Bacon Salt: The Key to the Winningest of Nachos

Photo credit: All, Barb Brillantes

Click here. Do you see those sad, naked nachos? Don’t leave them hanging like that…

We asked our readers to submit their most inventive nacho toppings on Twitter using the hashtag #mynachosarebetter. And we found a winner whose nachos truly are better: Brooklyn-based graphic designer Barb Brillantes. She tops her Super Bowl game day nachos with melty cheese and thinly sliced raw jalapeños, then sprinkles them with homemade bacon salt. And that’s why she won.

At first, the idea of bacon salt sounded wrong, like in a Guy Fieri way. But once we saw the recipe (and beautiful photos!) on Brillantes’s food blog, Wishful Chef, our minds were changed…and began to conjure up a list of ingredients we would need to make our own. (Answer: just two.)

"I’m Filipino, and we’re huge into cooking and family gatherings with food, so it’s always been a part of me," Brillantes told us. "I’m not vegetarian, but I try to cook healthy dishes with a focus on whole grains and vegetables." So she uses meat as a condiment, like in this bacon salt, which she says is good on much more than nachos: eggs, ice cream, even mixed into pancake syrup. And we’d vote popcorn, too.

DO try this at home. You know, if you want your nachos to be better.

Bacon Salt
by Barb Brillantes
Makes about 1/4 cup

2-3 slices of prosciutto or bacon
1 teaspoon course sea salt

Heat oven to 375°F.

Place prosciutto slices on a baking sheet and cook for 20-25 minutes, until crisp. Remove prosciutto from pan and place on paper towels to cool. Pat off any excess oil.

Break prosciutto into small pieces and place in a mortar and pestle. Crush into even smaller pieces, then add salt and pound the mixture until uniformly broken down and mixed. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

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