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Machaca and Egg Burrito

Name: Machaca and Egg Burrito
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 Serrano or jalapeño chilli; 4 Eggs; 1 to taste Salt and pepper; 2 Large wheat flour tortillas (burrito size); 1 Tomato; 0.5 White onion; 2 tbsp Vegetable oil; 120 g Beef machaca (dried shredded beef)

25 min (10 prep + 15 cook) Easy 2 servings Sonora

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 26 Mar 2026 · Updated: 26 Mar 2026

Sonoran flour tortilla with dried shredded beef and scrambled eggs. The north's breakfast.

About this recipe

The machaca and egg burrito is the emblematic breakfast of Sonora: a large, soft flour tortilla rolled around machaca (dried shredded beef) scrambled with eggs, onion, chilli and tomato. Machaca is the northern dried meat that ranchers used to preserve beef without refrigeration. Comforting, protein-rich and substantial, this burrito is synonymous with early-morning ranch life and field breakfasts in northern Mexico.

History & Origin

Machaca is one of the oldest meat-preservation techniques in northern Mexico, with roots going back to the Ópata and Yaqui peoples of Sonora, who sun-dried venison in the desert heat to preserve it on long journeys. The ranchers and cowboys of the eighteenth century adopted this technique with beef, creating what we now know as machaca: cooked meat, sun-dried, shredded and pounded with a mallet to tenderise it. The burrito format is also of northern origin: the wheat flour tortilla, introduced by the Jesuits in the seventeenth century alongside wheat cultivation in Sonora and Chihuahua, replaced the corn tortilla in the north because of its greater elasticity and suitability for rolling. The combination of machaca with egg and flour tortilla arose naturally on haciendas and ranches: it was a complete, protein-rich breakfast easy to eat on horseback or in the field. In Ciudad Obregón, Hermosillo and Nogales, machaca taquerías open from 5 in the morning for labourers who need a hearty breakfast before work. 'Sonoran-style' machaca is distinguished from the general northern version by its finer texture and preparation with roasted tomato, while the 'Monterrey-style' version tends to be coarser and more heavily spiced.

Estimated cost

£10.00

Total cost

£5.00

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

520

Calories

32g

Protein

46g

Carbohydrates

22g

Fat

Fibre

820mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Sauté the diced onion and chilli for 2-3 minutes until the onion is translucent.
2
Add the diced tomato and cook for 2 more minutes until it releases its juices.
3
Add the beef machaca. Mix well with the vegetables and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring, until the machaca is well incorporated and heated through.
💡 If the machaca is very dry, add 2 tablespoons of water to rehydrate it slightly.
4
Beat the eggs with salt and pepper. Pour over the machaca and scramble gently until the eggs are cooked but still juicy, without overcooking.
💡 The secret to good scrambled eggs is to remove the pan from the heat just when they still look slightly underdone: the residual heat finishes the cooking.
5
Heat the flour tortillas on a dry comal for 30 seconds per side until flexible and with small bubbles. Place the machaca and egg mixture in the centre of each tortilla, fold in the ends and roll firmly. Serve immediately.