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California Breakfast Burrito Recipe

By : | 0 Comments | On : October 27, 2012 | Category : Mexican Recipes

California Breakfast Burrito

I remember waking up on a Saturday morning, living in San Diego, and looking into the fridge to see nothing that really got me excited.  That’s when I would slip into something that looks like clothes but still feels like pajamas and head to the local taco shop for a California style breakfast burrito.

These were giant flour tortillas yielding an equally giant burrito, filled with scrambled eggs, real bacon pieces, chorizo (Mexican sausage), chopped ham, potatoes and plenty of shredded cheese.  Take that warm steamy burrito in one hand, a small plastic cup of hot sauce in the other and I was a very happy for the rest of the day.

If you want to recreate the delicious flavor of a California breakfast burrito, it’s not too difficult.  Follow along and, trust me, even if you mess it up, you’re still going to be very happy with what you’re eating, assuming you didn’t burn anything.  So, let’s get started on the road to my happy place…

But first, let’s talk about a couple of things that I think are important if you want an authentic California style breakfast burrito.  First of all, the tortilla.  I like mine to be the thinner ones that aren’t too “springy.”  If you look at what they have in the grocery stores, some of them are a bit thicker than the others.  That’s fine if that’s what you like, but they’re not the most authentic.  The second item is the chorizo.  If you can find it at a local butcher, where it’s made fresh, buy it immediately.  That’s going to be a lot better than anything you buy pre-packaged in the grocery store.  Also, make sure you buy the pork chorizo, as it tends to give the best flavor, in my opinion. El Rey makes a decent chorizo as do others.

This recipe is going to be for several burritos, usually about 3-4 in our house, but we like to stuff ’em pretty thick.  Also, don’t be surprised at the use of the cheap ham.  You have to remember, these don’t come from some fancy gourmet restaurant, but rather, the little hole-in-wall taco shop you find in every strip mall in Southern California.

California Breakfast Burrito Recipe
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Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Mexican
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 Dozen Eggs
  • 1 lb. Pork Chorizo
  • ¼ lb. thick bacon
  • 4 slices of ham (the rectangular ones you use on sandwiches).
  • 2 medium size potatoes
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 4 extra large flour tortillas (at least 12" but larger if you can find them)
  • Hot Sauce of your choice
Instructions
Potatoes
  1. It's best to cook the potatoes the night before so they're cool and firm when you cook with them the next morning.
  2. Scrub your potatoes and place them in a large pot and cover with water, adding the salt. (I cook them with the skin on because I usually let them cool in the refrigerator overnight.)
  3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a medium high heat to keep a "rolling boil."
  4. Cook under you can put a fork into a potato and pull it out without much effort. But, do not overcook them, in fact, I'd suggest you undercook them a bit since you're going to recook them in the pan when you make the burrito.
  5. Set in a bowl and let cool in the refrigerator.
  6. The next morning, peel the potatoes and cut them into approximately 1" cubes.
Filling
  1. Crack your eggs into a suitable sized bowl. Don't scramble them yet, I like to do that once I've put them into the pan.
  2. Cook the bacon in a large frying pan to your desired doneness. I usually don't like them too crispy, especially when putting them into a burrito.
  3. Remove the bacon and let drain on a plate with a paper towel.
  4. Leave a nice coating of the bacon fat in the pan to use when cooking the chorizo.
  5. Reheat the same frying pan over a medium-high heat.
  6. Remove the chorizo from the casing and place into the pan. You're going to cook this just like you would ground beef.
  7. While the chorizo is cooking, cut the ham and bacon into small cubes (about ½ - 1" square) and set aside.
  8. Once the chorizo is done, toss in the potato cubes and pour in the eggs. Let them start to set for a bit before you scramble them (this will give a nice blend of egg white and yolk).
  9. Use your spatula or wooden spoon to scramble just the eggs (you don't want to blend the eggs and chorizo until the eggs have had some time to cook).
  10. After your eggs have begun to firm up, begin stirring the eggs and chorizo together.
  11. Toss in the bacon and ham pieces and mix until well blended.
Building the Burrito
  1. Heat the tortilla on a dry skillet until it's soft and pliable. You don't want it to cook too long or it will crack when you try to roll up your burrito.
  2. Once the tortilla is nice and soft, place it on a flat surface and immediately place some filling in it, just a bit off-center. The amount you use will depend on the size of the tortilla. Try not to overstuff it, or it will be very difficult to roll up.
  3. Place on a generous helping of shredded cheese and some hot sauce if you'd like.
  4. Roll the burrito up and enjoy.
  5. If you've never rolled a burrito successfully, the secret it 1) the right amount of filling (not too much) and 2) heating your tortilla properly.
  6. Start with the tortilla in front of you and the filling closest to you, running horizontally across the bottom half of the tortilla.
  7. Fold up the tortilla starting with the edge nearest you and folding away, almost in half (the filling will shift up as you do this) but not quite.
  8. Fold in both sides, keeping the filling in the middle. Make sure your corners aren't left open, or your filling will fall out.
  9. Continue rolling the tortilla up and away from you.
  10. If you like a crispy or slightly crunchy texture on your burrito, you can not heat it in a dry hot skillet until it's begins to get nice golden bubbles.

 

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