The Greatest Breakfast Sandwich
Prep
5m
Cook
12m
Total
17m
Bigly says
Sit down for this one. The breakfast sandwich. The GREATEST breakfast sandwich in the history of breakfast sandwiches — and I've eaten more breakfast sandwiches than anyone alive, probably more than anyone in recorded history, the deli on the corner has one, the bodega has one, the gas station has one, your sad cousin who 'meal preps' has one in a Ziploc bag at his desk going GRAY — and ALL of them are inferior to what we're about to do. All of them. It's a slaughter.
Now the bodega bacon-egg-and-cheese on a kaiser roll — I had one in Queens at 6 a.m. in a place the size of a closet and the man behind the counter did not look up once and that sandwich changed me as a person. The bodega guy is OPERATING. Six pans going, your sandwich done in 90 seconds, fluffy egg, melted cheese, snap of bacon, foil wrapped tight — beautiful, just beautiful — but here's the thing: you cannot get a bodega sandwich at home. Geography. A sad fact. And most chefs are afraid to fold an egg correctly, so they hand you a dry microwaved disaster on a stale English muffin and call it 'meal prep.' They want you to freeze twelve of them on Sunday. FREEZE THEM. You should be ASHAMED.
We're doing it RIGHT. Toasty buttery brioche bun — brioche, life is short, splurge — folded egg patty cooked the way the bodega does it, not a sad little hockey puck, a FOLDED omelet-style situation that drapes over the cheese like a golden blanket. Sharp cheddar. Real bacon, the thick stuff, cooked until it has BACKBONE. A swipe of maple-Dijon sauce that ties the whole thing together. Twelve minutes from cold pan to first bite. Hands down. Game over.
Ingredients
- 4 slicesthick-cut bacon(thick-cut, never thin, thin bacon is for cowards)
- 2brioche buns or potato rolls(split)
- 2 tbspunsalted butter, softened
- 4large eggs
- 2 tbspwhole milk
- 1/2 tspkosher salt
- 1/4 tspblack pepper
- 4 slicessharp cheddar cheese, sliced
- 2 tbspmayonnaise
- 1 tspDijon mustard
- 1 tsppure maple syrup
- a few dashes, optionalhot sauce
Steps
- 1
Heat a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Lay in the bacon and cook 6-8 minutes, flipping once, until deeply browned and crisp. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
- 2
Pour off most of the bacon fat, leaving about a teaspoon in the pan.
- 3
While the bacon cooks, whisk the mayo, Dijon, maple syrup, and hot sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.
- 4
Butter the cut sides of the buns. Toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat, butter side down, until golden — about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- 5
In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, salt, and pepper until fully blended.
- 6
Pour half the egg mixture into the hot skillet over medium-low heat. Let it set undisturbed for 20-30 seconds, then use a spatula to gently push the edges toward the center, tilting the pan to let uncooked egg run underneath.
- 7
When the egg is mostly set but still slightly wet on top, lay 2 slices of cheese on one half and fold the egg over the cheese into a square roughly the size of the bun. Cook another 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
- 8
Slide the folded egg-and-cheese square onto the bottom bun. Top with 2 slices of bacon, broken in half to fit.
- 9
Spread the top bun generously with the maple-Dijon sauce, close the sandwich, and press gently. Repeat with the remaining ingredients for the second sandwich. Eat immediately.
One more thing
That is the sandwich. The real sandwich. You wrap it in parchment, you twist the ends, you pretend for a moment that you're back in that bodega in Queens, and you take that first bite — the cheese stretches, the yolk-soft egg gives, the bacon snaps, the sauce hits the back of your tongue — and life is GOOD. You don't need a $14 brunch reservation. You don't need a 45-minute wait at the place with the long name. You have everything you need. Right here. In a paper towel. Tremendous.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about The Greatest Breakfast Sandwich.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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