When I was in Austin for SXSW last month, I got to spend some time with one of my best friends from high school who I haven’t seen in years. He’s living in Austin now playing in a fun band with maybe the best band name ever:
I was able to check out one of their shows and they really do jamme. After the show, my friend and I drank all the beer in Austin.
Ok. Not really. But pretty close. We drank enough that I didn’t want another beer for at least 8 hours, which is the maximum amount of time you’re allowed to go between beers at South By Southwest.
The morning after I was in quite the haze and Stew said, “Don’t worry man. We’ll get some breakfast tacos.”
He quickly corrected himself, “Well, we’ll get one taco each.”
I laughed. One taco? I figured I’d house at least three.
But when the nice server at Juan in a Million brought my single taco out, I knew I’d have a rough time finishing it. It was a huge mound of potatoes, eggs, bacon, and cheese piled high on a single tortilla. It must have weighed three pounds.
I figured everyone should know how to make such a thing so I did my best to recreate it.
Juan in a Million Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 large russet potatoes, or 4 smaller ones
- 8 ounces bacon
- ½ onion, diced
- 4 large eggs
- 6-8 ounces cheese, I like pepper jack
- 2 large flour tortillas, maybe have a few extra on the side
- Salsa, for serving
Taco Seasoning:
- ½ Teaspoon cayenne
- 1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 Teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 Teaspoon coriander seeds
Instructions
- Peel and cube potatoes. Blanch in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes until potatoes are soft, but still slightly firm. Drain and set aside for later.
- Dice up bacon, an onion, and grate some cheese.
- For the taco seasoning, grind all ingredients in a spice grinder.
- Start tacos by adding bacon to a large skillet or griddle. Cook over medium heat until bacon is crispy and most of the fat is rendered out. Pour off bacon grease, but leave about 2 Tablespoons.
- Add onions, potatoes, and taco seasoning to pan. Cook until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add eggs and cheese and stir vigorously to distribute the eggs as they cook.
- Serve with warm tortillas and salsa!
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
The Potatoes
The backbone of these tacos is actually potatoes. I loved this about this dish because you get all your main breakfast food groups piled high in one big mess. I’m not entirely sure how they prepare their potatoes at Juan’s, but I peeled mine, diced them into cubes, and then blanched them in salted boiling water for about 4-5 minutes.
You want them soft, but not mashed potatoes soft. Once they come out of the water, set them aside for later.
I’m sure you could not blanch the potatoes, but I think the texture from blanching them is perfect.
Taco Seasoning. My friend told me that he once asked Juan what seasoning he puts on his tacos. Juan said that it was grill. The grill was seasoned with cooked in flavor.
I half believe that. But I also believe that he has a pretty amazing secret taco seasoning recipe.
I did my best to come up with something close with four common spices: cayenne, cumin, coriander and pepper flakes.
I just ground these up in a spice grinder and, I must say, it’s a pretty darn good taco seasoning!
Besides the potatoes, the eggs, and the tortillas, you’ll need these things also.
Cooking the tacos
Start the tacos by cooking your bacon pieces over medium heat until most of their fat is rendered out and they are getting nice and crunchy.
If you have a lot of fat in your pan, pour some out. You only need about 2 Tablespoons of the bacon grease to finish the dish and you don’t want the tacos too greasy.
Next add the onions, potatoes and taco seasoning to the pan.
This will instantly smell delicious. Remember that the potatoes are already basically cooked so we just need to warm them up and brown them a bit.
Cook this for probably 4-5 minutes until the onions are soft and the potatoes are warm and coated evenly with the seasoning.
Next, add in your eggs and cheese and stir like crazy!
As the eggs cook and the cheese melts, you want to make sure they are evenly distributed throughout the taco mixture.
Taste the dish for salt and pepper but it probably won’t need much.
Then pile it high on a tortilla!
You can serve a few tortillas and fresh salsa on the side.
This is actually a pretty quick dish to throw together.
Unless you happen to live in Austin and can get to Juan’s for the original, you should give this a shot.
@bunster10
That looks pretty good! Actually, it would have really looked awesome if you took a pic of it with a little splash of salsa for color! :)
Nick
Haha. Yea… I was too focused on eating it at that point.
Luc
I made this today for breakfast. Awesome. I was "under the weather" this morning, but this seemed to fix the problem.
thefunkykitchen
This looks like quite a hefty breakfast. I tend to be more of a fruit smoothie sipper in the morning, but I can definitely see how this could hit the spot.
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Amy @ Savvy Kitchen
Looks delicious! I really wish I could have had it this morning. Maybe next weekend!
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George R
It's about time to make another drive up to Juan In A Million! Feeling under the weather the past few days, one of these would definitely hit the spot. Making mexican chili tonight!!
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Sheltie_Momma
I so love Juan's. I use a picture of their breakfast taco as my blog header. Will try these this way, have tried before, but used leftover baked potatoes instead.
Ray
The best handshake might have a million germs since he didn’t wash after using the restroom. Shame on you Juan I hope yourstaff doesn’t have thesame habits! Not coming round again!
Kate
You forgot the tripe.
Kevin
Recipe looks good but you appear to be calling an audible on the recipe. I ate at Juan’s every Sunday for the two years I was in school at UT. The menu calls out 4 ingredients – potatoes, eggs, bacon, and cheese product. It’s a somewhat bland dish so while your onions and spices sound good they don’t appear to be “true to style.”
Nick
Haha. Audibles on recipes is sort of what I do Kevin… I tend to prefer not bland food which is why I spiced it up a bit. It’s supposed to be inspired by their dish but not identical by any means. Hope you try it out!
Jeannine
Next time you visit Juan in a Million ask for 2 or 3 extra tacos! I could never eat the entire thing on one taco. Also, who would eat the rest with a fork? Thanks for this recipe! My husband is gonna flip himself when he finds out I made this at home!
Rando
I am making this for dinner in an hour after I finish all the rest of the beers!!!!! Looks great!!!!
Jeff
I haven’t lived in Austin for close to a decade and I can’t vouch for how close this recipe is to the Don Juan but I’ve referred to it with slight modification and it is a great breakfast taco. One thing many miss is that you can’t just add taco ingredients to a tortilla…v it makes a huge difference when you scramble egg together and get the melty cheese with the potato and bacon. Delicious! If you have a chance to get the original at Juan in a million and you won’t be disappointed.
You Had Me At Breakfast Tacos
Made this for breakfast today and it was tasty! The only change I will make when I cook these again, and I will cook these again, is to use half as many potatoes. I used two large russets and had to take out about 1/3 during the cooking and they still overpowered the taco. Otherwise, this is a great recipe!
Jason
Ex-Austinite that has been trying to recreate this for years. Easy recipe and delicious. Reminded me of my 512 days.
Jefferson K
I’ve made this recipe a few times and the family loves it, thank you! Today, I used Jim’s breakfast sausage I stead of bacon and it was fantastic. Give it a try if you haven’t already :)
Greg
The actual recipe is on the wall in a clipped newspaper story. Right by the window seats. The secret seasoning is paprika. And use good old pasteurized process American cheese.