In much of Texas, breakfast comes folded. A warm flour tortilla, a spoonful of eggs scrambled with potato, chorizo or bacon, a little cheese, a splash of salsa, wrapped in foil and handed across a counter or out of a truck window: the breakfast taco is the state's morning fuel, bought by the bagful for offices, building sites and long drives. Its roots run south, to the taco traditions of northern Mexico, and its home towns are a matter of some heat. Austin has a gift for making things famous; San Antonio points out, with newspaper clippings, that it was eating them first and calling them breakfast.

We will not take sides in that rivalry, only note that both cities are within easy reach of the Circuit of the Americas, and that a breakfast taco is the ideal food for a race morning: portable, filling, and eaten with one hand while the other holds a coffee. The tortillas here are homemade, which takes half an hour and changes everything, but a pack of good store bought ones will do when the schedule is tight.

Homemade flour tortillas

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (315 g) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup (70 g) lard
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) hot tap water

Method

1. Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together in the large bowl. Add the lard in small pieces and rub it into the flour with your fingertips, lifting and letting it fall back into the bowl, for about 2 minutes.
2. Pour in the hot water and stir with a fork until a shaggy dough forms, then knead it in the bowl with your hand for 2 to 3 minutes. If it sticks badly, add a spoonful of flour; if it stays dry and crumbly, add a spoonful of water.
3. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each one between your palms into a smooth ball. Set them on a plate, cover with the damp towel and rest for 30 minutes.
4. Heat the dry cast iron skillet over medium high heat. On a lightly floured counter, flatten a ball with your palm, then roll it out from the center, turning it a quarter turn after each roll, into a thin round about 7 inches (18 cm) across. It does not need to be perfectly round.
5. Lay the tortilla in the hot dry skillet. Cook for 30 to 40 seconds until bubbles rise, then flip with your fingers or a spatula and cook 30 seconds more. Flip once more and press any big bubbles gently with the spatula for 10 seconds. Stack the cooked tortillas in the tortilla warmer or wrapped in a dry towel, and roll the next one while each cooks.

Charred tomato salsa

Ingredients

• 3 ripe plum tomatoes
• 1 jalapeño
• 1/4 white onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Method

1. Heat the broiler to high with a rack about 4 inches (10 cm) below it. Put the tomatoes, jalapeño, onion and garlic on the foil lined baking sheet and broil for 5 to 6 minutes, then turn them with tongs and broil 4 to 5 minutes more.
2. Let everything cool for 5 minutes, then squeeze the garlic out of its skin. Put all the charred vegetables and any juices into the blender with the cilantro, lime juice and salt. Pulse 6 to 8 times; you want a little texture, not a purée. Taste and add more salt or lime if it needs it.

Potato, egg and bacon filling

Ingredients

• 6 slices thick cut bacon
• 1 lb (450 g) russet or yellow potatoes
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
• 1/2 white onion
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) butter
• 1 cup (100 g) shredded Monterey Jack or mild cheddar

Method

1. If using bacon, put the pieces in the cold frying pan and set it over medium heat. Cook, stirring now and then, for 8 to 10 minutes. Lift the bacon onto paper towels and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. If you are not using bacon, heat the oil in the pan instead.
2. Dry the potato cubes well on a towel. Add them to the hot fat in a single layer with half the salt and leave them alone for 5 minutes, then stir and turn them. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes more, stirring every few minutes. Add the onion for the last 4 minutes.
3. While the potatoes cook, crack the eggs into the medium bowl, add the rest of the salt and the pepper, and beat with the fork until the whites and yolks are completely mixed.
4. Turn the heat down to medium low and add the butter to the potatoes. When it melts, pour in the eggs. Wait 20 seconds, then push the eggs slowly from the edge to the middle with the spatula, letting the liquid egg run into the gaps. Keep folding gently for 2 to 3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat while they still look slightly wet, then scatter over the cheese and bacon and fold once.

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