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Why does my salsa con queso always go pear-shaped?

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BakerMikeRomeo:
Pear-shaped: screwed-up, SNAFU, FUBAR, belly-up, etc.

I figure that there ought to be enough Texans, Arizonish, New Mexicans, and Southern Californians 'round her' to help me out. I went to highschool in Tejas, and so I picked up a taste for tex-mex food, and one of my friends tried to instill in me the basic idea of how to make salsa con queso, but...

The problem:

About fifty percent of the time, when I try to make salsa con queso, something goes terribly wrong in the pot and what I end up with is orange stuff that has this awful, gritty texture that tastes like neither cheese, nor like salsa, and I just can't work out what the freakin' deal is.

Normally, I'd melt velveeta for the cheese, but this time around I'd used just regular grated cheese (and a simple butter+milk+a bit of flour cheese sauce to get it to melt properly), but this issue can flare up either way. I'd really appreciate it if anyone could give me any more insight into this gritty, orange mess.

I can try and provide more information, if someone knows what to ask.

Thanks in advance,
~GnSx

charby:
Get a double boiler, melts the "non-cheese food"* cheese so much better and don't have to worry about scorching it.

-C


*Velveta is cheese food.

SADShooter:
It sounds like you're making a bechamel sauce base, which is good. I have 2 thoughts: are you dumping all the cheese in at once, or gradually (2-3 batches), and is your heat too high? When adding the cheese, you want just enough simmer to melt smooth.

RadioFreeSeaLab:
I would guess the heat is too high.  Go slow, lower heat.

K Frame:
I'd say Sad Shooter has is. It sounds to me as if you're trying to melt all the cheese in at once.

That's a disaster about to happen.

SMALL additions, making sure that they are totally integrated before adding the next bunch.

If I'm melting a pound of grated cheese into something, it goes in in at LEAST 8 separate installments.

Another trick you might try is tossing the grated cheese with a little corn starch before adding it. The starch can help keep a cheese sauce from going bad.

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