Happy National Nachos Day! There are certain days of the year that make me happy: Thanksgiving, Christmas and pretty much any day that celebrates food or drink. Today is no different. I got excited when starting to outline what I might make this month for the blog, especially when I saw it would involve nachos. I have some big feelings about nachos. I hated them; absolutely despised them growing up. I’d go to a ball game or the movies and you just see these lame, round chips stuffed into a sad plastic container and smothered with yellow-orange goo. What is appetizing about that? Nothing.
I thought maybe I was just being a snob all these years, until I started running into some good nacho recipes from trusted sources. Look, I’m not gonna be mad at you if you like nachos covered and smothered in your favorite fixins. I like to pig out as much as the next guy. But, there are some basic ground rules which should be observed. Don’t pile everything up into a heap. It ruins the texture of the unsung hero - the tortilla chip - and then it’s unappetizing having everyone get their grubby, nasty hands all over the nachos, trying to pull them apart to get their favorite piece, leaving nothing at the bottom for the poor sucker who got to the dish too late. There’s a simple solution. S p r e a d everything out along a big baking sheet. Everyone gets a covered nacho, all the chips are crispy and cheesy, and everyone is happy!
Much to my delight, I saw an article this past weekend in the NY Times by Pati Jinich (of Pati’s Mexican Table on PBS) regarding the origin of nachos. At first, I was like, “dang, they’re kind of stealing my thunder here”, but it’s a truly-great story of how a hotel maître’d was surprised by some late guests, quickly improvised a snack on his own in the kitchen and thereby created a new dish which is universally beloved. Further to my joy, I learned Pati was disappointed in movie nachos herself! I strongly recommend you read the story.
Reading the legend solidified which variation of nacho I would make. If you’ve been following this blog, you know I’m something of a traditionalist. I had no choice but to recreate the original. No choice, friends. Further, I had to make my own chips (which I seasoned with adobo) and pickle my jalepeños. All of which are easy and described below so you, too, can travel to 1940’s Piedras Negras, Mexico, and relive that culinary life-changing day in which an iconic dish was born by the simple brilliance of Ignacio Anaya.
Nachos de Ignacio Anaya
Pickled jalepeño slices - recipe below
Fresh 6 inch corn tortillas (or your favorite cantina-style tortilla chips)
6 oz colby jack cheese, freshly grated
Frying oil
Adobo seasoning
Fill a 12 inch, heavy-bottomed frying pan (or cast iron skillet) with ¼ inch of oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 350. Preheat the oven to 400. Stacking 6 tortillas, cut them into 8ths to make 48 chips. Once the oil has reached temp, toss in ~20 chip-sized slices of your corn tortillas, ensuring they’re spread out and not overlapping. Reduce the heat to medium. Flip the chips after about 90 seconds and fry another 60 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined surface. Add in another ~20 tortilla slices to fry away. Meanwhile season the cooked chips with adobo seasoning.
Once all of your chips have been fried and seasoned, prepare a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place chips on the foil-lined pan and top with ⅓ of the cheese. Place drained, pickled jalpeño slices on top of the tortilla chips and cover with remaining cheese. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Serve with guacamole and margaritas!
Pickled Jalepeños
These turned out great and so much better than store-bought: slightly sweet, pickly, and brightly acidic with a little kick.
6 large jalepeños, sliced thin
1 ⅓ cups distilled white vinegar
⅔ cup seasoned rice vinegar
⅔ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
Ball jar (24 oz)
Stir vinegars, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Meanwhile, thinly slice your jalepeños and place in the empty jar. When the pickle-brine is ready, pour into the jar over the sliced jalepeños. Stir and let cool for about 30 minutes. The jalepeños are ready at this moment. If using later, cover tightly and place in the refrigerator. They will last for 10 days...if you don’t eat them all sooner!
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Copyright 2020, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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