In this video, learn how to turn your classic tuna melt into a simple snack with Chef John’s Tuna Melt Nachos! This quick and easy recipe combines the savory flavors of tuna, melted cheese, and crunchy nachos for a twist on a favorite comfort food. Perfect for game day, parties, or a snack, these nachos will get made again and again.
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00:00Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with Tuna Melt Nachos.
00:08That's right, I love nachos.
00:11And a tuna melt is one of my favorite sandwiches ever.
00:13So it was only a matter of time before this video appeared on the channel.
00:17And speaking of time, we are right in the middle of friends coming over to watch the
00:21game season.
00:22So I think the timing for this is perfect.
00:25And to get started, we're going to want to use some nice high quality tuna, which for
00:28me means the one packed in olive oil.
00:30Okay, I think it has a better taste and texture.
00:33And since I do have an expense account, I went with that, as it is a little bit pricier.
00:39And what we'll do before we do anything else is break this up with a fork into nice small
00:43to very small flakes.
00:45And the reason we always want to do this first before we add our celery and dressing is because
00:50if you crush celery, it can actually get more bitter than it already is, which can happen
00:54if you add it first and then break up the tuna.
00:57So I think we want our tuna to look like this before we go any further.
01:01And once it does, we can go ahead and dice up a rib of celery.
01:04And because I think we want a very small dice, I'm going to cut this a couple times lengthwise
01:08so we have nice thin strips.
01:10And then once that's accomplished, we can just start slicing across into nice small
01:14pieces.
01:15But whenever we're cutting something like this, if we can, let's cut it in half before
01:19we start slicing across, since that one extra cut allows us to cut this twice as fast.
01:25Which doesn't sound like a big deal, but you're going to save like five seconds.
01:29And trust me, you're going to want those five seconds.
01:32And that's it.
01:33Once we have that beautifully diced, we'll go ahead and transfer that into our tuna,
01:37at which point we'll season this up with some freshly ground black pepper, plus a few shakes
01:42of cayenne, because why not?
01:44And then the only other thing I add to my basic tuna salad is some premium brand mayonnaise.
01:49Oh yeah, you guys know the brand I'm using, which actually goes by two different names
01:53depending on which side of the country you live.
01:55And no, as you've probably noticed by now, I don't like any really large chunks in my
01:59tuna salad.
02:00But I can tune it, even the good stuff can have a really dry texture between your teeth.
02:05So personally, I think the finer the texture here, the better.
02:09And by the way, we didn't forget the salt.
02:11We actually don't need it here, since our chips are going to be salty, plus we're covering
02:15things with cheese.
02:17And that's it.
02:18Once we're happy with how that's been mixed and how it tastes, we can go ahead and pop
02:21that in the fridge while we move on to the rest of our mise en place, which is just a
02:25fancy French culinary term for our prep.
02:28And that's going to involve some cherry tomatoes and some pickled jalapeno rings.
02:33And for the tomato, we want some relatively thick slices, since they're going to need
02:37to stand up to a little bit of heat.
02:39So we will go ahead and cut those as shown.
02:42And then as far as our jalapeno rings, if you're lucky, they won't have any seeds in
02:46the middle, and you won't have to do any prep.
02:49But if some have some, an easy way to get rid of them is to use one of these small pastry
02:53cutters that come in the set.
02:55And that's a great tool for quickly removing the center.
02:58Luckily, most of mine didn't have seeds, so I didn't have to do too much work.
03:02But anyway, I just wanted to show you that little trick, in case it makes things easier.
03:06And that's it.
03:07Once our veg prep is done, we can start laying out our tortilla chips on a foil-lined baking
03:11sheet.
03:12And you use what you want, but I'm only interested in the perfect ones here, since we are going
03:17to build individual nachos.
03:19Which by the way, is how the original nacho was designed.
03:22I know, that can be shocking to someone that's only had nachos at the ballpark.
03:26And they're all piled up in a big hot sloppy mess.
03:29And don't get me wrong, those are amazing, in the right setting.
03:32But a real true nacho is individually constructed.
03:36And once we have those all laid out, we need to do the old chip check.
03:40And if we see a chip that's extra curvy, I generally will replace it with something a
03:44little flatter.
