by Stef Jantz, Food Columnist
One of my favorite things to order when I try a new spot is nachos. I could live off of this delicious plate and be quite content because you can put so many things on them and create a new pile every time you make them.
From the original nacho of just fried tortillas with cheese and jalapenos to bbq, cajun, seafood, and every cuisine you can think of, you can create it.
Nachos were created by a gentleman named Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya, in the city of Piedras Negras, Coahui- la just across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas.
I’ve read a few different stories concerning the timeline, who he served them to, and how he first made them, but it was around 1940.
To start, one story goes that Ignacio was a maître de at a restaurant that was short handed with no cook. Some travelers came in and being the good man he was, went into the kitchen and did what he could with what was on hand. He grabbed tortillas, cheese, and pickled jalapenos to serve to these hungry travelers, and the dish was so good that they called it Nachos Especiales in honor of its creator, “Nacho.”
Another story goes that these nachos were created at a club, Club Victory, in 1940.
Four hungry women came in, one being a regular by the name of Mamie Finan, asking for a different kind of snack. Ignacio goes into the kitchen, looks around, and finds tortillas, shredded Colby Jack cheese, and sliced jalapenos. He cut the tortillas in triangles, fried, topped with cheese, heated, added the jalapenos, then served.
The women were so happy with the treat and asked what it’s called. Ignacio, or Nacho, replied with “well, I guess we’ll call them Nacho’s Special.” The popularity spread quickly. Ignacio then opened his own restaurant called Nacho’s Restaurant, in Piedras Negras.
His dish became so big that it was first published in St. Anne’s Cookbook in 1954. The dish moved north, and the rest is history.
Now to tackle the best part, variety! I’ll have nachos any way you serve them. My significant other and I love going around the coast to find the best spot and we’ve found that Woody’s in Ocean Springs has the best.
If you know of other great places, give me a shout so we can try them!
But, their bbq pork nachos are amazing and they’re smothered in black bean puree, white queso, bbq pork, and topped with goodies. Gah, I’m drooling. They lay a pool of the black beans and queso on the bottom before they build so you get it throughout your nacho experience.
Anyway, you can use any meat like steak, ground beef/turkey, sausage or pulled pork, chicken, seafood, especially crawfish, or you don’t even have to if you want to cut that out.
You need a good cheese though. A good slightly runny queso. I love making it from scratch, so you know what’s going into it without the processed junk. Use different cheeses, peppers, seasonings. There are so many different ways to make it so I’ll leave that search up to y’all.
Moving on though, you can add more protein using beans like black beans or refried beans or if you’re making seafood nachos, you can use a garlic cream sauce or tomato sauce. Continue to pile that good stuff on like green onion, olives, salsa, sour cream, jalapenos, avocado or guacamole, pico, lettuce, or even salad dressing.
Sometimes I’ll add ranch throughout the pile process as well as taco sauce.
Not only can you stick to corn chips but another option has become huge in popularity, tots. You can make loaded fries too, but tots give you a step up and they’re calling them totchos.
I made these for a gathering and oh my goodness, they were a hit! I dare you to make these but be sure to make them extra crispy!
Enjoy!
