Okay, confession time. Confession #1: I love cheese. If I had to choose my last meal, it would be nachos, but ONLY if it has a good gooey cheese on it. Confession #2: I love sauces. My father in law recently stayed with us, and after opening the fridge he said "ok Nick, you win" after seeing all of the condiments in our fridge. Since I love cheese and sauce, it's pretty much a requirement that I have a good cheese sauce recipe.
I can't think of many things that this cheese sauce wouldn't be good on. Broccoli?! Obvious choice. Mac and Cheese? Duh. Burgers? Yep. Fries? Absolutely! Pulled pork?? No Brainer. Nachos?? Feed me and then wheel me out of the room in a wheel barrel. This cheese sauce is good on EVERYTHING. In fact, if there's something you think this cheese sauce wouldn't be good on, tell me what it is in the comments. Prove me wrong.
Homemade Cheese Sauce
This cheese sauce recipe is simple to make and only requires a few ingredients.
- Flour
- Butter
- Milk
- BBQ rub (I use Traeger Rub)
- Smoked Gouda
- Smoked Cheddar
- Smoked Pepperjack
Smoke The Cheese
This step is optional, but if you want to really want to make the best cheese sauce, I wouldn't skip it. Keep in mind that you'll want to let the smoked cheese rest in your fridge for a few days after smoking, otherwise the wood flavor could be too intense.
There are a few different ways for you to smoke cheese on a Traeger (I cook on a Traeger... if you cook on something else, this first method will still work). If you have the cold smoke attachment... well... you're lucky. Smoke the cheese and move on to the next step.
This is what you need to smoke one brick of cheese:
- Large disposable lasagna pan
- Disposable loaf pan - the brick of cheese should fit in this pan perfectly.
Place the brick of cheese in the loaf pan, and then place the loaf pan inside of the larger pan. Fill the larger pan with ice. Place the pans in your smoker, and let the cheese smoke for an hour.
After an hour flip the cheese and replenish the ice, then let the cheese smoke for an additional hour. After that second hour of smoke remove the cheese, put it in a zip lock, and let it rest in your fridge.
Time to Make the Cheese Sauce
In a small saucepan melt a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of flour to the melted butter and stir. Get all the flour clumps out, and then add three-quarters of a cup whole milk.
Mix the milk in with the butter and flour, and then add a tablespoon of Traeger rub. This is where the steps get really scientific... Shred the smoked cheese, and then grab a small handful of cheese and drop it in the saucepan. Stir. Add another small handful... stir again. After three or four handfuls of cheese, you should be at the perfect consistency for your sauce. I like my sauce to be a little runny, so I lean to three handfuls. If you want the sauce to be a little thicker, do four handfuls!
Once you have all the ingredients ready, this pulled pork cheese sauce only takes a few minutes to make. I'd recommend making this right before you're ready to serve so that it is nice and warm for your guests.
Smoked Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Flour
- 1 tbsp Butter
- ¾ cup Milk
- 1 tbsp BBQ rub I use Traeger Rub
- 8 ounces Smoked Gouda
- 8 ounces Smoked Cheddar
- 8 ounces Smoked Pepperjack
Instructions
- In a small saucepan melt a tablespoon of butter over medium heat.
- Add a tablespoon of flour to the melted butter and stir.
- Get all the flour clumps out, and then add three-quarters of a cup whole milk.
- Mix the milk in with the butter and flour, and then add a tablespoon of Traeger rub.
- Shred the smoked cheese, and then grab a small handful of cheese and drop it in the saucepan.
- Stir. Add another small handful... stir again.
- After three or four handfuls of cheese, you should be at the perfect consistency for your sauce.
- If you want the sauce to be a little thicker, do four handfuls!
Is it 1 Tbsp or 2 Tbsp of flour and butter? Is it 1/4 cup or 3/4 cup of milk?
Hi Alayna - Good catch. It's one Tbsp of Flour and Butter and 3/4 cup of milk. I fixed the recipe card to reflect. Thanks!