Machaca Breakfast Tacos

Looking to fire up something new for breakfast? This spin on breakfast tacos is tasty, easy enough to grill before your morning coffee, and features a spiced shredded beef called machaca. 

Traditional machaca is dried meat from northern Mexico, usually made from beef. This method of preservation is useful when access to fresh beef is intermittent, or just plain challenging, as it concentrates the flavor of the meat, allowing you to do a lot more with just a little. 

Beef slices or strips are typically marinated before being dried out in the scorching desert heat. This air-drying process can take up to seven days, and when completed, the meat will resemble jerky in appearance and taste. But what happens next is what makes meat machaca: The dried beef is pounded or crushed until it's broken into small, fluffy pieces, using a large mortar and pestle. 

The machaca can then be kept in a sealed bag for later, whether it's folded in with other ingredients to produce the Sonoran meal machacado con huevos, rehydrated and softened in a braise, or added to boiling tomatoes and onions for a taco filling.  Today, many Mexican restaurants and family recipes use shredded beef, with some traditional Mexican seasonings.  So whether you are using the traditional dried beef or shredded beef, this recipe is sure to be a new morning-time favorite in your backyard.