Super Bowl Preparedness – “The Best Steak Nachos”
I know that’s a bold statement, as I’m sure a lot of you have recipes and techniques for making a killer plate of nachos. But if you look closely at the headline you’ll see I put that in quotes. Meaning, I’m just quoting my neighbors. Well, just one neighbor, but still, they’re pretty bangin’. Give them a whirl this Super Bowl and tell me I’m crazy.
We in the Northeast have been having an incredibly mild winter so far. I mean it’s 60 degrees right now in New York and it’s February. So, what the heck, fire up that grill!
The key: Don’t do the traditional TGI Fridays move by taking a big mound of chips on a plate and then throwing loads of goopy topping on top. What always happens is you get a bunch of overloaded, soggy chips on top and naked chips on the bottom. Very unsatisfying. No, when you’re making steak nachos, take the time to build each nacho into the perfect bite. Your guests will be impressed.
I start with two skirt steaks and throw them into a large ziplock. Then I make the marinade. I have a few variations on my skirt steak marinade, this one has more of a Tex-Mex vibe for obvious reasons.
Mexican Skirt Steak Marinade:
- 3/4 cups soy sauce
- 1/4 olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- juice of a lime
- half bottle of Tabsco Chipotle hot sauce
- tbsp Cumin
- 1/2 tbsp mexican oregano
- two shallots or 3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- salt and pepper (at least 5 grinds of coarse black pepper)
Secure the ziplock and shake it all around to completely mix and cover the steak with all the ingredients. Place in a casserole dish in case it leaks and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to an hour.
Remove from ziplock and Grill to medium. Something magic happens with the Soy and the Red Wine Vinegar. I high flame will start to caramelize it and the results is pure magix.
Slicing tip: Slice the pieces crossway, meaning with the grain, so that you have a bunch 3 inch pieces. Then take those three-inch-long pieces and slice them, fairly thin, AGAINST the grain. You should have perfectly tender and perfectly sized pieces of steak, ready for tortilla toasting.
Grate some cheese. I like to do a mix of orange and white, sharp cheddar.
Lay out your tortillas (no broken, wimpy chips allowed) across two cookie sheets. Layer with a piece of steak, a large pinch of grated cheese, a jalapeno and a black olive. I mix it up in places and leave off the jalapenos on some for the kids and double down for… well, me.
Cook in a pre-heated, 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it. They can burn easily. If you can time it so they’re perfectly gooey and the chips are a little toasted/browned at the corners, well then you’re just money.
Serve with a nice selection of hot sauces, lime wedges, sour cream and guacamole.
Crunch. Yum.
Thumbs up! We’re Jets fans but we’ll be rooting for Big Blue this Sunday!
