Here in Texas, we have these amazing things known as breakfast tacos. Also here in Texas, we do not understand why the rest of the planet does not make and consume breakfast tacos as they are perhaps the yummiest and bestest food invention since bacon. Way back when, a friend and I would spend Sunday evenings making breakfast tacos for the two of us for the week. I’d like to tell you that this is a money-saving idea, but since we’ve begun using some of the best artisanal ingredients we can find, the economics of cooking at home might have been gotten lost in the translation

Each week’s taco is a bit different. Sometimes we use onions, sometimes bell peppers, sometimes more egg, sometimes less, sometimes fingerling potatoes are thrown in the pan. We’ve discovered that the refried black beans are key, as is a hit of salsa. But we always, always use bacon. Really good bacon. Bacon makes everything better.

Chelle Tacos: Ingredients

• Parbaked tortillas (you’ll find these in the refrigerated section)
• Venison and pork breakfast sausage (105-year-old recipe)
• 6 slices of six-pepper bacon (from Salt and Time Salumerie here in Austin)
• 8-10 eggs, whisked in a large stainless steel bowl
• one can of black refried beans
• 2 heirloom tomatoes
• 3 cloves slow-roasted garlic
• fresh avocado
• Dave’s Lamentation Salsa (my old family recipe, pilfered from SalsaFests of years past)
• Shredded cheese (we’ve used anything from cheddar to quattro frommagi to monterey jack)
• tinfoil (these will keep your breakfast tacos yummy while they hang out in the refrigerator)

Production

1. Chop the avocado and heirloom tomatoes.
2. In non-stick or cast iron skillet, cook tortillas over low heat. Wrap them in a dry dish towel until ready to assemble tacos.
3. In a large non-stick or cast iron skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon or spatula, placing on a paper towel to remove excess drippings.
4. Leave the bacon drippings in the pan to cook the sausage and eggs. Brown the sausage and then add the whisked eggs, cooking until done.
5. Add layer of black beans to cooked tortilla.
6. Add 1/4 of bacon, sausage, and egg mixture.
7. Add one tablespoon of salsa, tomato, avocado, and cheese to taste.
8. Wrap in tinfoil and refrigerate immediately. Tacos will keep for about a week (although the tortilla might be a tiny bit soggy the closer to the end of the week you get).

And I’m just putting it out there because I know that you’re all wondering: Make your own tacos because there is absolutely, positively no sharing of my breakfast-taco-stash. Not even with you, Eleanor and Beatrice. (But I still love you and will let you into bed with us tonight.) And something tells me that I better make breakfast for lunch the next time I’m up at the clinic. With the winter they’ve been surviving, they could probably use a few good breakfast tacos.