To a Texan the only way to start a day is by attacking a
substantial breakfast. I’m not talking
about a leisurely conversation with a cup of coffee and a roll, I’m talking
about a literal attack against a formidable opponent. It could also be called ‘striving toward a goal,’ or ‘man vs.
food,’ or ‘a winning attitude.’ It
could be. But that would be a
Texas-sized understatement. But any way
you look at it, breakfast in Texas is not for wimps.
A simple breakfast is just a couple of eggs, a chicken fried
steak or two, biscuits and gravy, and some home fries. Grits may or may not be included, just keep
them off my plate. But it’s not too
unusual to see the addition of bacon, ham, fried catfish, enchiladas,
beefsteak, pork chops, and fruit pies.
Beans, rice, and tortillas are a given.
French fries are always a welcomed change from home fries, and one could
easily include just about anything else found on a Tex-Mex menu from tamales to
carne asada. Even a barbeque menu makes
a good breakfast. Coffee is no-brainer,
and I’ve been asked more than once at a restaurant if I wanted a beer. Once I was brought a shot of tequila with my
orange juice. Yes!! That’s what I’m talking about!
It’s a wonder that Texans aren’t as big as the state, or at
least the region of abode, but hard work is the norm and the calories are put
to good use. Life on the farms and
ranches starts early and isn’t over until the sun is long gone. Every day.
Some of the larger spreads have two breakfasts. The first one is just enough to get started
gathering eggs or other small chores.
Then comes the big one. After
that, it’s off to the hard work for five or six hours before the next meal
arrives.
After I began working and traveling for a company in the
late ‘sixties, I discovered breakfast isn’t the same in other parts of the
country. In Denver I encountered
something called a ‘quiche.’ Basically
it was just a small slice of baked scrambled eggs in a pie shell with a few
things such as onions, cheese and spinach thrown in. After eating two full breakfasts of these things, I was still
hungry.
New York was some fish on a piece of bread shaped like a
doughnut. It took me a few years to
appreciate the bagel, but it’s still just fish on a piece of bread.
Many of the southern states served grits with some
substantial sides such as shrimp or ham and bacon and eggs. Not too bad, but not enough, and I’m not a
fan of grits anyway.
California served juice and salad, or just a cinnamon
roll. Idaho served potatoes and eggs
(more please). Wisconsin served eggs
and cheese with a sausage (a very good sausage). Chicago was pastry and weak coffee. A restaurant in Vermont served unlimited pancakes with maple
syrup. The main problem was the use of
sawdust instead of flour to make the pancakes.
Many places had a good, but rather small, breakfast. And just as many places served a large
inedible breakfast.
In St. Louis I encountered a pork steak for breakfast. It came with three eggs, biscuits and gravy,
home fries, a big slice of ham and some sausage links. I was just about to declare St. Louis a part
of Texas when I discovered this was being served family style to the three of
us at the table. Oh, well.
I found a place near Oklahoma City that served a fantastic
breakfast. It was a truck stop café
with seating for about 30 or so, but the parking area was a bit small, and
about 20 trucks would fill it up. Even
so, the place always had people standing outside the door waiting to get in. I was driving by one morning when several of
the truckers were leaving, so I took advantage of the open parking and stopped
in. It was the right thing to do.
The waitress looked at me for about 3 seconds, and then
said, “Fort Worth, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll get your breakfast.
Meanwhile, coffee’s over there.
Help yourself.”
I got my coffee and sat back down before I realized I hadn’t
even ordered my breakfast. But it
didn’t matter. Within a couple of
minutes the biscuits and gravy arrived with a big chicken fried steak. Two more minutes and I had three eggs over
easy with home fries. I was swallowing
the last bite of the chicken fried steak when a plate of ham, bacon and
sausages arrived, along with more biscuits and gravy and two more eggs. She came back by with a bowl of grits, but
before she set them down, she looked at me for a moment, and then walked away
with the bowl. She returned with two
big cheese enchiladas and a wedge of apple pie. (How did she know?)
“I’m sorry, but we’re out of apricot pie. Hope the apple is okay.”
“Perfect.”
