8 Tbsp            Butter – cut into 8 pieces

8 Tbsp            Flour

4 ½ Cups      Whole Milk

1-3 Tsp          Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

2 Tsp             Smoked Paprika

1 Tsp              Liquid Smoke

1 lb                 Smoked Gouda Cheese (with natural smoked rind) – shredded

1 lb                 Jalapeño Monterey Jack Cheese – shredded

1.5 lb             Extra Aged Cheddar Cheese – shredded

4 Tsp              Corn Starch

1 Tsp             Cold Water

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, whisk flour until lightly toasted, 4-5 minutes – it will smell faintly of toast

Add butter and whisk until melted and combined with the flour. Continue to cook 5 minutes whisking continually

Slowly add milk to pot, 1 cup at a time. Allow to warm and thicken before adding next cup.

Continue adding milk until all has been added. Whisk until thick and just starting to bubble (if you have ever wondered what béchamel is, you just made it)

Add hot sauce (amount depending on your taste), liquid smoke and smoked paprika, and stir to combine well

Remove from heat

Add cheese, one at a time. Whisk until melted and smoothly incorporated before adding next cheese

Add pepper to taste, and salt only if needed. The cheeses are fairly salty so it probably won’t be.

Whisk the sauce until very smooth. If the cheese won’t melt completely, return pot to medium low heat and whisk constantly until it is combined. Do not overheat, and it can cause the sauce to break.

Texture adjustment:

Depending on the brand of cheese, the milk fat vs. water ratio can vary somewhat. As a result, the sauce at this point may be a little running (loose) or thick (tight).

The thickness should be like a medium pancake batter. It will thicken a bit as it cools, so keep that in mind.

To loosen the sauce if it is too thick, thin with the addition of a tablespoon or two of milk at a time until it is the right thickness.

To tighten up the sauce if is too thin, combine the corn starch and water in a small cup. Whisk unit smooth. Put sauce back on medium low heat, and carefully heat whisking constantly. Add the corn starch slurry a teaspoon or two at a time, and gently whisk 2-3 minutes until the slurry has time to heat up and thicken the sauce. Only add as much as is needed to get to the right consistency.

 

Notes:

This is a savory cheese sauce with a bit of kick. By increasing or decreasing the hot sauce, you can control the heat. It goes really well on roast vegetables, rice, burgers, toast, pasta for an adult mac n’ cheese, a spoon…

Smoked Gouda comes in a couple of different styles. One has natural smoky brown rind. The other has a red rind that is – I am not sure what the red stuff is. But as Alton Brown would say “that’s not good eats”. I only use the natural rind cheese, and the rind gets grated up with the cheese and added to the sauce. This really heightens the smoke flavour.

This sauce needs the sharp flavour of the extra aged cheddar. It also should be a white cheddar, which is the natural colour of extra aged. The paprika and hot sauce will give it a lovely warm colour which is more elegant than the orange food coloured cheddar.

I like to finish the sauce with a minute or two of processing with a stick blender. This seems to just smooth the texture a bit, and makes the mouth feel a bit nicer.

This makes a large amount of sauce. Once the sauce is cool, it can be portioned into zip lock bags for freezing. I lay them flat on a cookie sheet, then freeze. When reheating, do so gently, and add milk as needed to adjust the texture.