Cheese Sauce

Lemon Queso. Cheese melted with preserved lemon. Microwave or stovetop. Call it, cook it any way you want, it's all good. Salty-with-lemony-bite good. With fast and slow cooking options, choose your cheese and how smooth and creamy the queso. 

Oregon's @beared_butcher microwaves Colby Jack with If & When, cream and butter for 30 seconds, stirs, then cooks for 30 seconds more for a chewy, chunky texture. Great on baked potatoes and burgers.

Cheeses with more moisture and lower melting points make creamier sauces: swiss, gruyere, aged cheddar for more stretch, young cheddar for more liquid. On the stovetop, butter, flour and milk are the foundation.

Microwave

Need

2 cups shredded Colby Jack

2 TBS Preserved Lemon Paste, divided

1/4 cup cream

1 TBS butter

Do

Combine ingredients above (1 TBS If & When) and place in microwave on medium from 30 seconds. (Lower power than usual lends a creamery result.) Stir and taste. Add more preserved lemon - up to 1 TBS. Return to microwave and cook on medium for another 30 seconds.  Repeat process until queso is thick and melted.

Stovetop

Need

1 ½ cups shredded cheese (mild, the preserved lemon provides the salt)

1 TBS preserved lemon paste 

1 cup milk

2 TBS butter

2 TBS all-purpose flour

Ground black pepper to taste (optional)

Do

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; whisk flour into butter until smooth. Pour milk into butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Cook and stir until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted, about 3 minutes more. Season with pepper.*