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Cheese Sauce

2.7

(13)

The Grilling Guru has a moral dilemma. To be strictly faithful to Louis' Lunch, he should tell you to top your hamburger with a liquid processed cheese, like Cheez Whiz. The Grilling Guru doesn't use Cheez Whiz himself, however, so he feels awkward about calling for it. So he's created a made-from-scratch cheese sauce that will satisfy the purist, while remaining faithful to the lurid orange cheese topping used by Louis'.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes about 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

1/2 clove garlic
1 cup beer
2 cups (about 8 ounces) coarsely grated Colby cheese or orange cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    1. Rub the bottom and side of a heavy saucepan with the cut garlic. Place the garlic clove in the pan, add the beer, and bring to a boil over high heat.

    Step 2

    2. Meanwhile, place the cheese and cornstarch in a bowl and toss to mix. Sprinkle the cheese into the boiling beer, stirring it with a wooden spoon. Let the sauce come back to a boil; it will thicken.

    Step 3

    3. Reduce the heat slightly, stir in the mustard, and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce simmer gently until smooth and rich-tasting, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring steadily with the wooden spoon. The purist can fish out and discard the garlic clove; otherwise, one lucky person will get to eat it.

Reprinted with permission from BBQ USA: 425 Fiery Recipes From All Across America, © 2003, by Steven Raichlen, Workman Publishing
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