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ultimate breakfast taco
I saw a post on another cooking blog (I forget the reference now) about some Hollywood director who put a cooking demonstration for his favorite breakfast tacos on his movie’s DVD and the idea must have stuck with me because on Saturday morning, I decided to try my own breakfast tacos and after Melanie and her mom saw how good they were, they wanted me to make some more on Sunday for breakfast.
These aren’t exactly Tex-Mex pure—you don’t find a whole lot of paprika in Mexican cooking, I think—but are my own concoction of some ideas from various places. The fried corn tortilla bits come from eggs migas, for example.
This makes a complex taco, filling the tortilla fairly well and rich too. Melanie tells me that it would be better if I substituted some breakfast sausage, or perhaps some chorizo, for the bacon, but I told her that she’s welcome to post a recipe for “Melanie’s” ultimate breakfast taco. You can’t trump bacon; it’s a pork fat thing.
This isn’t a quick recipe, and it uses a fair number of pans, relegating it to a weekend morning when you have time to clean up, but I liked it very much, so much that I plan to re-visit the recipe again. And again. And again.
Ingredients:
1 medium potato, peeled, cubed in 1/2” pieces
1 tomato, seeded, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, chopped (seeded to remove heat, if desired)
8 slices bacon
3 6-inch corn tortillas, sliced into 1/2” squares
6 burrito-size flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese (use a Mexican cheese mix or shred your own Monterey Jack)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, separated
8 eggs
1/4 milk
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
Directions:
In a 12-inch non-stick skillet, put 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the potatoes, salt, pepper, and paprika and let cook through until the potatoes are browned and tender through when poked with a fork. About 8 minutes depending on your stove. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in another skillet (preferably non-stick), add 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat and sauté the tomato, onions, and jalapeño until the onions are softened and translucent. Set aside.
Set the oven to broil and cook the bacon on sheet pan (I use our stoneware bar pan) for three minutes on the first side. Flip the slices and cook on the second side about 3-4 minutes more, keeping a careful eye so they become crisp but don’t burn. Drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.
Once the potatoes are done, add 1 Tbsp oil and fry the corn tortillas pieces until browned over medium to medium-high, about 3 minutes. Reserve.
Melt 1 Tbsp butter in the non-stick skillet over high heat. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and add salt and pepper. Add the eggs to the pan and stir with a spatula to create fluffy curds. The eggs will cook quickly, but don’t let them overcook! If they’re done in the pan, they’ll be overcooked on the plate. There will be no loose liquid running in the pan, but the eggs should still look wet. When you’ve moved them to a serving dish, sprinkle with the cheese and fold together.
Set a regular stainless steel over medium-high heat and then place the flour tortillas in the dry pan and let brown for about 10 seconds on each side and then put in a tortilla warmer or on a plate under a kitchen towel.
Assemble the tacos by placing one or two pieces of bacon on a tortilla, then add the vegetable mixture, potatoes, egg, and top with cilantro. Roll and enjoy!
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