Machacado con huevo


Machaca con huevo, Machacado con huevo or Huevos con machaca, is a dish which consists of shredded dry beef that is scrambled with eggs. Its name means "shredded with eggs" in Spanish. The shredded dry beef, carne seca or "machaca", is said to have originated in the town of Ciénega de Flores, about an hour north of Monterrey, Mexico. The early settlers in the area air-cured beef so that it would be preserved.
The basic machacado con huevo is made with eggs and dried beef. Chopped tomatoes, onions and jalapeños or serrano chili peppers can be added, or salsa can be cooked into it, to create another version. This is a traditional dish in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León that is usually eaten at breakfast, but was also eaten at other meals. In the US, this breakfast or brunch dish is popular in Texas.

History

According to one legend, the dish was invented in the 1920s by Fidencia Quiroga, who was known locally as "Tía Lencha". Although there may be minimal evidence that she invented the dish, there is much evidence that she popularized it when she began to serve it in her restaurant to construction workers building the nearby Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo highway in 1928. As a result of the great popularity of this dish, a major manufacturer of the shredded dried beef that is used in this dish is named after her, Productos Alimenticios Tia Lencha SA.