Breakfast of Champions

I’ve posted some breakfast ideas before and several of them were for on-the-go-weekday-hurry-out-the-door-I’m-late-for-work. But this breakfast, ah, this is for when you want to relax, take your time, sing while you cook, and enjoy eating it with the people you love the most.

My girls and I, more times than not, have made Saturday “our” day, whether it’s a breakfast, a brunch, or a lunch. It’s a time for us to get together and lament the woes of the week and celebrate the good parts of life. Most sentences start with, “Did I tell you about...” We tend to save the best for our Saturdays together. We almost always meet at Tacos Garcia or El Tejevan, with the occasional La Campana thrown in the mix. Rarely do we not eat Mexican food but there are those strange times.

And there are Saturdays when we have a late breakfast at our house. One of our favorite dishes is the chorizo (chohREEsoh) plate or a chorizo burrito. The latter is the recipe I’m providing, which can easily be transformed into a plate, just serve the tortillas on the side.

The night before I put a small pot of brown beans on to cook. I posted a terrific pinto bean seasoning before, so be sure and check that out.

When you’re ready to start your meal, get out the chorizo and cook it in a pan. 

For the three of us I usually use only half a casing. Mexican chorizo is fresh like Italian sausage and Spanish chorizo is dry and hard like salami. I’m using the Mexican, that has to be squeezed from the casing. I think I usually buy the Cacique brand, but I’ve tried several and like them all. Now if you’re going to start asking what it’s made of and what all is in it, just stop reading now and go buy your Jimmy Dean sausage and we’ll call it even. 

It doesn’t take long to cook and you’re going to see lots of the deliciously flavored grease left over in the pan. The chorizo is  crumbly so it will take some manuervering to get it out of the pan while trying to leave behind the grease. 

You’ll want to put the cooked chorizo in a paper towel-lined bowl to absorb any further grease.

Here is where I’m divided. Sometimes I cook my fried potatoes in the chorizo grease and sometimes the eggs. It’s a hard decision to make, like whether to eat dessert first or last.  I’ve cooked it both ways before and it comes out equally fantastic. I’m going to let you make the call. Either way, fry your potatoes next. You don’t need to use but one potato, unless you are feeding a rather larger group.

Next, take your cooked beans (canned beans do just as well, but if you have the time, cook up a fresh pot!) and give them a whirl while they're hot in the food processor, or you can mash them with a potato masher, either way. 

I take the mashed beans and put it in a small sauce pan and add more seasoning and some cheese.

These are the 3 things you want ready to go before you scramble your eggs: Beans, potatoes, and tortillas warmed.

When you’re ready, break about 9 eggs in a bowl and mix well. Put a medium sized skillet on your burner on medium heat for a minute or so. I usually warm up the pan while I’m cracking the eggs and mixing them.

Pour the eggs in the pan. A little sizzle sounds good. I like to add some salt and pepper while the eggs are dancing around the skillet, trying to get away from the heat. Cook the eggs by pushing them around with a spatula, turning over the cooked bottom portion while letting the running parts hit the bottom of the pan. While the eggs are still about half runny, add the chorizo. I say this because I have added the chorizo while the eggs were completely runny, and it takes a  l  o  n  g     t  i   m  e    t  o    c  o  o  k. So to avoid the long time, let the eggs get about halfway solidified before adding the chorizo. Now make them mix together. Push and flip and turn the chorizo-egg combination until you get the desired doneness of the way you like your eggs. We like our eggs soft scrambled, which means there isn’t any runny, liquid stuff oozing everywhere, but neither are the eggs as solid as the spatula you’re holding. Your call.

Let the art of building begin!

On a warm tortilla, smear a spoonful of refried beans. 

Next add the chorizo-egg combination. 

Top with fried potatoes. Occasionally, we add cheese, but not often. I happened to have some Asadero cheese and roughly grated it and put that on top. 

The final step before utter bliss is to roll the burrito up and have some hot green sauce on hand. And that, my friends, it a breakfast of champions.

Since this takes time and preparation to make, it’s great for a weekend treat. Try one. Tell me don’t think it beats bacon or sausage or whatever kind of meat you put on a breakfast burrito. I dare you.

Tell me what you think and how you changed it. I’d be glad to hear your ideas.

Happy Cooking!

Chorizo Breakfast Burritos

1 Chorizo link

1 Fried Potato

2 C. Refried Beans

18 Eggs

6 Flour Torillas

Cheese-optional

Either cook the beans the day before needed or use a can of brown beans or refried beans. If using whole beans, blend in a processor and heat with bean seasoning and a smatter of cheese.

Using a casing of chorizo, cook on low-medium heat in a large skillet for about 5-7 minutes, stirring and flipping with a spatula. When done, scoop the chorizo out of the skillet while trying to leave as much grease as possible in the skillet and put in a bowl lined with paper towels.

Your fried potatoes should already be cooked, or heated if left-over.

In a medium bow, break all the eggs and using a fork, whisk together until blended.

In the same pan you cooked the chorizo, heat on medium heat while breaking the eggs and whisking.

Pour the whisked eggs in the hot pan. Add a dash of salt and pepper.

Scramble the eggs about halfway. Add the cooked chorizo and continue scrambling the eggs until done.

When the tortillas are heated, first spoon and spread on refried beans. Next add a good portion of the chorizo egg combination. Top with fried potatoes. If using cheese, add that last.

Roll up the burrito and serve. Serves 6