Breakfast Tacos

INGREDIENTS

FLOUR TORTILLAS (makes 8):

• 2 cups flour

• 1 tsp salt

• ¾ cup of warm water

• 3 TBS canola oil or lard

MIGAS, EGG & CHEESE BREAKFAST TACOS (Makes 2 large tacos):

• 2 large eggs

• Handful of tortilla chips or strips from a corn tortilla

• Shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese

• ¼ cup diced white onion

• Strips of ham (optional)

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Chopped cilantro for topping (optional)

POTATO, EGG & CHEESE BREAKFAST TACOS:

• 2 large eggs

• 2 TBS of white vinegar

• ½ russet potato - diced

• Shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Chopped cilantro for topping (optional)

CHORIZO, EGG & CHEESE BREAKFAST TACOS:

• 1 chorizo sausage (NOT DRY)

• 2 large eggs

• ½ russet potato - diced

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Chopped cilantro for topping (optional)

BEAN & POTATO BREAKFAST TACO:

• ½ cup refried beans (black or pinto)

• ½ russet potato - diced

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Chopped cilantro for topping (optional)

ADDITIONAL NEEDS:

• Canola oil for cooking

• Avocado slices for topping

• Salsa or hot sauce for topping

GO FOR IT

FLOUR TORTILLAS:

1. In a large bowl, mix flour and salt. Slowly stir in water and oil (or lard) until well combined and a ball forms (ball should be sticky but be able to peel away from bowl easily - add more water or flour 1 TBS at a time if too dry or wet)

2. On a floured surface, knead dough until a smooth ball forms, then let dough rest at least 10 minutes

3. Once rested, divide ball into 8 smaller balls equal in size, then let rest for at least an additional 10 minutes (if you do not rest your dough, it will not form into a tortilla easily - more rest is better than less here)

4. Once rested, and on a lightly floured surface, use a lightly floured tortilla press or rolling pin to form dough into 6 to 7 inch tortilla circles (dough should be very thin)

5. On a dry and hot cast iron or large skillet, cook tortilla circles over medium heat for about 1 minute on each side (you will know your first side is ready when bubbles start to form on the exposed side and spots on the bottom brown significantly)

6. Set tortillas aside under paper towels as you make your tacos

MIGAS, EGG & CHEESE BREAKFAST TACOS:

1. Heat a little bit of oil on a cast iron or large skillet over medium heat and then cook tortilla chips and onions until onions are soft and chips/strips are slightly crisp (about 2-3 minutes)

2. (if you want, add some ham strips to your migas mix for your tacos. This is a great addition I,m found at El Primo taco truck in Austin)

3. Once ready, crack eggs over your mix and use a metal spatula to mix eggs through everything while they scramble (sprinkle with salt and pepper)

4. Top with shredded cheese of choice and let cook for additional 30 seconds before moving to fresh tortilla

5. Top with cilantro, salsa or hot sauce of choice, and avocado slices before serving

POTATO, EGG & CHEESE BREAKFAST TACOS:

1. In a large saucepan or small pot, cover potatoes by 1 inch in water and bring to a boil, then add 2 TBS white vinegar and 2 tsp salt

2. Bring down to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes before removing potatoes

3. Heat a little bit of oil on a cast iron or large skillet over high heat and then cook potato until brown and edges begin to crisp

4. Once ready, crack eggs over potatoes and use a metal spatula to mix eggs through everything while they scramble (sprinkle with salt and pepper)

5. Top with shredded cheese of choice and let cook for additional 30 seconds before moving to fresh tortilla

6. Top with cilantro, salsa or hot sauce of choice, and avocado slices before serving

CHORIZO, EGG & CHEESE BREAKFAST TACOS:

1. Remove chorizo from sausage casing and break up thoroughly

2. Heat a little bit of oil on a cast iron or large skillet over medium heat and then cook chorizo while continuing to break up with a spatula (about 5-7 minutes) - add more oil if too dry

3. Once ready, crack eggs over chorizo and use a metal spatula to mix eggs through everything while they scramble (sprinkle with salt and pepper)

4. Top with shredded cheese of choice and let cook for additional 30 seconds before moving to fresh tortilla

5. Top with cilantro, salsa or hot sauce of choice, and avocado slices before serving

BEAN & CHEESE BREAKFAST TACOS:

1. If using dry beans, soak overnight and then rinse before using (4 oz should be enough to cover more than 4 tacos - I usually use 8 oz and use remaining refried beans for other meals but all instructions will be reflected for 4 oz of dry beans)

2. Cover beans by 3 inches of cold water, then garlic clove, bay leaf, and 2 tsp of salt, then bring to a boil

3. Once boiling, lower to a simmer and cover, then cook for about 30 minutes

4. After 30 minutes, taste a bean for doneness (if still firm, continue cooking while covered, checking again for doneness every 10 minutes )

5. Once tender, remove from heat and drain but save all cooking liquid

6. Put beans and cooked garlic clove in a blender (or use an immersion blender or masher in the pot)

7. Add in cooking water to achieve desired consistency (less water will result in chunkier and firmer refried beans and more water will result in soupier beans - if beans are not used right away keep in mind they will firm up after resting and thus you may want to make them soupier than normal to compensate - in my opinion a soupier blend results in a better breakfast taco) - add salt to taste

8. (if using canned beans, then drain, rinse and heat up in water with garlic, bay leaf, and salt and follow all other steps while knowing that cooking time will only be 5 to 8 minutes and not 30)

9. Once ready, place refried beans on a fresh tortilla and top with shredded cheese, cilantro, salsa or hot sauce of choice, and avocado slices before serving

NOTES:

Veracruz All Natural (as well as several other Austin spots) make their own flour tortillas and so I’ve provided you with instruction should you want to give it a go. Store bought flour tortillas are fine but you will taste such a huge difference if made fresh. I will add some words of caution, though. You want your dough sticky but still dry enough to roll out and you want to roll them as thin as possible for best results. However, when flouring your work surface, rolling pin, and/or tortilla press, flour LIGHTLY. Having too much dry flour on your tortilla when added to cast iron to cook will result in dry tortillas and nobody wants that.

I debated a long time on what kind of tacos to make and how many. I may have over done it here but I wanted to provide everyone with a good variety. Migas is a great scrambled egg mix that I don’t see much up North and thus wanted to include for those unfamiliar, especially since Veracruz All Natural is specifically known for their migas breakfast tacos (as is El Primo which adds ham as mentioned).

Chorizo is also very popular in Texas and I thought that would be a great meaty addition but bacon is also very popular to use in Austin Breakfast Tacos (if you use bacon I would suggest crumbling it up once cooked so it can be mix throughout the egg and everything else).

I also cannot overstate the popularity of refried beans and potatoes in Austin Breakfast Tacos and felt including them would be a great opportunity to provide instruction how how to cook refried beans (trust me that they are better if made from dry beans but if you’re short on time canned still work well). I also got to mention the great J. Kenji López-Alt’s method of adding a little bit of vinegar to the boil to help keep your potatoes in tact as they are being mixed around with a spatula and egg. Additionally, this gave me a great opportunity to provide people with some amazing vegetarian and vegan options in their breakfast taco choices. You are of course free to mix and match all these ingredients as you see fit.