Give Queso A Smoky Upgrade With This Everyday Spice

Some foodstuffs are so beloved that the general consensus is that even when they're bad, they're good. Pizza is probably the leading contender in this forgiving regard. And melty cheese lovers everywhere might, naturally, extend this same leeway to queso: the dip that transforms a whole darn culinary category into one specific, resplendent dish. As ooey-gooey good as the decadent dairy still is even on its worst day, queso is also an excellent canvas for all kinds of tasty upgrades. And smoked paprika makes a big impact with little more than a few shakes of a spice that you might already have on hand.

Queso, of course, literally just means cheese. The smooth, Tex-Mex variety that many folks envision when they think of queso as a specific dish can be made with all manner of cheese varieties, including relatively mild kinds like Monterey Jack, Chihuahua, and cheddar, or the bright, salty Velveeta that plenty of queso devotees swear by. Expected mix-ins like chiles further transform the cheese into the also literally titled chile con queso. And, whatever your other preferred signature additions may be, smoked paprika gives it all a warm, woody flair that little else can affect. Unlike plain paprika, smoked paprika is made from peppers that are smoked before they're pulverized into a bright red powder. The resulting flavor will perk up any queso preparation, but it will be more pronounced on some recipes than others.

Speaking of Velveeta, the iconic, blocky "cheese product" plus a can of Rotel tomatoes and chiles is so synonymous with queso for so many that it practically merits a whole separate snack classification of its own. But, while this combination can still benefit from a shower of smoked paprika, it is not the most receptive possible base for the seasoning. For as marvelously melty as Velveeta is, its top note is a general saltiness that won't clash with the smoked paprika, exactly, but might compete for attention. Add the Rotel's own salinity and you've got a dip that some will feel needs no improvement, and one that others feel can't even accommodate an upgrade.

Those milder Jack and Chihuahua cheeses will better complement and even spotlight this smoky spice. You can more or less follow your preferred queso recipe, which will likely have you combine the cheese with milk, at a minimum, until it's all nice and creamy. You can stir in the smoked paprika to taste, perhaps omitting any of the other strong spices that you might normally use until you see how it performs. A teaspoon or two will be a good start, and you can always add more from there. You can also, of course, use smoked paprika to enhance your favorite store-bought queso, when scratch-made just isn't on the menu.