What Company Makes Portillo's Cheese Sauce For Its Fries?

Of all the regional variations, the hot dog style Anthony Bourdain loved most hailed from Chicago — and one spot in the Windy City, Portillo's, has been serving them up since 1963, when it started out as "The Dog House." Since then, the casual chain has built up a solid menu that also includes Chicago's signature sandwich — the Italian beef — as well as burgers, ribs, pasta, and its iconic cake shake. However, one fan favorite is the cheese fries, which have some Redditors proclaiming their love for the sauce.

"I actually dip my [hot dog] in [the sauce] sometimes," one user wrote, "or if I'm eating the Italian beef[,] the cheese goes great on top." Meanwhile, another Redditor lamented not being nearby to enjoy the fries, saying, "That cheese!! I miss it so much." So what's the secret behind the creamy sauce?

Portillo's doesn't appear to publicly divulge the source of the rich, orange goodness that accompanies its crinkle-cut fries, but one self-identified former employee spilled the tea. "I worked at a Portillo's," they wrote on Reddit, alleging that the sauce is produced by Conagra and sold under the brand Award Cuisine. The full name is County Line Cheddar Cheese Sauce.

If you don't live in any of the eight states in which Portillo's operates, or you're just craving some cheese fries without traveling to the restaurant, you can try your hand at making them at home. First, start with crinkle-cut spuds and fry them just like Portillo's does — in a mix of vegetable oil and beef tallow. Vegetable oil is great for cooking fries because it handles high heat perfectly, while the beef tallow helps crisp them up and adds an unbeatable richness.

The real key to making this copycat is, of course, the cheese sauce. Trying to source Award Cuisine County Line Cheddar Cheese Sauce through Conagra's site could be a challenge since you'd need to find a local distributor. However, an easy workaround is simply buying it from Amazon. If you have any leftovers, you can try freezing the sauce or repurposing it for other cheesy dishes, such as nachos, broccoli cheese soup, or loaded potatoes.

Finally, if you want to round out the meal, grill up a frank and top it Chicago-style (Portillo's uses Vienna Beef for its dogs). Grab your mustard from the fridge, then pile on the neon relish, celery salt, chopped onions, sliced tomatoes, a kosher pickle, and sport peppers. Bonus points for a poppy-seed bun.