At Austin’s famous 24-hour Kerbey Lane Cafe, these migas are a signature dish. This recipe has been handed down by the cafe’s founders, David Ayer and Patricia Atkinson. Typically served with black beans and spanish rice, you wash them down with hot coffee. The smokey flavor of migas comes from the ranchero sauce, which is delicious.
Make the ranchero sauce and the pico de gallo the day before. These sauces are always better after mellowing in the fridge overnight. You will see that fresh-made Tex-Mex sauces are useful to have on-hand the rest of the week. Use the sauce when snacking on chips, put it on eggs, for example.
This recipe is from the excellent cookbook, Austin Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the Texas Capital.
Description
Migas at Kerbey Lane Cafe are a must in any visit to Austin, Texas. But if you can’t make it, just follow their recipe here.
Ingredients
For the pico de gallo (makes 4 cups):
- 3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- Kosher salt to taste
For the ranchero sauce (makes 4 cups):
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 serrano pepper, diced (or any other hot pepper)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 canned chipotle pepper, diced
- 1 teaspoon adobo sauce (from chipotle peppers)
- 1/2 ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons chile powder
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 6-ounce can tomato sauce
- Kosher salt to taste
For the migas:
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 8 eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 cups broken tortilla chips
- 1 cup grated cheese (cheddar and Monterey Jack mixed)
- Warm tortillas, Spanish rice and black beans (optional)
Instructions
- To prepare the pico de gallo: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt to taste, and set aside. Pico de gallo will keep, refrigerated, for 1 day.
- To prepare the ranchero sauce: Add the oil to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and serrano pepper, and sauté until the onions are soft amd transparent.
- Add the onion mixture to a food processor bowl, along with the remaining ingredients. Pulse until well combined, but do not puree.
- Transfer mixture back to the saucepan and simmer for about 30 minutes. Ranchero sauce will keep, refrigerated, for a week.
- To prepare the migas: Add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup of pico de gallo and sauté for about 1 minute. Add the eggs and stir gently. When the eggs are partially cooked, add the tortilla chips. Mix well until eggs are cooked to desired consistency.
- Top with cheese and 1 cup warm ranchero sauce.
- Serve with warm tortillas, Spanish rice and black beans.
Notes
Migas are a terrific brunch dish, but there’s nothing wrong with eating them at two in the morning either.
