Migas in the morning
“Austin is long on music, migas and markets”—Molly Ivins
If you’ve ever had breakfast in Austin, chances are you’ve had a plate of migas. This dish of eggs scrambled with fried corn tortilla strips, salsa, and cheese is ubiquitous in some of the Texas capital city’s most popular breakfast spots.
I have fond memories of spending lazy mornings in bustling Austin cafés, scooping spoonfuls of the crunchy, cheesy eggs and bacon-laced refried beans into fluffy flour tortillas. There’s no better way to start the day.
I took a holiday from my office last week and subsequently decided to take a holiday from the Internet as well. Do you remember what life was like before we became beholden to the Interweb machine? I had forgotten, and it was satisfying spending most of my time in the real world.
Though I have to admit that not only did I upset my mom when I didn’t respond to an e-mail from her within 24 hours but I am also now woefully behind on correspondence with others. No matter, I haven’t felt this recharged in years!
One of the things I insisted on doing every morning was starting my day with a satisfying meal, the kind of food that normally I just don’t have the time to either make at home or linger over in a breakfast spot.
One of the things I craved was migas. You won’t find migas on menus here in New York City but there is something a bit similar, chilaquiles, which someone I know insists is just a fancy-pants way of saying migas. But I have to disagree.
There have been endless debates if chilaquiles and migas are the same thing. There’s no need to question this further: there is indeed a difference, however slight. Chilaquiles, which are also made with fried tortilla strips, traditionally are just the tortillas, salsa and cheese; you don’t need eggs for the dish to qualify as chilaquiles.
Furthermore, to make chilaquiles the salsa is added to the pan with the fried tortilla strips before anything else is added to the pan, whereas with migas the salsa is added at the end. Likewise, Tex-Mex migas are nothing without eggs; they don’t come any other way.
Then, to make things even more confusing, you have your Spanish migas, a dish I ate every Saturday morning when I spent time in Granada my junior year. The word migas in Spanish means “crumbs” and like Tex-Mex migas, Spanish migas are a way to use up something stale, in this case bread instead of corn tortillas. The bread is torn into pieces, soaked in water overnight and then cooked in chorizo fat and served with said sausage and fried eggs. A hearty way to start the day, much like Tex-Mex migas.
(Though the chorizo in the Spanish version is dried, whereas Mexican chorizo is fresh. There is a chilaquiles dish that makes a sauce with this sausage known as chilaquiles toluqueños, which is also worth learning more about.)
This dish is designed to use up your old stale tortillas, though if you only have fresh ones the end result will not suffer. You can use any kind of salsa you have on hand as well—migas taste just as good with a green salsa as with a red.
While cheese is pretty much a must, you can also jazz these up with crumbled Mexican chorizo, chopped poblanos, bacon, pico de gallo, onions or whatever else you have lying around. And that’s the beauty of migas—as long as you have your fried tortillas, eggs, cheese and salsas, you can add anything else you like.
How do you eat your migas?
Migas
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk or half-and-half
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 cup peanut oil
- 4 corn tortillas cut into strips
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 1/2 cups salsa, for topping
- 1/4 cup cilantro, for garnishing
- Refried beans, for serving
- Flour tortillas, for serving
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk eggs together with milk. Stir in the salt and pepper.
- In a large iron skillet, heat up peanut oil on medium-high, and place tortilla strips into skillet, cooking for about 3 minutes, turning once. Remove the tortilla strips with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate. Drain the oil from the skillet leaving 2 tablespoons in the skillet.
- Add the onions and jalapenos to the pan, and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the egg mixture and tortilla strips to the skillet and let eggs sit for about one minute or until set on the bottom and then gently stir. Sprinkle cheese on top of eggs and continue to cook until melted.
- Top eggs with salsa and cilantro. Serve hot with flour tortillas and refried beans.
One of the things that I really miss about American life is going out for Sunday brunch. Especially if I’m going to eat migas — a dish which I have been much prone to ordering during my years in Austin, San Antonio and Houston (all great migas towns).
I wish that I hadn’t discovered this recipe on Sunday night! On the other hand, there is the concept that we like to call “breakfast-dinner.”
