Huevos rancheros is a fairly popular Mexican breakfast dish that consists of tortillas, eggs, beans, and sometimes various meats. The name translates to “eggs ranch-style,” or “eggs country-style.” The basic dish consists of fried eggs served with a lightly fried tortilla. From there, the eggs and tortilla are covered with a tomato chili sauce or salsa. This basic dish is the traditional huevos rancheros.
Variations of the dish have become popular, particularly in the southwest United States. Huevos rancheros is often served with sides of black beans and rice and extra peppers of different varieties. Traditionally, the eggs are fried in huevos rancheros, but alternate recipes call for scrambled eggs, poached eggs, or even over-easy eggs. Other variations include serving the eggs over toast, coating the eggs in a tomato-bacon sauce, including pork in the eggs, and serving refried beans instead of black beans. Further, instead of the traditional corn tortillas, pre-packaged flour tortillas may be used.
Huevos Rancheros Recipe
Active Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes Serves: 4
- 2 cups chopped roasted green chilies
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed then chopped
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans
- Canola oil
- 4 corn tortillas
- 8 eggs
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup cotija cheese
1. Make chili sauce: Place olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, oregano and garlic and saute until onions are soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add stock and chilies and bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until reduced by about ⅓, about 15 minutes. In a small cup, combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water, stirring to form a smooth slurry. Add slurry to chili mixture, stir and let simmer until sauce is thick but pourable, about 15 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Keep sauce warm over low heat until ready to serve.
2. Warm pinto beans in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Season generously with salt and pepper. Decrease heat and keep warm until ready to serve.
3. Fry tortillas: Heat ½ inch canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Use tongs to dip 1 tortilla into oil until it softens, about 3 seconds. Remove and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Cover plate with a kitchen towel to keep tortillas warm.
4. Pour most of oil out of skillet, then place skillet back over medium heat. Fry eggs, two at a time, until over easy, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Repeat with remaining eggs.
5. To serve: Divide warmed tortillas among 4 plates. Divide beans and eggs evenly among tortillas, then top with green chili sauce, tomatoes and cotija cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
—Adapted from “The Rancho de Chimayo Cookbook” by Cheryl and Bill Jamison
