BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos

We’re talking Nacho Awesomeness here people! Crispy Chips, BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos, Caramelized onions, Cheesy Cheese and a Lip-Smackin’ BBQ Sauce!  Get your Deliciousness on!

Am I the only one who when I hear the word “Nacho” immediately starts to sing “Nacho, nacho man. I want to be a nacho man” either in my head or out loud? I’d say out loud with a caveat of if I’m in public or not but let’s be real, that’s not going to stop me. Life is too short to worry about what other people say or if they roll their eyes. I can actually sing and hey, if my little nacho song (with interpretive chair dance) makes someone giggle or smile, so be it. Why be boring, right?

And boring is something these nachos DEFINITELY aren’t!  I mean don’t get me wrong, I love me some stadium nachos with that bright orange cheese sauce that gets everywhere and takes every ladylike mannerism your Mama taught out and throws it out the window. Please, there is just no dainty way to eat nachos.

Anyway, let’s get back to these nachos. Seriously, people, they are KILLER!   But then let’s be real, when is a nacho bad? You’re starting off with 2 awesome things – crispy chips and cheese. Anything else is just icing on the cake. Now I’m a nacho snob in the sense if you’re going to give me nachos you NEED to layer them properly. Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT give me a huge plate of chips with only the cheese and toppings on the top. NO NO NO. This is wrong and should be illegal. What you get are chips that are so weighted down with toppings that you can’t lift them up and then you’re left with a bajillion naked chips under that.

Nachos are all about layering and proportions. Sure I want 8 pounds of cheese but not on 4 chips. Plus when it comes to layering I tend to only go 2, maybe 3 layers deep. The more layers you have the fewer toppings you have to put on each layer because again you want to keep that crunchification of the chip. And the only way you can do that on say a 7-layer deep tray of nachos is to put sparse toppings on. And let’s be real, that’s no fun.

So these nachos are something I tend to make when I make a big batch of my Pulled Pork. With it being football and hockey season, it seems like every weekend I’m making a batch of it. Pulled pork is one of those recipes that once you make it, you can use it in a million different ways other than sandwiches/sliders. It’s funny, the first time I made these and served them to some guests you would have thought I invented something revolutionary. Like they were in awe of what I did.

I just thought I was using up some leftovers in a different way. Who knew!

These tend to be my Sunday cheat meal/snack when Mr. Fantabulous is at band practice. I’ll whip up a small batch for me, crack a cold one (crushing hard on Hard Grape Soda – you can have a beer with yours though), pop in some chick flick, put my feet up, and become one with my plate of nachos…without a fork and knife. LOL Seriously that still makes me chuckle. And what’s funny is she was dead serious.

Some people… it’s a good thing she was pretty.

Okay, so we need to talk cheese here as I find that to be super important. When I make nachos like this I skip the whole queso/sauce thing and go for shredded cheese. This way the nachos stay crispy and you get that killer cheese pull. And let’s face it, you want that cheese pull! I, personally, love mild cheddar and Monterey Jack. Skip sharp cheddar as it doesn’t melt as well as it’s more of a harder cheese. When you make nachos you want to go with softer cheese. If you wanted some heat go with pepper jack. And if all you have is American, go for it! Seriously American cheese ROCKS the nacho! It’s super soft and melts like ice cream on a hot Texas day!

And get this – with the Super Bowl coming up, you’ll most likely be making a big old batch of pulled pork! Make extra and go double duty making 2 different dishes!  Seriously – make a batch for your sliders/sandwiches and another batch for these killer nachos!  If you wanted to mix up the toppings a bit you could even add some Pittsburgh Slaw and diced pickles on top!  I mean you eat slaw and pickles on your pulled pork don’t you? Wait you don’t? Dude… I need to school you. It’s the bomb!

Now remember, in order to make these, you HAVE to make my Pulled Pork.

Equipment Used:
Obviously you need a large sheet pan. I’m LOVING this one from my friends at Nordic Ware!

Next in order to make pulled pork nachos, you need pulled pork. And to make my pork (trust me on this, you ONLY want to make this recipe!) you obviously need to pressure cook it. Definitely use my Pulled Pork recipe! I’ve made this recipe in 2 different Pressure cookers and got equally amazing results!

The 8 quart Instant Pot rocks as it’s super easy to use and clean!

I first created this recipe in my All-Clad PC8 Pressure Cooker. It’s gas powered by the stove top and is 8.4 quart. It’s one amazing piece of equipment!

To shred the pork easily I just popped it in the stand mixer and let the paddle attachment do the work in seconds!

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