Throw Away The Microwave?

A few weeks ago I wrote about my new Blackstone flat top grill, and I haven’t cooked inside my kitchen since. Except for Sunday morning, when a brief rain shower forced me to finish breakfast on our kitchen stove. Do you like nachos? Of course you do. So do I. Mexican restaurants typically prepare them under broiler, which melts the chips, meat, cheese and beans together into gooey and crispy deliciousness.

But nachos can be a chore to prepare at home. You either have to make them in the oven, which often leads to burned chips before the cheese melts. Or you can make them in the microwave, which is gross. Don’t do that. In fact, throw your microwave away and never use one again.

If you have a flat top grill, though, you really need to try making nachos on it. Here’s how I did it.

First, marinate some boneless chicken. I prefer boneless thighs, but this time I used thin breast cutlets. I marinated the chicken with Stubb’s Barbecue Chicken Marinade, which has a lot of citrus in it. You could always use zesty Italian dressing or any other marinade. Ideally, you should marinate the chicken overnight, but an hour will do in a pinch.

While the chicken is marinating, empty a can of refried beans into a non-coated steel or cast iron pot that you can safely place on the griddle top. Don’t use aluminum or pots with a teflon coating. Don’t use anything with plastic or rubber handles, either, because the griddle top can get hot enough to melt those. Add about a quarter cup of water to the refried beans. This will help thin out the beans so we can spread them more easily on our nachos later.

Place the pot of beans on top of the griddle over medium to low heat.

Next, chop up some onions and peppers and cook them on the grill with a little olive oil over medium-high. My flat top is 36 inches wide with four gas burners. I can use one side for higher heat and the other for lower heat. If your griddle isn’t big enough, you can always heat up the beans on your kitchen stove.

When the vegetables are soft, move them to a cool spot on the grill. Lay the chicken down on the grill in the spot where the onions and peppers were cooking. This will add a little flavor to the meat.

Cook the chicken until it’s mostly done. Then use a spatula or bench scraper to chop the chicken into bite-size pieces on the grill. Continue cooking until the chicken is done all the way.

Now move the chicken and veggies to the side of the grill and scrape the surface clean. Turn the heat to low. Spread out some corn tortilla chips on the grill. Use a spoon to spread the refried beans over the chips. Sprinkle some of your favorite shredded cheese on top. Then sprinkle some of the chicken, peppers and onions on the nachos. Add some more beans if you like. Top off with more shredded cheese.

Here comes the tricky part – melting the cheese. My blackstone griddle came with a metal cover. You’re not supposed to cook with the cover on top of the grill. But the instructions didn’t say I couldn’t melt cheese with it. I simply turned off the gas and put the cover on the grill. There was plenty of residual heat to melt the cheese. If your grill doesn’t have a cover like mine, you could use a large foil pan. Just turn it upside down and use it as a dome.

Use a large spatula to scoop up the nachos and serve. Don’t forget to set up a condiment buffet: sour cream, guacamole, salsa, chopped lettuce and tomatoes and, of course, pickled jalapenos.