Skillet nachos are a summer entertaining staple in our house. At pretty much every gathering, I’ll throw one of these pans, filled with chips, cheese, beans, and various other toppings, out on the table while we’re cooking up the rest of the meal so that folks can gather and snack while they’re waiting. If you pre-assemble and wrap a skillet and then throw it on the grill to warm, it can be the perfect tailgating food, too!
We wanted to do something slightly different at our house for Fourth of July, though. When I was planning the meal, I had a yen for crispy fish tacos, grilled vegetables, lemon rice, and light and bright fare that would work well for the unspeakably hot days we were having {my Scandinavian blood does not like heat!!}. I wanted to have a skillet of nachos to start with, but my usual heavy fare didn’t feel like it would work right for this occasion at all.
Fortunately, I stumbled across this awesome post from Derek, the Dad with a Pan, about grilled lobster nachos with Old Bay queso, and thought, perfect! It just needed a few modifications to fit what I was looking for, but it was delicious and absolutely perfect for our summery gathering.
These babies were a definite hit. And the bonus? We had more than enough queso to serve up when we had our besties over for drinks and catching up the next day!
This recipe started out with my absolute favorite way to prepare lobster tails, so we’ll start with that. And while these are delicious in the nachos, they’re also wonderful on their own. Next time you’re looking for an easy way to impress with lobster tails, give it a try!
Broiled Lobster Tails with White Wine Butter Sauce
Makes 2 lobster tails {double for 4}.
What You’ll Need:
- 2 lobster tails
- 1/4 sweet onion, cut into two wedges
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 8 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup dry white wine {we used Sauvignon Blanc}
- 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- lemon slices to serve
How to Make Them:
1. Place a baking rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the broiler function. Line a baking sheet or pan with aluminum foil and set aside.
2. Prep the lobster tails. They should be thawed fully. Rinse them and pat dry. Using a fish knife or sharp kitchen scissors, cut the top shell down the back to the top of the tail fan. Use your fingers to loosen the meat from the shell and spread the shell open slightly. Don’t remove it from the shell. Make enough room between the meat and the shell on the bottom to slide in an onion wedge and a clove of crushed garlic for extra flavor.
3. Place the lobster tails on your prepared sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired. Set aside for a moment while you prep the sauce.
4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the white wine and simmer until reduced slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste and whisk to combine. Set aside.
5. Brush half of the sauce over the lobster tails. Spread the shells open to get the sauce into the meat. Reserve the remaining sauce for serving.
6. Broil the lobster tails 10-12 minutes or until the lobster meat is opaque and the shells have turned bright red.
7. Serve immediately with the remaining sauce and lemon slices.
Or, in our case here, we’re going to remove all the meat from the shell and chop it up so that it can go in our nachos! And take note, friends – keep those shells! Because you can use them in lobster broth, which is pretty amazing.
Now that we’ve got our lobster ready to go, let’s talk nachos and queso!
Old Bay Nachos with Butter Broiled Lobster + Homemade Queso
Serves 4.
What You’ll Need:
For the nachos:
- 2 lobster tails, cooked, shelled, and cut into small bits
- 4 cups corn tortilla chips
- 1 cup black beans
- 1 cup fresh grated cheese
- 1-2 cups Old Bay queso
- handful Roma tomatoes, sliced
- 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
- juice of one lemon
For the queso:
- 2-3 sweet peppers, small dice
- 6 Roma tomatoes, small dice
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup onion, small dice
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 tbsp flour
- 6 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup Colby jack cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese, grated
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
How to Make Them:
1. Let’s start with the queso. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and onion and saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and let cook until the mixture has thickened and taken on the appearance of a roux, about 2 minutes.
2. Gradually whisk in the milk and lower heat to a simmer. Stir in the cream cheese, the sharp cheddar, the Colby jack, and the Monterey jack and let cook until melted.
3. Add the peppers and tomatoes and let cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the paprika and Old Bay seasoning, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
4. Preheat your oven broiler.
5. Line a skillet with a thick layer of tortilla chips. Make a well in the center and add black beans, a layer of grated cheese, and the lobster meat. Top with the queso and drizzle with lemon. Refrigerate any remaining queso you might have. It will keep in the fridge for about 5 days.
6. Place the skillet in the broiler and let warm 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and top the skillet with any remaining shredded cheese, the sliced Roma tomatoes, and green onion.
The heat may be awful, but you have to love the warm breezy evenings, long days, beaches, and lots of excuses for good, fresh food with friends!
How are you guys celebrating your summer?