I live in Austin and have had some amazing Migas. I make them at home sometimes but there’s nothing like going to Cisco’s or one of the many Mexican restaurants on a Saturday or Sunday morning and letting them do the work. And you’re right about the refried beans and tortillas on the side. That’s required.
Howdy, Homesick! Just found your wonderful blog after looking for a good King Ranch Chicken recipe (cooking that tonight at home in Austin), and I love the rest of what I’ve found here.
On the subject of migas, I also prefer some crunch left in the tortillas. My Tejano brother-in-law even makes his with the giant-sized Fritos. We don’t use salsa (except as a table condiment). Rather, the chips are sauteed with onion, spicy green pepper, and tomatoes until the veggies are softened, the eggs are added in & cooked till almost set, and then the cheese is sprinkled in as the pan is removed from heat.
I’m with Anita on the difference b/w chilaquiles & migas. One of my biggest migas pet peeves is when there aren’t enough eggs to ensure that you actually get some little pillows of scrambled egg throughout the mixture.
My favorite spot in town to eat migas is Elsi’s on Burnet (durn-it) Road; she also has the most delicious refried black beans on earth. Don’t tell anyone about Elsi’s, though. We’d hate to have the place become too crowded ;o)
I’m a displaced Texan now living in the Bay Area and this entry made me wax nostalgic to my coworkers about migas. I make them all the time on the weekends, its the only way to get my fix.
Having grown up in inner Houston (heights/montrose), gone to school in San Antonio (Trinity), and spent ample time in Austin i’ve found that the difference between migas and chilaquiles depends on where you are. In Houston and Austin the definition of either is open to interpretation and there is certainly a grey area between them. In San Antonio the definition is hard and no one plays with it: migas have tortilla strips, eggs, cheese, onions, and salsa; chilaquiles are otherwise the same except they have fresh tomatoes and bell peppers.
And im sorry Maegan, but San Antonio does not have far and away the best Tex Mex, every Texas city has a different feel to it and can’t really be compared. San Antonio’s Tex mex is kind of conservative and by the book (like San Antonio), Austin’s is funky (like austin), Houston’s is vast and hard to define (like houston), and Dallas’ is just kind of lame and boring(like Dallas). But thats just my 2 cents.
Rachel–Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Texana–I miss Trudy’s–looks like I need to make a trip to Austin soon!
Chantele–You’re welcome.
Class Factotum–I remember Good Eats, but sadly I think it’s gone now.
Michelle @ TNS–Let me know what you think.
Theresa–Enchiladas in England–that sounds like the title of a song. (Or maybe I’m just thinking of London Homesick Blues.)
Monica–I’ve found that homemade salsa trumps bottled salsa anyday.
Melissa–It was very, very difficult, but I’m glad I forced myself to do it. And Tex-Mex migas are pretty different from Spanish migas, but just as good.
Yvo–They now serve migas at brunch at Hill Country if you want to try them. But I do hope to meet you soon!
Monica–Now that sounds like heaven on a plate!
Rebecca–You’re welcome–it’s interesting how each Spanish-speaking country has taken the word and applied it to a dish reflective of its respective cuisine.
Austin–Hmmmmm, I’m not convinced about the tofu, I think you need to make that for me next time I see you.
Amelia–But of course y’all’s had New Mexican green chile! What a lovely tradition.
Sheltie Girl–Yes, they are!
Maegan–You’re welcome.
Julie–You should make them again, they’re so easy and satisfying.
Tace–You’ll love it!
Olivia–You’re coming in 3 weeks? Where do you plan to eat?
Bee–I think eggs are appropriate any time of day.
Curtis–Yep, migas without refried beans and tortillas is like a sunset without the sun.
Leftymama–Yes, you definitely need a healthy serving of eggs to go with the chips and vegetables. And I don’t believe I know Elsi’s so I’ll definitely have to check it out next time I’m in town.
Travis–Now, now…my family is from Big D, so let’s not call it lame and boring–instead, let’s just say it’s not as wild as other towns in Texas. But like every place, it certainly has its color, too.