 - 49] and also they're really good.
[49 - 51] This kind of mozzarella, dried mozzarella,
[51 - 53] it doesn't have that much water in it.
[53 - 55] If you use fresh mozzarella, it has a lot of water,
[55 - 59] so when you melt your cheeses, it will be very watery
[59 - 60] and you probably boil the cheese
[60 - 62] and you probably break the cheese.
[62 - 65] Now the reason why I'm adding Monterey Jack,
[65 - 66] 'cause I wanna add some sharpness to it.
[66 - 68] Now, these are the two cheeses that I'm using,
[68 - 69] that doesn't mean that you should do that,
[69 - 74] but just make sure whatever cheese you use, it melts easily.
[74 - 77] Now look at this, it's not as dry as the store bought, already shredded.
[77 - 81] You can feel it, it's tender, it's soft,
[81 - 82] and it's gonna take two seconds.
[82 - 84] Not two seconds, six minutes to melt.
[84 - 87] What I normally do, I add some cornstarch.
[87 - 89] It's going to prevent from be too oily,
[89 - 92] and also it's gonna make it a little more elastic.
[92 - 93] It'll be easier to put it on your tortilla
[93 - 98] and it won't be very watery. [bright music]
[98 - 100] Okay, now we're gonna cook some of the meats
[100 - 102] and the vegetables.
[102 - 105] We have this chorizo from Toluca in Mexico.
[105 - 107] We're gonna remove the case out of this chorizo
[107 - 109] and then we're gonna crumble it with our hands.
[109 - 112] The most typical queso fundido will be with chorizo,
[112 - 114] but again, you can just have vegetables
[114 - 115] if you don't eat meat.
[115 - 117] Now, we're not gonna put any oil into here
[117 - 120] because chorizo has a lot of fat.
[120 - 122] The best fat. It's like Mexican bacon.
[122 - 124] Who doesn't love smell of bacon, right?
[124 - 125] When you walk in the street and you there,
[125 - 127] [Saul sniffs], "Somebody's making bacon."
[127 - 129] In Mexico it's like "Somebody's making chorizo."
[129 - 132] Basically it's ground pork with lot of spices
[132 - 134] that makes it taste like chorizo, delicious.
[134 - 137] We want to have a crispy chorizo, so we going to move it,
[137 - 138] but not too much.
[138 - 141] It's just like bacon, when the bacon is crispy,
[141 - 142] it tastes delicious.
[142 - 144] When it's not cooked properly, it's chewy.
[144 - 147] Same thing with this. And the smell, oh my gosh.
[147 - 150] Do we have a Smell-O-Vision? No, it's not Smell-O-Vision.
[150 - 153] As soon as most of the chorizo has a nice sear,
[153 - 155] the chorizo flavor is stronger.
[155 - 157] All the flavors are waking up, telling me,
[157 - 160] "Smell me and eat me."
[160 - 164] Our chorizo looks the way it should be. Crispy, crunchy.
[164 - 166] So I'm gonna start with the poblano peppers.
[166 - 168] It takes little longer to cook than the mushrooms.
[168 - 170] You always cook what takes longer to cook.
[170 - 173] In this case, chorizo takes longer to cook,
[173 - 174] so we start first.
[174 - 176] What's the second? Poblano peppers.
[176 - 178] I choose poblano peppers
[178 - 182] because it doesn't have the pepper flavor
[182 - 184] as a normal pepper, this has a kick,
[184 - 186] little more milder than a jalapeno.
[186 - 188] We don't want the poblano peppers to be very soft,
[188 - 191] it's just a no-no, so you need to keep it al dente.
[191 - 193] We start with high heat to sear the chorizo
[193 - 195] and now you go medium heat.
[195 - 197] Remember, you control the heat.
[197 - 199] The heat does not control you.
[199 - 202] Now I'm gonna do the mushrooms.
[202 - 204] I'm using regular button mushrooms,
[204 - 207] but you can use shiitake, oyster, cremini.
[207 - 209] Another reason why I'm not seasoning anything,
[209 - 211] it's very simple.
[211 - 213] The chorizo, it's salty.
[213 - 217] There's a lot of seasoning on the chorizo, a lot of spices.
[217 - 220] Chorizo is full of flavors and the cheese is delicious.
[220 - 222] When you combine those together,
[222 - 224] you have the best queso fundido.
[224 - 226] Now, mushrooms can be very watery.
[226 - 230] Like my eyes, when I see a sad movie.
[230 - 232] We don't wanna overcook the mushrooms
[232 - 233] because the mushrooms shrink.
