As Food52 gets older (and wiser), and our archive of recipes grows, we’re making the effort to revisit some favorite recipes from our community. Today’s tacos come to us from longtime Food52er Philip M.
Once upon a time, there was a gourmet taco cart in downtown Bloomington, Indiana, run by Food52er Philip M. and his sister, out of which they served many types of “insanely delicious” tacos. Unfortunately, life took over and they had to leave the street-food business. The end.
Just kidding! That would be a sad ending indeed. Their taco cart may have closed, but the recipes live on, and today we have the recipe for their most popular taco, “The Early Bird,” so you, too, can enjoy one (or two, or three...).
Their Early Bird Breakfast Tacos are filled with pork, chorizo, cheesy scrambled eggs, and crunchy carrot escabeche, and are topped off with a roasted poblano cream sauce. And yes, the combination is as good as it sounds—as tester singing_baker declared, “If these tacos are a glimpse into what Philip M.’s food truck was like, I wish it were still in business.”
They do involve a little prep work and planning ahead, as the carrot escabeche needs to be made a day in advance. But once the carrots and the cream sauce are made, the tacos come together quickly, and Philip has streamlined the prep, calling for packages of shredded cheese and matchsticked carrots. (Or you can do that yourself, if you’d rather!)
And though they might be called breakfast tacos, feel free to serve them up at any time of day. Singing_baker suggests pairing them with rice and beans for a heartier dinner.
| For the carrot esabeche | |
| 1 | yellow onion, sliced |
| 1 | (10-ounce) bag of matchstick carrots |
| 1 | garlic clove |
| 2 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 1 | (4-ounce) can diced jalapeños, juices drained |
| 1 | cup white vinegar |
| For the roasted poblano cream sauce | |
| 1 | large fresh poblano chile |
| 2 | tablespoons chopped white onion |
| 1 | small garlic clove, minced |
| 1/2 | tablespoon unsalted butter |
| 3/4 | cup heavy cream |
| 1/4 | cup whole milk |
| Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste | |
| To assemble the tacos | |
| 1 | packet (10-count, 6-inch) flour tortillas (trust us) |
| 1/2 | pound ground pork (not sausage) |
| 1/2 | pound chorizo (the fresh Mexican kind, not cured Spanish chorizo) |
| 6 | eggs |
| 1 | (8-ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese |
| 1 | bunch cilantro, for garnish |
| For the carrot esabeche | |
| 1 | yellow onion, sliced |
| 1 | (10-ounce) bag of matchstick carrots |
| 1 | garlic clove |
| 2 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 1 | (4-ounce) can diced jalapeños, juices drained |
| 1 | cup white vinegar |
| For the roasted poblano cream sauce | |
| 1 | large fresh poblano chile |
| 2 | tablespoons chopped white onion |
| 1 | small garlic clove, minced |
| 1/2 | tablespoon unsalted butter |
| 3/4 | cup heavy cream |
| 1/4 | cup whole milk |
| Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste | |
| To assemble the tacos | |
| 1 | packet (10-count, 6-inch) flour tortillas (trust us) |
| 1/2 | pound ground pork (not sausage) |
| 1/2 | pound chorizo (the fresh Mexican kind, not cured Spanish chorizo) |
| 6 | eggs |
| 1 | (8-ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese |
| 1 | bunch cilantro, for garnish |
What do you think, are these worth a shot? Taco ’bout it in the comments below!
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