Thanksgiving and Christmas Preparations usually take over New Mexico’s chilly November days, but there’s one holiday NM loves to celebrate, when it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. November 6th is National Nacho day!
At Sadies of New Mexico, we’re nacho lovers through and through. We spent years perfecting every part of our award-winning nachos, from our signature tostada chips and traditional refried beans, to the fresh sliced jalapenos on top.
Nachos are a well loved-snack with a rich history of innovation. The dish was developed on the fly, changed the Baseball concessions game, and created world records for fundraising year after year. Keep reading to see how this fan favorite is Na-cho typical snack!
‘Authentic’ Nachos Only Need Three Ingredients!
When you order nachos, you can expect a fully-loaded dish with a mountain of toppings. Today’s nachos feature a variety of cheese and protein options, along with a rainbow of fresh, veggie-based toppings like jalapenos, pico de gallo or salsa, and sauces like guacamole or sour cream. But our nacho-lovers might know that the OG nachos contained only three ingredients: Tortilla chips, fresh jalapenos, and melted cheese.
Nachos originated in The Victory club, a restaurant on the Mexican-American border. When Maitre d’ Ignacio Anaya found himself with a waiting table of hungry army wives and no chef, he stepped into the kitchen and made the best of what he had. He melted a generous helping of cheese over tortilla chips, then sliced fresh jalapenos to sprinkle over the top. They were an instant hit, and what were then called “Nachos Especiales” were born. As the dish spread like wildfire on both sides of the Mexican-American border, this beloved snack became known as “nachos”.
Recreating a classic plate of Nachos Especiales is a simple way to celebrate national nacho day. Just top tortilla chips with shredded cheese and place in the oven until the chips are warm, and the cheese melts and starts to bubble. Then, as a finishing touch, top with fresh jalapeno. For an extra touch of authenticity, use Wisconsin cheddar, which is rumoured to be the original nacho cheese.
Nacho Is a Nickname
This might be old news to “Nacho Libre” fans, who enjoyed Jack Black’s Luchador antics as Friar Ignacio in the 2006 cult classic. “Nacho” is a common nickname for men named “Ignacio”. The nickname traces back to 1538, when Ignacio de Loyola travelled to Rome to present his religious order to the pope. The Italian pronunciation of “Ignacio” led to the development of the nickname “Nacho”.
‘Nachos Especiales’, which evolved to the simple ‘nachos’ we know today, wasn’t just an improvisation, it was a name designed to honor the dish’s creator. ‘Nacho’ is a common nickname for men named Ignacio, so when Maitre’d Ignacio Anaya created the hit dish and was asked for the title, he ascribed his namesake, translating to: Nacho’s Special.
Nacho Cheese Changed the Concessions Game
Until 1976, Baseball game snacks were limited to popcorn and hot dogs. But at a Texas Rangers game in Arlington, Texas, Nachos took their place as an iconic stadium snack. Their success is due to one key invention: Liquid, shelf-stable nacho cheese. Frank Liberto developed the top-secret recipe for the liquid, pumpable nacho cheese available in baseball stadiums across the country today, and debuted his recipe with a cart. Liberto stayed true to the original Nacho recipe with chips, jalapenos, and his patented liquid cheese. The liquid cheese recipe completed the trifecta of simple, shelf-stable ingredients that made nachos perfect for bulk order and simple assembly. Liberto sold a condensed version of the cheese sauce to be mixed with water, pepper juice, or milk, allowing each stadium to create their own cheese sauce recipe.
The spicy jalapenos on nachos caused a spike in drink sales, and grossed over $800,000 in the first year they were available. Nachos quickly became a stadium snack staple, though the recipe is still top-secret.
‘Nacho Cheese’ Isn’t a Specific Kind of Cheese!
The Liberto family keeps their curds close to their chest by refusing to release the ratio of cheese in their iconic nacho cheese sauce, but that raises the question: What is nacho cheese? This pseudo-philosophical question could be simply answered by the FDA’s definitions of cheese. While cheddar, gruyere, and brie are all featured in the dairy dictionary, Nacho cheese isn’t anywhere to be found. This is because there’s no one nacho cheese recipe.
OG nacho lovers will remember that shredded wisconsin cheddar was the original nacho cheese, but every nacho lover creates their own cheese blend. Some prefer white cheeses like quesadilla, chihuahua or asadero, while others create a perfect mix of cheddar and colby jack. In other words, any cheese can be nacho cheese, if it’s melted over chips.
Las Cruces Holds the Unofficial World Record for Largest Plate of Nachos!
The Guinness book of world records has seen its fair share of battles for world records, but the record for largest plate of nachos was particularly competitive. The record was initially set in 2012 by a The Salty Iguana Restaurant in Lawrence, Kansas. These record-setting nachos weighed about 4,689 pounds, and were just over 10 inches deep. This was a hard-won victory, after a refrigerator used for the event broke and volunteers had to make trips to local grocery stores to make up for the over 2,000 pounds of lost ingredients. This event required tickets for entry, and proceeds went to supporting a local nonprofit supporting low-income families.
Kansas’ record wasn’t officially broken until 2022, when Paramount teamed up with an iconic duo to create a monstrous 4,870 pound plate of nachos at Smorgasboard LA. The event featured copious amounts of shredded cheese, melted using industrial grade blow-torch. Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butthead headlined the event to celebrate their favorite snack, and served more than two tons of nachos to guests in attendance and local nonprofit food banks to make sure nothing went to waste.
However, there is one unofficial competitor that, if recognized by the Guiness book of world records, would still hold the title today: the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico!
In 2018, the city of Las Cruces hosted “Noches De Nachos”, aiming to break the world record for largest plate of nachos. With 900 pounds of chips, 450 pounds of salsa, and 2,200 pounds of cheese, measuring 110 feet long, these nachos shattered the 2018 world record, and still beats Beavis and Butthead’s 2022 plate. However, Las Cruces did not apply for the Guinness book of world records, choosing instead to focus on feeding their community by sharing the record breaking snack with spectators and local food banks.
At Sadie’s of New Mexico, if there’s anything we can get behind, it’s sharing a classic, comforting meal with our community. If you’re looking for a place to celebrate National Nacho day, stop by Sadie’s for our signature margaritas, spicy salsa, and most importantly, Best of city award winning nachos.