[233 - 234] So now we're gonna do the garlic.
[234 - 238] Since it's a very small dice, it will cook really fast.
[238 - 241] Now, if you notice, all the fat is gone. Why?
[241 - 243] Because all the poblano peppers and mushrooms
[243 - 247] absorb all the fat, so gonna put a little bit of butter.
[247 - 249] The butter makes everything taste delicious.
[249 - 252] And also it will help the cheese to stick together.
[252 - 255] But wait, there is more. Elotes, sweet corn.
[255 - 256] This is already cooked.
[256 - 259] When you eat the queso fundido bite,
[259 - 261] I want that corn to explode on your mouth
[261 - 263] and you have that sweetness from corn.
[263 - 265] You like, "Whoa, where did this came from?"
[265 - 267] So you have the crispiness from the chorizo,
[267 - 269] and then the explosion of the corn in your mouth,
[269 - 272] and the saltiness and the spiciness from the peppers
[272 - 275] and the mushrooms, it just la creme de la creme.
[275 - 278] So now I'm gonna remove half of this,
[278 - 279] it's gonna be mixed with the cheeses.
[279 - 284] And then the other half is gonna be on top. [bright music]
[284 - 285] Now we lower the heat
[285 - 287] because I don't want to overcook the cheese.
[287 - 291] If you overcook the cheese, it won't be elastic
[291 - 293] and flexible like me. [Saul chuckles]
[293 - 296] How many of the cheese? All at once.
[296 - 298] 'Cause I want this to melt at the same time.
[299 - 301] What's better than cheese? More cheese.
[301 - 303] It's very important to keep stirring
[303 - 305] because we wanna make sure all the cheese
[305 - 308] gets melt at the same time.
[308 - 311] Look at this. It looks great already.
[311 - 314] Now this is a queso fundido, right?
[314 - 316] If it's not elastic, it's not a queso fundido.
[316 - 318] I'm just gonna finish
[318 - 321] putting the rest of the ingredients on top so it looks nice.
[322 - 324] And there you have it, my queso fundido.
[324 - 327] Look how beautiful it looks. I can see the chorizo.
[327 - 329] Very important that you get to see what you're eating.
[329 - 331] Also, the sweet of the corn, it adds color,
[331 - 332] and also you adds a bite when you eat it.
[332 - 336] Explosion of sweetness on your mouth. And the garlic.
[336 - 338] Garlic and cheese is just a dream come true
[338 - 340] when it comes to queso fundido.
[340 - 344] I can't wait to eat this. [bright music]
[344 - 347] Look at this. Look how beautiful this looks.
[347 - 349] We're gonna sprinkle some queso fresco.
[349 - 352] It adds just a little bit of saltiness and also color.
[352 - 353] Look at this beauty.
[353 - 355] You don't have to add queso fresco, you don't have it.
[355 - 357] I'm a professional, so I have it.
[357 - 358] And we'll add some cilantro.
[358 - 361] You can do chives if you want, scallions if you want.
[361 - 365] It adds some fresh element to this.
[365 - 369] Let's taste this queso fundido before it gets free-o.
[369 - 370] You know, different places, different people
[370 - 374] eat it with flour tortillas or tortilla chips,
[374 - 376] at the end of the day, I have both.
[376 - 377] How lucky I am. [Saul chuckles]
[377 - 379] You have to make sure that the tortilla,
[379 - 381] it holds the cheese properly.
[381 - 383] Then you wrap it like a gift.
[383 - 386] Ah-ha, you guys didn't know this, huh? Look at this.
[386 - 391] I've been eating healthy lately, so I'm cheating right now. [bright music] [chip crunches]
[391 - 394] The explosion of corn or sweetness on your mouth,
[394 - 396] the saltiness, spiciness from the chorizo and the poblano,
[396 - 400] just so good, so good and so simple.
[400 - 404] My other favorite way to eat this, with a flour tortilla,
[405 - 409] Look at this. I just need a salsa right here.
[409 - 410] Make it like a flauta.
[410 - 412] Can't believe I get paid to do this.
[412 - 414] [bright music continues]
[414 - 416] I prefer the flour tortilla.
[416 - 419] It's sweet, it kind of makes it even better.
[419 - 421] Flour tortilla wins.
[421 - 423] It's so simple to do and so delicious
[423 - 426] that you can please anybody that comes to your house.
[426 - 429] Just melt some cheese, be happy and enjoy your company,
[429 - 431] and have fun and enjoy life.
[431 - 434] [bright music continues]