Loaded Totchos: Nachos, But Better
Totchos are nachos built on tater tots instead of chips. The idea is obvious in hindsight and better than it has any right to be, because a tot holds up under toppings in a way a tortilla chip simply does not.
They are on our menu and they are the most-shared thing we serve. Here is how to build them so they do not turn into a soggy tray.
Why tots beat chips
A tortilla chip is thin, brittle, and mostly surface area. Put wet toppings on it and it surrenders in about ninety seconds. Everyone has eaten the bottom third of a nacho tray with a fork.
A tater tot is dense, structured, and has an interior that stays intact even when the exterior gets wet. It can carry chili, cheese, sour cream, and pickled jalapeños and still be a discrete object you pick up with your hand.
The tot also brings something a chip does not: a crisp shell with a fluffy potato interior. It behaves like a small loaded baked potato, which is a better foundation for this food than corn ever was.
Fry them, do not bake them
This is the step that decides everything.
Baked tots come out uniformly beige and slightly soft. They are fine on their own and they collapse under toppings. Fried tots develop a hard, glassy shell that survives contact with cheese and chili — which is the entire structural requirement of this dish.
We fry ours in beef tallow at 375°F, the same fat every fryer at The Garage runs on. Tallow holds temperature well when frozen tots go in, which matters because a temperature crash is what produces greasy tots. It also browns them harder than vegetable oil does.
At home, Original Tallow Cooking Oil by the gallon is the practical size for deep frying, since you need about three inches of depth in the pot. The 16 oz can works if you are shallow frying in a skillet.
The layering rule
Do not dump everything on one pile. Build in two layers: tots, cheese, toppings, then tots, cheese, toppings again. A single layer means the top is loaded and the bottom is bare, and the bare ones get soggy from drippings without getting any of the good part.
Cheese goes directly on the hot tots both times. It melts down into the gaps and forms a partial seal that keeps the wet ingredients from reaching the potato.
The recipe
Serves 4 as an appetizer · 30 minutes
You need
- 1 lb frozen tater tots
- Beef tallow for frying — 3 inches of depth, or 2 tbsp for a skillet
- 2 cups shredded cheddar jack
- 1 cup pulled pork or seasoned ground beef
- ½ cup CA Cola BBQ Sauce
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeños
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- Sour cream
- Green onion, sliced
- Tall Boy Cajun Seasoning
Method
- Heat the tallow to 375°F. Thermometer, not guesswork.
- Fry the tots in batches, 3 to 4 minutes, until deep golden and audibly crisp. Do not crowd the pot — crowding drops the temperature and produces greasy tots.
- Season immediately with Cajun seasoning while the surface fat is still wet enough to hold it.
- Build layer one on an oven-safe tray: half the tots, half the cheese, half the pork.
- Build layer two: remaining tots, cheese, pork.
- Melt under a broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling. Watch it — it goes from melted to burnt fast.
- Finish cold on top: BBQ sauce, jalapeños, red onion, sour cream, green onion. Cold toppings go on after the heat, never before.
Serve immediately, in the tray, with forks nobody will use.
Variations
Buffalo chicken. Shredded chicken tossed in buffalo sauce, blue cheese crumbles, ranch.
Breakfast. Scrambled egg, crumbled sausage, sausage gravy instead of BBQ sauce.
Chili cheese. The straightforward one. Chili, cheddar, onion, sour cream.
Rosemary garlic. Fry the tots in Rosemary Garlic Tallow instead of Original, skip the Cajun seasoning, and finish with parmesan and parsley. Different dish entirely, and very good.
Come get them made properly
Ours are on the menu at 1025 Government Street in Ocean Springs. Kitchen until 9pm, seven days.
Everything you need to build them at home is in the tallow collection and the seasonings collection.
The tots come out of the same fryer as our hand-cut tallow fries. If you are wondering why we use beef tallow instead of vegetable oil, that is the short answer to a long story.
We serve them with RC Cola in a glass bottle, which is the period-correct pairing whether or not you care about that sort of thing.
Common questions
What are totchos?
Nachos made with tater tots instead of tortilla chips, layered with cheese and toppings. Tots hold up under wet toppings far better than chips do.
How do you keep totchos from getting soggy?
Deep fry the tots rather than baking them, layer cheese directly on the hot tots so it seals the surface, build in two layers instead of one pile, and add all cold and wet toppings after broiling rather than before.
What is the best way to cook tater tots for totchos?
Deep fried at 375°F for 3 to 4 minutes in batches. Beef tallow holds temperature well when frozen tots go in and browns them harder than vegetable oil.
Can you make totchos in an air fryer?
Yes for the tots — 400°F for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking halfway. Then assemble and melt under a broiler, since most air fryers cannot hold a full loaded tray.