There were a few other ‘perfect’ breakfasts I found outside
of Texas, and they were mostly at truck stops or out of the way cafes. Not every perfect breakfast came with
enchiladas and pie, but every one of them was good and in quantity.
A recipe for a Texas breakfast menu is not an easy thing to
do, but here is a recipe for one of my favorite inclusions in a Texas
breakfast. Just remember, every
breakfast is better with a couple of big cheese enchiladas.
Machaca con Huevos
Serves 4 to 6.
Marinade:
1 tablespoon A-1
Steak Sauce
1 tablespoon soy
sauce
2 tablespoons
Worcestershire sauce
Juice of 4 to 5
limes
Juice of 1 large
orange
1 chipotle chile
in adobo, minced
1 teaspoon adobo
sauce
4 cloves garlic,
chopped
1 teaspoon ground
cumin
1 teaspoon chili
powder mix
1/2 teaspoon
dried crushed oregano
1/2 teaspoon
salt
1/2 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive
oil
Machaca:
3 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 4 to 6 pieces
1 large red
onion, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced across
1 large red or
green bell pepper, sliced
4 cloves garlic,
chopped
1 (10-ounce) can
tomatoes with chiles, diced
1 (4-ounce) can
diced green chiles
1/2 cup beef
stock
1 tablespoon
dried crushed oregano
1 tablespoon
ground cumin
1 teaspoon
Mexican hot pepper sauce such as Cholula or Tapatio
Coarse salt and
freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil for the
pan
8 large eggs,
lightly beaten
1 small red
onion, chopped
2 New Mexico or
Anaheim green chiles (preferably Hatch chiles)
Unsalted butter
3 plum tomatoes,
chopped
3 cups dried
Machaca
chopped cilantro
flour tortillas
Marinade and Machaca:
Whisk all the marinade ingredients together. Pierce the meat deeply all over with a sharp
fork, then place the beef chunks into the marinade. Cover and let marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Remove meat from the marinade, drain, and pat dry. Discard the marinade. Allow the meat to sit, covered, for about 45
to 60 minutes to bring to room temperature.
In a large heavy pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive
oil. Sear the meat well on all sides,
in batches so as not to crowd them.
Remove the meat as it is browned and set aside. When all of the pieces are browned, pour out
the accumulated fat in the pot leaving a layer of drippings on the bottom of
the pot. Bring the pot back up to a
medium heat, add in the onion, peppers, and garlic. Cook, stirring, for a few
minutes to soften.
Add the tomatoes, broth, pepper sauce and spices, and cook,
stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to release all the browned
bits. When it comes to a boil, place
the beef chunks back in and push down until each piece is submerged, and then
lower the heat to bring down to a low simmer.
Simmer, covered, for a few hours.
Stir from time to time, but keep the heat as low as possible and still
simmer.
After 2 ½ to 3 hours the meat should be fall-apart tender.
Lift the meat out of the sauce, let cool for about 15 minutes, and then using
two forks shred the beef along the grain. Return some of the meat back into the sauce in the pan and
cook some more to reduce and thicken the sauce. This is perfect for burrito or enchilada filling, or served with
rice and beans. But reserve at least
half of the meat to make the dried machaca.
Spread the shredded meat in a single layer on a baking
sheet. Bake in a 250F oven for 20
minutes. Check after 20 minutes. The
meat should be dry to the touch with no accumulated moisture beneath. If not, dry an additional 10 minutes. Alternatively, the beef can be dried on top
of the stove using a cast-iron skillet over medium low heat. Stir often.
Machaca con Huevos:
Saute the onion and peppers in butter, and when they have
softened, add in the chopped tomato and machaca. When hot, remove from the pan, and then on medium heat cook
scrambled eggs until almost done. Stir
in the machaca and tomato mixture.
Garnish with cilantro. Serve with hot flour or corn tortillas.
As always, breakfast is best served with a couple of big
cheese enchiladas, but I’ve said this before.
Since I moved away from Texas I don’t hear much about
machaca anymore, and I don’t know why this is so. I occasionally find it in a restaurant in a chimichanga, or a
burrito, but I can’t count on getting my machaca fix very often unless I make
it myself. This is the recipe I’ve been
using for a very long time, and as with most good eats, it isn’t fast food.