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When Kevin Morrison decided to move on from a successful sandwich shop business he’d built, he knew he wanted to stay in the foodservice arena. He decided his next step would be to open a food truck.
In May 2010, Pinche Tacos debuted on Denver’s 16th Street Mall with what was then described as “a vision to serve the best damn tacos you’ve ever tasted coming from a moving vehicle.”
The only problem was that city authorities did not like the name — pinche is considered a curse word in Mexico —and demanded he change it. Morrison ultimately ditched the food truck and opened a brick-and-mortar location of Pinche Tacos. Two years later, when he opened a second location, the state liquor board “suggested” a name change.
And just like that, Pinche Tacos became Tacos Tequila Whiskey. The restaurant — known as a destination for “elevated Mexican street food” — now has locations in Denver’s Highlands neighborhood and at Denver International Airport.
While pinche is no longer in the restaurant’s name, it shows up in one of Morrison’s favorite dishes: The Pinche Hash — a weekend brunch dish featuring carnitas, smashed potatoes and caramelized onion with scrambled eggs and roasted green-chile Hollandaise atop white corn tortillas.
“I just tested out some dishes and we had these ingredients left over, so I made it for breakfast the next day at home,” Morrison says of the way the recipe was born. “I had family in town, and they loved it.”
The hash has been part of Morrison’s culinary portfolio ever since. “It appeared on the food truck from day one,” he says.
And why does he count Pinche Hash among his all-time favorite recipes?“I love this dish because it is simple yet different for a taco joint. It shows the creativity of our kitchen staff. No shortcuts, just a great, simple, rustic Mexican dish with a twist.”
Here, he shares the recipe with el Restaurante readers.
Pinche Hash
Makes 1 serving
2 white corn tortillas (or any tortilla you prefer)
1 oz. potato hash (boiled potatoes mashed with onions, heavy cream, kosher salt and black pepper)
2 oz. carnitas
1 egg, scrambled
1 fl. oz. Hollandaise (made using Hollandaise recipe of your choice)
1 to 3 serrano chiles (depending on your desired spice level)
Using the flames of your stove, a hot cast iron pan, or grill, blister the serrano and set aside to steam. Remove stem and dice. Set aside.
Make your Hollandaise sauce; add roasted serrano and set aside, keeping warm, but not too hot.
Using a hot flat top or griddle, sear your carnitas until crispy but still moist. While carnitas are cooking, cook your tortilla and potato hash.
For the hash, form the potato mixture into a patty the size of your tortilla and about ½-inch thick. Cook on hot flat top until it caramelizes and becomes light brown in color and forms a light, crispy layer. Make sure you are turning only once!
Scramble one egg and cook with a little butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
When potato and carnitas are cooked to your liking, build your taco.
To build the taco: Add potato hash to the tortilla, then layer on the carnitas and then the scrambled egg. Finish with roasted green chile/serrano Hollandaise Sauce (to your liking).