Queso Fundido

Mexican chorizo is raw and crumbly - not the Spanish cured variety. Oaxaca cheese has the best stretch; Monterey Jack is a good substitute. The dish must be served immediately - it becomes rubbery as it cools. A cast iron skillet retains heat longest.

Queso fundido — melted cheese served in a small cast-iron or ceramic vessel, typically with chorizo or roasted chiles — is a staple of northern Mexican cuisine, particularly in the cattle-ranching states of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Coahuila, where cheesemaking traditions developed around the large herds introduced by Spanish colonizers in the 16th century. Chihuahua cheese, also called queso Menonita, takes its name from the Mennonite communities of Chihuahua state who developed a semi-soft, high-melting cow's milk cheese in the early 20th century; it is the classic choice for authentic queso fundido. The word fundido in Spanish means "melted" or "fused," describing the simple act of rendering cheese liquid over heat. Unlike the Tex-Mex queso made with processed cheese, queso fundido depends on real, natural-milk cheese whose fat and protein structure allows it to melt while retaining character and a slight stringiness. Eating queso fundido by scooping fresh, warm flour tortillas into the bubbling pot is a northern Mexican tradition rooted in border ranch cooking, where flour tortillas — more common in the north than in southern Mexico, which favors corn — became the standard bread. The dish crossed the US border as northern Mexican immigration brought Sonoran and Chihuahuan cooking into Arizona and Texas, where it distinguishes authentic Mexican restaurants from their Tex-Mex counterparts.