PrintHow Do You Nacho?
The admittedly dead-simple nacho recipe I posted yesterday prompted Serious Eater intheyearofthepig to offer a link to The Homesick Texan's Nachos 101. I admire and agree with Lisa Fain's take on the Texas-style take on the dish:
My dad asked me a very serious question the other day. He was concerned, since I’d lived away from Texas for so long, where I fell on the nacho spectrum. Did I prefer a pile of chips with some toppings slopped on willy-nilly or did I prefer each nacho to be one chip toasted with a tasteful spread of Longhorn cheddar cheese and a sliced jalapeno. I was shocked he even had to ask. For me, and for every Texan, there is only one kind of nacho: the latter. Nachos are simple and elegant. Each nacho is its own entity (and that is key), with just enough toppings to give it flavor and a bit of heft but not enough to make it saggy or soggy. Anything else is an imposter!
I know I can't stand the usual haphazard pile of chips—they're either loaded to the gills with glop or unseemly and pizazz-less in their nekkidness. Do click through for Fain's eloquently laid-out nacho philosophy and—just in time for the game—her technique.
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7 Comments:
I'm lazy. So I can't really stand to slowly lay out each chip with toppings. Though I do think it is important not to have too much or too little on each chip. I mean, no one wants a chip with no toppings on it. So I usually try to lay out the chips flat and toss on toppings evenly enough so most of the chips get covered.
wunami at 11:01AM on 02/02/08
I was really impressed with Alton Brown's multi-tiered cooking method the other night when he made nachos. It's efficient, and that's sexy to me.
The specific recipe is here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_35777,00.html
but to paraphrase: leave only the bottom rack in your oven, as low as it can go. Put a parchment paper lined baking pan on the bottom, and three stacks of cooling racks (spaced out by foil balls at the corners [or not, if you have the kind with feet]), and voila! You now have the capacity to cook three times as many nachos.
He effectively made me a fan for life with that episode.
Lauren Krueger at 11:11AM on 02/02/08
Give me a single crisp corn tortilla with a pile of cheese melted on top and diced jalapenos - that is the perfect nacho.
Carosone at 12:26PM on 02/02/08
These looked so good I had to make myself some an hour ago! (Finished off with a slice of NY Style Cheesecake I made yesterday--quite a tasty Saturday lunch!)
I HATE piles of nachos and never order them in most restaurants because that's how they're served. They always end up soggy with half the chips overloaded with topping, and the other half plain.
Our favorite mexican restaurant does them both ways, and the flat style with crisp warm homemade tortilla chips, gooey--in a good way-- beans and cheese, really can't be beat!
bobcatsteph3 at 12:40PM on 02/02/08
I worked at a Mexican restaurant in the 70's and their order of nachos consisted of 14 tortilla chips individually topped with beans and cheese. These were placed in a salamander until the cheese was melted then topped with guacamole, sour cream and a slice of jalapeno. Yummm.
Vermont at 4:35PM on 02/02/08
Love the Homesick Texan. All her recipes look so good!
AdamH at 11:15PM on 02/02/08
the way to go with nachos is a great new recipe i found. Jamacian Jerk nachos.. oh yeah there so good. jerk chicken with peppers, cheese of course and then topped with lime wedges and cilontro. i know i know not the typical nacho but if your going to mess with nachos then use this recipe
topchef at 9:01AM on 02/03/08