Weekend Nachos

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Georgia restaurateur and Top Chef judge Hugh Acheson believes that the weekend is for letting creativity dictate nachos. "Start by making some beer-braised beef short ribs," Acheson says. "And fancy that, you made too many! With the leftovers, you will make nachos. In this idealized experience, you will frolic in the woods, foraging for ramps. You are dressed like a gnome, but nobody cares. You get back to the kitchen and have some pressure-cooked pintos all ready to go. Let's build some nachos: Take the beef plus pintos plus jack cheese, pickled peppers, those ramps all charred and tasty and assemble it all over tasty white corn tortilla chips, which maybe you made yourself. That gets baked until crisp and gooey and melty, and then you get all Jackson Pollock when the crema comes out. You eat and drink a beer, all the while wearing that gnome uniform with pride."Reprinted from ¡Buenos Nachos! by Gina Hamadey. Copyright © 2016 by W&P Design. Published by Dovetail (www.dovetail.press)

By

Hugh Acheson

Published on March 16, 2017

Yield:

4 to 6

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for the ramps
2 pounds boneless chuck roast
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, smashed
One 12-ounce bottle Negra Modelo beer
One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained
1 bunch ramps (about 8 ramps) or scallions, root ends trimmed
8 to 10 ounces tortilla chips (1 medium bag)
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated (2 cups)
1⁄2 cup sliced pickled Fresno or jalapeño peppers
1 cup Homemade Crema (see Note) or sour cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the beef all over with salt and pepper and sear it on all sides until well browned, about 3 minutes a side. Transfer the meat to a plate. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion has caramelized and is very soft, about 20 minutes. Add the beer and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Return the beef to the pan, cover and roast, checking every 30 minutes, until the beef shreds easily with a fork, 2 to 3 hours. When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred it into its braising liquid, then stir in the beans.
Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Place the ramps on a rimmed baking sheet, brush with oil and season with salt. Broil the ramps, turning every 30 seconds or so, until charred all over, 2 to 3 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and chop coarsely.
Scatter half of the chips on a rimmed baking sheet. Scatter half of the cheese over the chips. Repeat to make a second layer. Broil the chips until the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Top the chips with the shredded beef–bean mixture and broil again to heat the meat through, about 1 minute. Top with the charred ramps and pickled peppers. Drizzle the crema over the top and serve.

Notes

Homemade Crema

Weekend Nachos

Ingredients

Directions

Notes

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