Huevos Rancheros

From America's Test Kitchen Season 7: More Tex-Mex Favorites

This Mexican egg dish was devised to use up leftover salsa and tortillas for a quick but filling “rancher-style” breakfast. What you get on this side of the border, however, is often spoiled with unnecessary ingredients and muddy flavors. We wanted to use readily available ingredients to produce as authentic a version of this dish as we could.

The salsa is a crucial element, and we know from experience that jarred salsa can’t compare to freshly made, so we looked for ways to maximize the flavor of our supermarket tomatoes. We found that roasting plum tomatoes turned them more flavorful, and we thought roasting the onion and jalapeños improved their flavor as well. It was difficult to get fried eggs from the skillet onto the tortillas neatly (and without breaking the yolks), so we turned to poaching the eggs for a tidier presentation. We made things even easier by poaching them right in the simmering salsa, saving ourselves a pot to clean in the bargain. To pep up the supermarket tortillas, we brushed them with a little oil, sprinkled them with salt, and toasted them in the oven. Crisp tortillas, creamy eggs, and fiery salsa combined for a great American version of this Mexican classic.