Everyone watches “The Big Game” for a different reason and, I can’t lie, I don’t watch it at all.
I also don’t love sharing nachos with others, tbqh. It’s such a messy, finger-eaten food. I feel like we’re all always fighting over the best bites and touching all of the foods to create the ultimate nacho bite with every topping on it and I just want my own plate, ya know?
These nachos, however, are entirely too big NOT to share.
I made them in my biggest cast-iron and my friend Trigg was meant to come over to eat them with me, but then he bailed last minute, so I was stuck with this huge cast-iron skillet of nachos to eat alone.
Reader, I did not eat all of the nachos myself.
I did reheat them, little by little, in a smaller cast-iron on the stove, slightly covered, on low heat (I didn’t want to turn on my oven) and it worked well.
But it also got me thinking that if you were going to make these, you should absolutely make them in individual cast-irons or oven proof dishes or baby baking sheets or whatever so that everyone gets their own nachos.
Cute, right?
Or just make them on one big sheet tray or skillet and share with all your friends while you cheer for a team, no matter the sport.
Regardless, THIS IS BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP.
…but nachos.
Yes, I prefer to roast my own chicken for this. That way I can save the skin after it’s roasted and crisp it up in some oil to add as a topping later.
I also make my own ranch because it tastes better than store bought, but you do you.
No, cilantro and jalapeños are NOT usually associated with buffalo chicken dip, but these are buffalo chicken dip NACHOS, don’t forget, and they deserve some extra flavor and heat and freshness and the cilantro and jalapeños do just that.
I gotta say, it’s a very good recipe and feels a tad bit lighter than buff chick dip, so give it a try and let me know what you think, would ya?
Buffalo Chicken Dip Nachos
Serves 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
1 (3-4 pound|1361-1814 gram) whole, cooked chicken
2 cups|500 ml canola oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup|220 grams mayonnaise
⅔ cup|160 grams sour cream
2 tablespoons minced chives
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons minced dill
1 ½ teaspoons white vinegar
8 ounces|225 grams thickly grated cheddar cheese
5 ounces|148 ml hot sauce, preferably Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce
4 ounces|115 grams blue cheese crumbles
8 ounces|225 grams cream cheese
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 (14-ounce|397 gram) bag tortilla chips
1 small handful of cilantro leaves
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 425°F. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board (if you roasted the chicken yourself, save the pan juices in there!). Remove and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, saving the skin and discarding the bones. Transfer the chicken meat to a large bowl. Scrape the pan juices in with the chicken meat.
Heat the canola oil in a small saucepan over medium-high until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°F. Fry the chicken skin until golden, 1 to 2 minutes, then, using a slotted spoon, transfer the skin to a paper-towel lined plate. Season with salt and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, chives, garlic powder, dill, and vinegar. Add half to the bowl with the chicken along with the ⅓ of the cheddar, the hot sauce, and half of the blue cheese. Break the cream cheese off into chunks and add half of it to the bowl along with half of the scallions. Mix well to combine.
Evenly layer half of the chips in a large cast-iron skillet. Top with half of the chicken mixture, then dollop on a few more chunks of the cream cheese. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheddar on top and half of the remaining scallions. Top with another layer of the remaining chips, then repeat with the chicken mixture, cream cheese, and cheddar. Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and it’s starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the remaining mayonnaise and sour cream mixture in a piping bag and drizzle over the top of the hot nachos (alternatively, simply use a spoon to drizzle or dollop it over the top). Sprinkle the remaining blue cheese and scallions over the top, along with the cilantro and jalapeño slices.
Blacked out the second I read this title Jesus CHRIST these sound amazing
Love this idea! I was thinking of making nachos this weekend with chili crisp and pickled jalapenos but this sounds even better.