The Hillshire Breakfast Behemoth (A Picture Story)
Hi. My name is Chance.
A couple months ago, the founder of this site, C.C. Chapman, e-mailed me to ask if I wanted to participate in a Sausage Fest.
“Chance! Hillshire Farms wants us to make food with their sausage. You in?”
Quicker than I could say “that’s what she said”, I replied in the affirmative.
Soon thereafter, I then received a care package of a few samples of Hillshire Meats. They immediately screamed “breakfast food.” Now, it turns out that recently I’ve been very into cooking “off the radar”; that is to say, I go into the kitchen armed with no recipe of any kind, and simply pick ingredients from the pantry and fridge and well, you know… rock n roll!
Sunday mornings is such a time for such a time for these experiments. While I don’t have any flour tortillas, I did just buy some lavash bread. So, I think I’ll make some kind of breakfast burrito style wrap!
(Want to make this now? Go to recipe at bottom)
There you have it: time to raid the pantry!
Starting ingredients
Ok, I have 5 eggs. Phew, check. Always have some kind of onion, check. 3 cloves garlic, because I like, no LOVE, garlic. Cilantro (2 TB maybe?), chopped. Green onion (1TB?), chopped. Butter in case I need it. And of course, the Hillshire Beef Keilbasa that prompted this challenge.
Mise en Place.
Oooh! Found a can of refried black beans! Went ahead and cut up about 1/2 lb of the sausage, first in rounds, then quartered.
Over high heat, began getting a good seared color to the sausage. Normally, I prefer using stainless steel or even cast iron, but since I wanted to cook my eggs gently (and try to make everything in one dish), I went non-stick.
After rendering and searing, remove sausage from pan onto paper towels. Reserve the rendered fat for more cooking.
You can see it's about a tablespoon, which is perfect.
Meanwhile, crack your 5 eggs into a bowl, and whisk well. Add a tablespoon of milk, and season with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Definitely don’t underwhisk these bad boys; you want a very uniform color, creamy and hell, even some froth.
Meanwhile, in a separate small sauce pan, warm up your black refried beans. Kick em up with the following spices:
- 1/4 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika**(see note)
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cumin
**Note: Smoked Paprika rules. I can’t emphasize that enough. Buy yourself some and you will be happy and name your children after me.
In this dish, I wanted the beans to complement the smokiness of the kielbasa. A little goes a long way, so don’t go overboard. If you don’t have any, then just go with regular paprika, but trust me, it’s not even close to the same. Just sayin’.
Back to Main Pan
Over medium heat, warm up the rendered sausage oil/fat, a minute or two. Add your onions, two minutes. Then add your garlic, one minute. We’re going for translucent.
But what are those green things?
Shhhh. It’s Serrano. Don’t tell your wife, girlfriend or partner. It’ll be our secret. Shhhhhhh.
Return your meat to the pan (that’s what sh…hahaha)
Warm for a minute or so, lower the heat and pour your whisked eggs into the pan.
Then let set.
Ok, here’s my trick:I like soft scrambled eggs. I think hard, over scrambled, rubberized eggs are fricking gross. Yes, I said fricking. Case that serves a point in my favor: My MOM makes over scrambled rubberized eggs. The first time I made her soft scrambled eggs, she about cried tears of joy. You think I’m stubborn?? She’s STUBBORN. Game, set match: soft scrambled eggs. Here’s how:
The trick is managing the heat by not just using the burner. Sure, you definitely want low to medium low. It depends on how deft you are (not def, yo), and how long you want to wait. But the real trick is the pan handle. Yup. Grab that puppy and lift it off the burner.
I can’t give you amount of time, here. Every stove is different. It could be 5 minutes, it could be 15 (seriously). Use your fork and lightly drag it across the eggs. You’ll see the curds begin to form. If it’s cooking too fast, you’ll know it. It happens fast when it’s too hot. If so, just physically lift your pan off the burner, and let it mellow out. You want a slow, measured approach. You have the time, trust me. If you want a more custard approach, take a soft spatula and constantly and slowly stir under the lowest heat. Up to you, but know it’ll take longer.
Ok, now that you’ve mastered your soft scrambled eggs, and you’re just about ready, go ahead and add your cilantro and green onions.
With herbs like these, I prefer to add them at the end, so the heat doesn’t kill the flavor I’m going for. Add kosher salt, and black pepper to taste, and remove from heat.
Assembly
Take your tortilla (or in my case, lavash bread), and place on a plate. Spackle some refried black beans on the base, then put a fair amount of the sausage/egg deliciousness. Make sure to not overdo the amount (something I almost always do), because you’ll want to fold/roll your behemoth.
Add a handful of grated sharp cheddar Cheese, and then—good god, man—do the right thing and add Sriracha sauce. Add more cilantro if you’d like.
Roll/fold your behemoth, and nuke in the microwave for 30-60 seconds (just to melt the cheese.
Then behold: your Hillshire Breakfast Behemoth with soft scrambled eggs, Hillshire Beef Kielbasa, black refried beans and sharp cheddar cheese!
Recipe: I’m guessing this will feed 2 VERY HUNGRY people or 3-4 normal humans.
(ingredient amounts are estimated)
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 lb Kielbasa Sausage, cut up in 1/2″ rounds, then quartered
- 1/3 cup chopped onions
- 1-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can black refried beans
- 2 TB Cilantro chopped (separated)
- 1 TB Green Onions, chopped
- 1 cup or so grated sharp cheddar cheese
- Large Tortillas or Lavash Bread
- Sriracha sauce or favorite hot sauce
Spices for kicking up the refried beans:
- 1/4 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika**(preferred; otherwise either eliminate or use regular paprika)
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cumin
Kosher Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
1. Over medium high heat, sear sausage for color and to slightly render. 5-8 minutes or so. Then remove from pan on to paper towels. Reserve the rendered fat in the same pan.
2. Meanwhile, crack 5 eggs into medium bowl. Add 1 TB of milk, pinch of kosher and couple grinds of black pepper, and whisk well. Looking for creamy, frothy, with uniform color.
3. Meanwhile, warm up black refried beans in separate sauce pan. Mix in spices (cayenne, smoked paprika, coriander, cumin. Kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Keep warm.
4. Back to main pan: warm rendered oil over medium heat. Add onions: 2 minutes. Add garlic: 1 minute. Return meat to pan: one minute.
5. Lower heat. Add whisked eggs to pan, and carefully scramble. Do not over cook: drag small spatula or lightly drag fork across eggs to lightly scramble.
6. Add 1/2 tb of cilantro/green onions (to taste). Remove from heat and add kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Assembly:
1. Place tortilla or lavash bread on plate.
2. Add a couple spoonfuls of refried black beans.
3. Spoon sausage/egg deliciousness mixture over beans, taking care to not put too much. just enough so that you can properly fold/roll your behemoth.
4. Add handful of cheese, then sriracha sauce. garnish with cilantro and roll/fold your tortilla/lavash bread.
5. Nuke in microwave for 30-60 seconds until cheese melts.
6. EAT!
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