Loaded Smoked Chicken Nachos
Way beyond your basic ballpark nachos, these loaded smoked chicken nachos are topped with all the good stuff including pickled jalapeños and pickled red onions (pickles are the secret to next-level nachos), plus olives, fresh radishes and micro cilantro.
Yield: 4-6 appetizer servings
Ingredients
For Cheese Sauce:
- ½ cup / 120 g whole milk
- ½ cup / 120 g Mexican-style beer
- 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeño brine, from a jar of pickled jalapeños
- 1½ teaspoons sodium citrate
- 1½ cups / 226 g shredded white cheese, we used a mix of Fontina and white cheddar
For Nachos:
- 8 oz / 226 g tortilla chips
- ¼ cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
- 2 cups shredded smoked chicken, from about 1/2 a smoked rotisserie chicken
- ¼ cup sliced pickled jalapeños
- ¼ cup sliced black olives
- thinly sliced radish
- fresh cilantro
- sour cream
- salsa verde, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
- Combine milk, beer, jalapeño brine, and sodium citrate in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until liquid comes to a simmer and sodium citrate is fully dissolved.
- Reduce heat to low and add cheese, one handful at a time, whisking until each handful is fully melted before adding the next. Keep warm while you assemble your nachos.
- Arrange chips in a single layer on baking sheet. Sprinkle evenly with shredded cheese (try to get a little bit of cheese on each chip if you can). Top with shredded chicken.
- Bake for 4 to 6 minutes or cheese is melted and chicken is warm.
- Remove from oven. Drizzle generously with cheese sauce, then top with remaining ingredients, including pickled jalapeños, olives, radishes and cilantro. Serve with a generous dollop of sour cream and salsa verde for dipping.
- Leftover cheese sauce will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave or stovetop until smooth and melty once again.