Welcome back toFriday Night Nachos, where we bring you an original nacho recipe every week of the NFL season—and talk a little football trash on the side. Because not everybody likes your favorite team. You hear that Titans fans?
On Sunday night the Cincinnati Bengals travel to the University of Phoenix Stadium (nope, not a typo) to take on the Arizona Cardinals in a battle of two first-place teams and a possible Super Bowl 50 preview.
When thinking about Cincinnati and Arizona with nachos on the brain, one thing comes instantly to mind: Chili. But, also, chile. Cincinnati is famous for its peculiar brand of chili, a spicy meat mixture brought to the Queen City by Macedonian immigrants. It’s known for its sweeter-than-spicy flavor (it has cinnamon, cloves, allspice and chocolate mixed in), and for being served via the “way” system. That is, with a number of starch bases and toppings. Two-ways is the chili on boiled spaghetti. Three-ways adds cheese. Four-ways adds onions. Five-ways adds beans.
Chiles, specifically the green variety, are grown throughout the American southwest. The harvest for the Anaheim-like Hatch peppers in New Mexico runs from late summer to fall, with the flesh being roasted over an open flame and made into salsas and woven into cornbread. Like the Arizona Cardinals, green chiles have a lot of potential—on the football field and in nachos arena. But I’m going with Cincinnati all the way.
You have to start with the chili. Make a big pot of it on Thursday night. Freeze some for later, reserve the rest for nachos. This1992 recipe from Gourmetnails the iconic spice mixture (cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves). Once your chili is ready, it’s time to build the nachos. Line a bed of corn tortilla chips on an oven-safe sheet. Alternatively, use Doritos. Why? A few years back, popular Cincinnati chili brand Gold Star ran a promotion where their Executive Chef Mike Tremblay paired the popular nacho-flavored (but not really nacho-flavored) chips with Cincinnati chili. “Doritos is very, very proud of their product,” remarked Tremblay duringa broadcast of FOX 19's Morning Xtrain 2014. “And they don’t let just anyone take on their product.” And take on is most certainly what Gold Star did, being only the second company to officially collaborate with Doritos. You might have heard about the first one.
One you have your chips sorted out, load on the shredded cheese (mild Cheddar is a pretty good rule of thumb). This it’s time for the chili, diced onions and kidney beans. You see where this is going. Cincinnati chili nacho four-ways. Skip the spaghetti.
