Fried Eggs Make The Perfect Shells For Delicious Breakfast Tacos

There's no more quintessential breakfast food than eggs. If you're not eating them on their own, they're usually fillings for breakfast sandwiches, burritos, and quesadillas. Coincidentally, fried eggs also make the perfect shell for breakfast tacos.

Eggs are tender, fluffy, and malleable, as evidenced by the ease with which you can fold an omelet over its toppings. Corn and flour tortillas are both savory, earthy shells to pair with zesty, spicy, and umami-rich fillings, but eggs are buttery, rich, and just as versatile. Plus, swapping eggs for tortillas is a tasty way to make your breakfast taco low-carb. By reserving eggs for the shell, you also free up space in your breakfast taco for other fillings.

Using fried eggs as a breakfast taco shell isn't a recent innovation; Taco Bell debuted their "naked egg taco" in 2017 to wide acclaim. Copycat versions of the egg taco recipe exist that offer strategies for how to achieve the fried egg look by separating the yolks from the whites and thickening the whites with a cornstarch slurry and xanthan gum for a sturdier shell. The whites cook in a six-inch frying pan until they begin to set. Then, you'll spoon one yolk onto the edge of the egg white circle, let it begin to set, and flip the fried egg shell to cook till the yolk is completely firm. This naked egg taco lookalike is aesthetically impressive, but there are easier ways to make an egg taco that are equally delicious.

Read more: Hacks That Will Make Boiling Your Eggs So Much Easier

Alternative Ways To Make Egg Taco Shells

If you'd rather not go through the trouble of separating egg yolks and whites, you can essentially prepare a simple omelet by scrambling the whites and yolks together before pouring them into a six-inch frying pan to cook for three or four minutes on low heat before covering with a top to cook until firm. You can add milk and cornstarch slurry to the eggs as a thickening and crisping agent respectively for a firm shell that's crispy on the outside.

Take the opportunity to add shredded cheese to the shell before placing the top over it so that the steam will cook the egg and melt the cheese. Then, all that's left is to add your desired fillings. Yet another way to incorporate cheese is to fry shredded cheese as the outer layer of the taco shell. Start by spreading shredded cheese over the surface of the frying pan to melt and crisp. Once the cheese melts, add scrambled eggs to the pan to cover the cheese completely. As the eggs set, you can add toppings. The fried cheese makes for a crispy coating and the sturdiest taco shell yet.

All of the classic breakfast taco fillings will taste delicious within egg taco shells. Consider going with a few heavy fillings like potatoes, bacon, and chorizo drizzled with creamy salsa verde or roja and garnished with pico de gallo, sliced avocado, and radish.

Read the original article on Tasting Table