Ultimate Breakfast Burrito
Howdy y'all, and thanks for stopping by the website this morning. As most of you know, for quite a while I worked as a chuck wagon cook, feeding hungry cowboys so they could get out on the trail and get to work. In the dead of the summer, a lot of the times we'd get up and try to get moving before the sun got too hot. On those days, my favorite thing to cook was a breakfast burrito. It's hearty, portable, and you can keep it in a saddle bag or a shirt pocket and eat while you're out on the trail.
Over the years, I learned a few tricks to take this burrito to the next level. The key is to use a lot of meat- both bacon and sausage - eggs, crispy hash browns, refried beans, extra seasoning, and make sure you've got some cheese in every bite. I hope y'all have tried the Ultimate Burrito that I shared with you a few months back. If you liked that, you're going to love this.
Crispy Hash Browns
Frying up some hash browns adds a delicious crunch to every single bite of this burrito. It's important to do this part right, or you'll just end up with soggy, greasy potatoes.
Start with a russet potato. Peel off the skin and grate the potato with a cheese grater. Now's the important part: Soak the potato shreds in a big bowl of water. The water will turn cloudy - that's the starch. Rinse the water and repeat until the potato shreds can sit a moment without the water becoming cloudy.
Tip: Using water, remove all the starch from the potato shreds so they will fry up crispy.
Why is this so important? Well, that potato starch gets in the way of frying these hash browns up to a crisp. Make sure you remove the starch and dry the shreds very well, or they'll jump out of the fryer and bite you when it's time to cook 'em. If you love hash browns as much as I do, here's a video on how to make them perfect.
Tip: Dry the potato shreds with a tea towel. Paper towels won't absorb enough water.
Bacon AND Sausage
You go to the drive up window, and they always make you pick between bacon and sausage. No. This is the ultimate breakfast burrito and we are going to use both. There are all manner of breakfast sausages out there, and you can use your favorite. For me, I like good old-fashioned pork sausage.
Get the cast iron hot and cook the ground sausage to where it's about three-fourths of the way cooked. Scrape it out of the skillet. Don't wipe it down. You want to keep that flavor in there while you cook the eggs.
Add the bacon to the skillet. Cook to desired doneness. I like the bacon to make a loud crunch noise when I bite into it. Save the bacon grease for later.
If you're trying to time everything to finish at the same time, now is when you should heat up your frying oil for the hash browns. Go ahead and get it pre-heating to about 350 degrees.
Cowboy Up the Eggs
Start with three large eggs. Whisk until they are very smooth. Add some of my Original Seasoning or salt and pepper. Next, add an undrained can of diced green chilis and whisk well. I add these to so many foods because they add delicious flavor, and you can choose your heat level. They're eggsquisite in a breakfast burrito.
Mix in the mostly-cooked sausage crumbles. The reason I left them slightly undercooked was so that the remaining pork fat will render into the eggs while they cook. They taste so delicious this way. When well combined, pour right into the hot cast iron skillet. Cook until eggs are fluffy and sausage is finished.
Now is the time to add the hash browns to the fry oil. Fry until golden and crispy. Poke around in there with a spatula to keep these from sticking to each other.
Refried Beans
To make this a little easier, start with a can of your favorite refried beans. If you really want to wow everyone, start a day earlier and make some authentic refried beans yourself. To bring out a fresher flavor, add a little cumin, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Mix well, and cook until warm.
Fill the Tortillas
Lay out the tortillas on a flat surface. Spread the refried beans all along the center of the tortilla, leaving about two inches on the sides and four inches on top and bottom. Layer on the bacon, eggs, cheese, and hash browns. Fold in the sides and then close the top and bottom of the tortilla.
Most burritos stop here, but then they miss the best part. Heat up the rest of that bacon grease from earlier in the cast iron skillet. When hot, place the entire burrito, seam side down, in the grease until the tortilla is crispy. Flip the burrito and do it again.
Bonus: Easy Hot Green Salsa
I know, it's kind of crazy to give away a free, delicious recipe for salsa when I already sell jars of my own salsa on the same website. You certainly could serve my salsa with this burrito and it would be delicious! Still, if you're in the mood for a green salsa, give this simple recipe a try. I'm sharing it with you because it's delicious and I think you'll love it. Every time I take a bite of delicious food the first thing I think about is how to share it with you, so please enjoy.
Dice up the jalapenos, onion, and garlic cloves into big chunks. Cover with water in a small saucepan and boil for about five minutes. Drain the water and add to the blender. Add tomatillo sauce and blend until smooth. So easy!