If you’ve ever been to Austin, you know that Torchy’s Tacos is a staple. They have all kinds of incredible, crazy tacos that you go back for again and again. The best item on their menu to try to recreate, though? Torchy’s queso.
If you hit up Torchy’s for the tacos, I HIGHLY recommend you make any taco you get “trashy.” Why? Because “trashy” tacos mean taking the lettuce off and smothering it in some of the Torchy’s queso deliciousness. There’s seriously nothing better than one of their creative tacos with queso on top.
It’s spicy, but not too spicy, with amazing flavor from the roasted veggies and guac that goes into it. “Creamy” doesn’t begin to describe it and the way it coats a chip is divine. You can eat the stuff on literally anything, but some of my favorite ways are chips (duh), breakfast tacos, or over a taco salad.
Obviously we live in DFW, courtesy of the pilot’s job, so it’s a little harder to come by, but not impossible. They opened one between us and the airport, down the street from another of my favorite Austin-created Tex-Mex places, so life is good up here.
With the stay-at-home orders in place, we’re really trying to limit how much we go out (basically just the grocery store every two weeks and the pilot heading to work) so I decided to attempt my own version of Urban Cowgirl’s Torchy’s Queso recipe (she’s my FAVORITE, y’all). I prefer mine without all the toppings– I stick to just the queso and guac combo– but if you want it more authentically Torchy’s, add yourself a sprinkle of cotija cheese and chopped cilantro with a drizzle of Valentina’s Black Label hot sauce (the hotter version of Valentina’s, to which I was introduced by my brother-in-law, who puts it on EVERYTHING, and the most similar I’ve found to Torchy’s Diablo Sauce).
Torchy’s queso recipe is also AMAZING on tacos (like the ones you would make with my taco seasoning), over chips for nachos, on eggs in the morning, or in a glass with a straw (okay, mostly kidding on that one). If you’re needing an awesome replica of Torchy’s guac, look no further than this post!
Ingredients
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6 cloves garlic
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3 roma tomatoes
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2 Anaheim peppers (or Hatch green chiles, if you can find them)
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6 small to medium tomatillos
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1 large serrano pepper
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1/8 onion, in a wedge shape
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3/4 lb American cheese from the deli
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1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
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1 1/4 c half and half
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1 T lemon juice
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Salt, to taste
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Prepared Torchy's guacamole
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Cotija cheese, optional
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Valentina's hot sauce, optional
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Cilantro, chopped, optional
Instructions
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To roast the veggies:
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- Turn your broiler on (if it asks, set it to 550*) and put the rack on the third-highest rung in the oven. This allows the veggies to get cooked through without the skin getting black too quickly.
- On a sheet pan, lay out the cloves of garlic (still in their skins), roma tomatoes, Anaheim peppers, tomatillos (out of their lanterns), serrano pepper, and 1/4 onion (still in a wedge).
- Set the tray in the oven for 5-7 minutes, until the tomatoes have peeling skin and the peppers are charred.
- Pull out the tray and flip all the veggies over before putting it back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes.
- Once everything looks nice and roasted, take them out of the oven and set aside to cool.
- When the veggies are cool enough to handle, you're going to prep them for the rest of the recipe. Take the garlic out of the skins and then mince two cloves, leaving four whole. Deseed and scrape the skin off the Anaheim peppers (this is sometimes easiest under cool, running water), chopping them afterwards to quarter-to-half-inch pieces. Remove the skin from the tomatoes and dice to approximately the same size pieces as the Anaheim peppers. Cut the stem off the serrano.
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Prep the other ingredients:
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- For the salsa verde, place 4 cloves into a blender (I like to use this individual Ninja blender), along with the tomatillos, serrano (after the stem is cut off), 1/8 onion, and a good pinch of salt. Blend it up until it's smooth!
- Make the Torchy's guacamole which I posted over here.
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For the queso:
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- Put the butter in the bottom of a 3.5 quart pot with one clove of minced roasted garlic. Allow the butter to melt and cook the garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add the roasted, chopped Anaheim peppers and roma tomatoes with a pinch of salt.
- Pour in the half and half and then add the slices of American cheese one at a time. There's no need to wait for them to melt before you add the next one, but I've found that separating them helps them to melt more evenly and gives you a smoother queso.
- Sprinkle in the 1/2 c of shredded cheddar, stirring well.
- Once the cheddar has melted in, pour in the salsa verde you blended up earlier.
- Stir until it looks like the dreamiest queso you've ever seen. Then, add in the lemon juice and another pinch of salt.
- Now, you're going to be tempted to eat it right away. I understand! If you can hold off a couple of hours (or better yet, 4 to 12), it's going to get a thousand times better, I promise! The cheese will start soaking up all that flavor from the roasted peppers and make it the most flavorful queso you've ever had.
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To serve:
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I prefer mine with just a scoop of Torchy's guac and some queso, BUT to make it authentically Torchy's queso recipe, take a scoop of Torchy's guac and put it in the bottom of your bowl. Spoon the queso into the bowl, top with a sprinkle of cotija cheese and chopped cilantro, a drizzle of Valentina's, and go to town!
Notes
Use the good American cheese from the deli counter, not the individually wrapped slices in the refrigerated section. Boar's Head or the store brand both work well in my experience, but you definitely want it from the deli counter!
If it got a little thick while you let it sit, you can thin it out with water (which won't affect the taste at all) or some half and half.
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