03:46Not just so it's a little steadier to work with, but also if the tips of the chip are
03:50pointing up too high, those might burn in the broiler before the rest are ready.
03:54And that's it, once our chips have been checked, they are ready to tune a salad.
03:59So what we'll do is take two spoons, and we will transfer on a generous rounded teaspoon
04:03onto each.
04:04And if everything goes according to plan, and you use the same amount I'm putting on
04:08here, you're going to be able to do 24 nachos.
04:12Which is basically four portions, or two portions, or one portion, depending on who
04:16you ask.
04:18And that's it, once our chips have been tuna fished, we'll go ahead and place one hopefully
04:22seedless jalapeno ring on each one.
04:25And as we do this, we should try to give it a little bit of a gentle press down.
04:28All right, so that pepper's kind of sitting in the tuna.
04:32But don't press too hard, otherwise you're going to break the chips.
04:34And if that happens, just grab another perfect one, and do it again.
04:39And yes, for a little hotter, spicier, fresher bite, we could use slices of fresh jalapeno
04:43here, but I think the acidity from the pickling really does add a lot to these nachos.
04:48So those are my recommended choice here.
04:51And that's it, once our pickled peppers have been placed on, we will top each with a slice
04:55of tomato.
04:56And again, as we place those on, I like to give it a little bit of a press down.
05:01And the reason for that, is when we place our cheese on, we want to make sure it's piled
05:04up nice and high in the center.
05:06And if the stuff underneath the cheese is too high, that's going to be harder to do.
05:11And then speaking of the cheese, once the tomato's set, we can top each one with at
05:15least a generous tablespoon.
05:17And what I like to use is my classic combo of half Monterey Jack, combined with half
05:22sharp cheddar, which I think gives you a perfect balance between tanginess and creaminess.
05:28But as usual, any melty cheese will work, so you decide.
05:32I mean, you guys are after all the head honchos, of your tuna melt nachos.
05:36But no matter what you decide to go with, please promise me you'll grate it yourself.
05:40I know I say that every time, but I just can't stand the thought of you eating cheese shreds
05:45that are covered in cellulose dust.
05:47All right, that is just not something that's good to eat.
05:51And then what we'll do once each one is generously topped, is take any of the remaining cheese
05:55and sprinkle it over any exposed parts of the chip.
05:58Which not only makes for better cheese coverage, it's going to prevent those chips from browning
06:02too fast.
06:04And then once cheesed, we can finish these in a really hot oven, like 475, or my preferred
06:09method under the broiler, for a few minutes.
06:12And we'll do that until our cheese is hot and melted, and our chips have started to
06:16turn a beautiful golden brown.
06:19And please be brave, right?
06:20The nacho gods hate a coward, so I really do want you to leave those in there until
06:24those chips get a little bit of color.
06:26A fair warning, under the broiler, these will go from golden brown to golden black
06:30in a couple seconds, so pay attention and don't walk away.
06:35And that's it.
06:36I'm going to finish these with some freshly sliced green onions, because these do not,
06:40and I repeat, do not need anything else, right?
06:42If you wanted to file these with a bunch of sour cream and guacamole and salsa, feel free.
06:47But I'm going to eat my tuna melt nachos just like this, since nothing else we would add
06:52would make these any more perfect.
06:54And that, my friends, if you enjoy a good tuna melt, and or you like nachos in any form,
06:59is something you are absolutely going to love, since they pretty much taste like both things
07:03at once.
07:05And as great as these are eaten right off the pan, fresh out of the broiler, I did go
07:08ahead and transfer some onto a plate, so we could observe it in its natural habitat, which
07:13would be next to a nice cold beer, a watermelon wheat to be exact.
07:18And it should come as a shock to no one that that was an absolutely perfect pairing.
07:23But anyway, that's it, what I'm calling tuna melt nachos.
07:27I would eat these any time, anywhere.
07:29But if you do have some friends coming over to watch the game, and you normally just serve
07:33regular nachos, I think you should serve these instead and see what happens.
07:38And not to spoil things, but what will happen is people will love them.
07:42But whether you serve these at a party, or just some random weeknight when you want something
07:46a little bit different, either way they're beautifully easy and delicious, and I really
07:51do hope you give these a try soon.
07:53So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
07:58more info, as usual.
08:00And as always, enjoy!