Fast Skillet Chorizo and Crispy Smashed Potato Hash with Molten Quesillo
Listen, sometimes dinner needs to happen fast, but that doesn’t mean we’re suffering. This Skillet Chorizo and Crispy Smashed Potato Hash comes straight from a night when the fridge was basically crying for help. I had leftover boiled baby potatoes, a lonely tube of Mexican chorizo, and some quesillo I brought back from a weekend run. Inspiration hit like a Brooklyn subway breeze: smash the potatoes, crisp them right in that glorious, rendered red chorizo fat, and pile on the cheese until it melts into gooey perfection. This isn't fine dining; it is Oaxacan comfort adapted for a tiny kitchen while someone asks you for a snack in the background. The secret? Don’t crowd the pan, and smash those spuds hard enough to get jagged, crunchy edges. We finish it with a lightning-fast bodega scallion crema just to cut through the richness with a little weeknight-bright zing. Taste it—then decide if you need more lime. Bodega Mode means use whatever melting cheese you have on hand, but if you've got a Mexican market nearby, splurge on the quesillo so it pulls like a dream. We are not suffering for dinner tonight, ándale!
Featured Recipe
Fast Skillet Chorizo & Crispy Smashed Potato Hash with Molten Quesillo
Golden smashed baby potatoes fried ultra-crisp directly in rendered spiced Mexican chorizo fat, layered with molten Oaxacan quesillo and sunny eggs. A lightning-fast bodega-style scallion crema cuts through the morning richness in true weeknight-bright fashion.
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Timeline
Ingredients
- 1 lb baby Yukon Gold potatoes(unpeeled, washed)
- 2 tbsp water(for microwave steaming)
- 1 tbsp neutral oil(avocado or canola)
- 8 oz fresh Mexican chorizo(casings removed)
- 0.75 tsp kosher salt(divided)
- 0.25 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 0.33 cup Mexican crema(or full-fat sour cream loosened with 1 tsp milk)
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice(about 1/2 juicy lime)
- 2 scallions(thinly sliced, greens and whites)
- 4 oz Oaxacan quesillo(pulled into fine shreds (or low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella))
- 4 large eggs(straight from the fridge)
- 2 tbsp pickled jalapeño slices(store-bought en escabeche)
- 0.25 cup fresh cilantro leaves(tender leaves and stems, roughly chopped)
- 8 warm corn tortillas(for serving)
Instructions
- 1
Toss 1 lb baby Yukon Gold potatoes into a microwave-safe bowl with 2 tbsp water. Cover tight with a dinner plate and microwave on high for 4 minutes until a paring knife slips through them like warm butter. Drain off any remaining liquid and let the steam puff away.
4 min
Tip: This is classic Brooklyn mom math: boiling takes 20 minutes, steaming in the microwave takes 4. Do not skip poking them to make sure they are tender before smashing.
- 2
Set a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp neutral oil. Crumble in 8 oz fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed and break it into small pebbly bits with your wooden spoon. Sizzle for 4 to 5 minutes until crispy and deeply browned at the edges. Scoop the chorizo onto a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving every drop of that fragrant red drippings in the skillet.
5 min
Tip: That rendered fat is pure liquid gold—it's seasoned with chiles, garlic, and vinegar. Do not wipe the skillet clean!
- 3
While the potatoes finish steaming and the chorizo sizzles, stir together 0.33 cup Mexican crema, 1 tbsp fresh lime juice, 2 scallions, thinly sliced, and 0.25 tsp kosher salt in a small bowl until smooth. Taste it—then decide if you need an extra drop of lime.
2 min
Tip: This is our bodega finishing move: high acid to balance rich chorizo fat.
- 4
Tumble the par-cooked 1 lb baby Yukon Gold potatoes straight into the hot skillet with the chorizo oil. Take the flat bottom of a drinking glass or coffee mug and firmly press down on each potato until flattened to about 1/2-inch thickness. Sprinkle with 0.5 tsp kosher salt and 0.25 tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Let them fry untouched for 3 to 4 minutes until a deep, crunchy mahogany crust develops, then flip and brown 2 minutes on the other side.
6 min
Tip: Resist the urge to push them around. Leave them alone so the edges shatter into lace.
- 5
Scatter the crisped 8 oz fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed evenly back over the potatoes, then carpet the surface with 4 oz Oaxacan quesillo, shredded into ribbons. Use the back of a spoon to nudge open 4 little divots in the hash, and crack 4 large eggs directly into the pockets. Turn the heat down to medium-low, drop a lid or baking sheet over the skillet, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the whites are set, yolks stay runny, and the quesillo is gloriously stretchy and bubbling.
4 min
Tip: Keep a close eye after minute 3—we want jammy, dippable yolks, not hard yellow balls.
- 6
Slide the skillet off the flame. Drizzle the prepared scallion-lime crema over the eggs and potatoes, then scatter with 2 tbsp pickled jalapeño slices and 0.25 cup fresh cilantro leaves. Bring the whole skillet straight to the table alongside 8 warm corn tortillas and let everyone scoop their own breakfast tacos.
1 min
Tip: The skillet holds heat like an oven, so serve immediately before the yolks firm up.
Chef's Notes
Real flavor, real life: if you live near a Mexican carnicería, grab house-made Oaxacan chorizo (which has that incredible clove-cinnamon-chile punch) and authentic braided quesillo. In Bodega Mode? Grab packaged Cacique or generic pork chorizo and good old whole-milk low-moisture mozzarella string cheese pulled into threads—it melts with that exact same theatrical stretch. We are never suffering for breakfast.
María “Mari” Santiago
Oaxacan comfort, Brooklyn shortcuts, weeknight bright.
María “Mari” Santiago was born in Oaxaca, where her earliest kitchen memories are measured in scent: chiles toasting on a comal, cinnamon and chocolate blooming in mole, and the warm, nutty snap of a tlayuda folded in half for the walk home. She learned by watching—first her tías, then her abuela—picking up the small, practical rules that never made it into written recipes: how to tell when the garlic is *just* right, how to rescue a too-spicy salsa, and why you always taste the broth before you add the salt. Now in Brooklyn, Mari cooks the food she grew up on while raising two little kids and juggling real-life time limits. Her style is “real flavor, real life”: traditional Oaxacan and everyday Mexican dishes—moles, caldos, frijoles, enfrijoladas, salsas, and crispy tlayudas—made weeknight-friendly with smart shortcuts, brighter salsas, and more vegetables without losing the soul of the dish. She’s not precious about rules, she’s big on swaps, and she’s on a mission to prove that you can cook deeply flavorful Mexican food with what you can actually find at a normal grocery store (and still get dinner on the table before a meltdown). Mari’s recipes read like a friend texting you from the produce aisle: clear, funny, and unpretentious, with a side of abuela wisdom. If there’s a hard-to-find ingredient, she gives you a realistic alternative, tells you what will change (and what won’t), and keeps the focus where it belongs—on food that tastes like home, even when home is a small Brooklyn kitchen.