Burrito de Machaca y Huevo Sonorense

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 10-inch cast iron skillet
• •Large cast iron comal or 14-inch flat skillet for the sobaqueras
• •Wooden spoon or spatula
• •Clean cloth or butcher paper for wrapping

Instructions

1. 1

   Soften the machaca

   Pull the machaca apart by hand into thin shreds. The strands should be fine, almost feathery. If your machaca is very dry, sprinkle it with a tablespoon of warm water and let it sit for five minutes to relax. Good machaca is sun-dried beef pounded with a mesquite mallet on the ranches outside Hermosillo. It is not jerky. It is a regional preservation art that predates refrigeration in the Sonoran desert, and it deserves to be treated with respect.

   If you can only find vacuum-packed machaca from a Mexican grocer, look for the brands from Sonora or Chihuahua. Avoid anything labeled 'shredded beef jerky.' That is a different product and it will give you a different breakfast.
2. 2

   Build the sofrito

   Heat one tablespoon of manteca in a heavy skillet over medium. Add the onion and chile verde and cook for three to four minutes until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic and tomato. Cook another three minutes until the tomato breaks down and the pan smells sweet. La manteca es el sabor. Do not substitute oil here. The lard is what makes this taste like a Sonoran ranch breakfast and not a hotel buffet.

3. 3

   Add the machaca and toast it in the fat

   Push the vegetables to one side of the pan. Add the remaining tablespoon of manteca to the empty side. Drop the shredded machaca into the hot fat and let it sit for thirty seconds without stirring. You want the strands to fry, not stew. Then stir everything together and cook for two minutes more. The machaca will deepen in color and the kitchen will smell like a ranch kitchen at sunrise. Taste before salting. Machaca is already salt-cured. Most cooks add no salt at all here.

4. 4

   Scramble in the eggs

   Lower the heat to medium-low. Pour in the beaten eggs and let them sit for fifteen seconds before stirring. Pull the eggs gently across the pan with a wooden spoon, folding the machaca and sofrito through them. The eggs are done when they are just set but still glossy. Pepper now. Salt only if it needs it. Pull the pan off the heat. Eggs that finish cooking on a hot pan turn rubber.

   Do not whip the eggs into a fine curd. Sonoran scrambled eggs hold their structure. You want loose folds, not a uniform yellow paste.
5. 5

   Heat the sobaqueras on the comal

   Set a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Lay one sobaquera flat on the comal for about fifteen seconds per side, just until it is hot, pliable, and shows a few light brown spots. The sobaquera is the wheat tortilla of Sonora, hand-stretched so thin you can read through it, named for the way the cook drapes it over her forearm, su sobaco, while she works it. In noroeste, flour is where it belongs. Do not apologize for it.

6. 6

   Build the burrito

   Lay the hot sobaquera flat on a clean cloth. Spread about a third of a cup of frijoles maneados in a thick band slightly below the center. Top with a generous spoonful of the machaca con huevo. Scatter a tablespoon of crumbled queso ranchero across the top. Fold the bottom edge up over the filling, fold both sides in toward the middle, then roll the whole thing tight from the bottom. The fold matters. A loose burrito falls apart by the time you reach the corner.

7. 7

   Sear the seam (optional but recommended)

   Return the rolled burrito to the comal seam-side down for thirty seconds. The heat seals the seam closed and gives you a few crisp brown spots on the outside. Wrap in butcher paper or a clean cloth napkin if you are taking it to go. Serve with crushed chiltepín, salsa, and lime on the table. Asi se hace y punto. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.

Chef Tips

• •Real Sonoran machaca is the difference between this dish and a sad imitation. Look for it at Mexican grocers that source from Sonora or Chihuahua, or order it from a ranch supplier. If you can only find machaca-style shredded beef from a generic brand, rinse it briefly under cool water to wash off some of the excess salt before using.
• •Sobaqueras are not the same as the small flour tortillas sold in supermarket plastic bags. They are 12 to 14 inches across, paper-thin, and hand-stretched. Find them at a Sonoran panaderia or at a tortilleria that specifically makes sobaqueras or tortillas de harina sonorense. If you cannot find them, the largest, thinnest flour tortillas you can buy will do, but you are making a compromise, not the real thing.
• •Chiltepín is the wild bird's-eye chile of the Sonoran desert, foraged by hand in the Sierra Madre. It is not a substitute for any hot pepper. It is hot, fruity, and gone in a flash. A pinch crushed over the burrito is the Sonoran way. If you cannot find it, leave the heat to the salsa.
• •Frijoles maneados are pinto beans cooked soft, then mashed and beaten in hot lard with a little queso ranchero or longhorn cheese until they go silky. Make a batch on the weekend and you have breakfast for a week.

Advance Preparation

• •The machaca con huevo filling can be made one day ahead and reheated gently in a skillet with a teaspoon of lard. Do not microwave. The eggs will turn rubbery.
• •Frijoles maneados keep for four days refrigerated and improve overnight. Reheat with a splash of water and a knob of lard to bring back the silky texture.
• •Sobaqueras hold for two days wrapped tightly in a cloth at room temperature. Refresh on a hot comal for fifteen seconds per side before building the burrito.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)