Sometimes when looking for something good to blog about, the answer can be right under your nose. That's what happened to me recently when I was making a fried egg sandwich for breakfast. I make one of these probably 3 times a week nowadays and have been making them off and on since my dad showed me how when I was just a wee lad.
Now, as I understand it, Alton Brown has some sort of Unified Sandwich Theory which says...well, what do you know, you can read it yourself on the interweb. Relevant here are two of the corollaries (corollary to what I'm not sure): soft fillings best on soft breads. Check. I use a soft challah-type roll. And avoid placing layers of slippery substances next to one another. Check. That's the bit about where to apply ketchup.
Does everyone do ketchup and Tabasco? I'm guessing people grew up with other toppings to their fried egg sandwiches. Once I had no ketchup so I did pesto. Not bad.
Fried Egg Sandwich
1-2 t butter
2 eggs
Ketchup
Tabasco Sauce
1 soft roll
Crack two eggs into a small bowl and set aside. Melt butter in an 8" pan on high heat. When it has bubbled a bit, slide the eggs from the bowl to the pan (so as not to break the yolks). Fry those for about two minutes on high. Meanwhile, cut your roll in half and lay it on your plate in butterfly fashion. Turn down the heat to medium and here is where you have some decisions to make. If you like your yolks broken, do it now. Also, do you like your eggs fried "soft" or "hard"? If you like them fried soft, then flip them now. If you like them fried hard, as I do, keep them on this side for another two minutes and then flip. Cook on the flip side for about two minutes or until you are happy with how runny the eggs are.
Put ketchup on one side of the roll and 2-20 drops of Tabasco as well. Then lay the egg across the bread and close up the sandwich. I once made the near fatal flaw of putting the eggs on the bread and ketchup on the egg. When I closed it up, the ketchup was between two layers of egg. Slip-sliding all over the place. I shed one tear. I had really messed up.
That's a lot of bytes for a simple fried egg sandwich, but I have no job. So there you go.
Yes, salsa would be a fine alternative. And while some may like to use the spray stuff, I find it unnaturally complicated for how simple an ingredient it dispenses. If you're looking for more health, I would simply look to other places to cut fat/calories. The 1-2 t of butter isn't big in the grand scheme of things.
Ketchup on eggs - never! i always thought that was kinda gross.
Justin, you aced me out on my pepper and egg sandwich I've been meaning to post. Green peppers, onion, garlic, butter, and eggs. Add a little cheese if you swing that way and serve on a chewy Turano French roll.
It's a Lent favorite.
This shouldn't preclude you from posting your own egg sandwich. It's certainly different enough.
Also, Barrett, did you write this poll:
http://www.gurl.com/react/polls/question/0,,643460,00.html
? "Gross" is in the lead, but not by much.
Wow, over 11000 responses. That's quite a large non-random sample.
i've tried to kick my bacon, egg and cheese habit by subtracting the bacon and adding onions and tomatoes
its lovely and just a bit healthier, and yes, i also but ketchup AND hot sauce on it
i'm convinced i have a lycopene deficiency, i'm completely addicted to any tomato based product
Just checking if the comments work.
Hey Barrett,
Looks like they work. Good to see you hard at work making sure all the little things work from our end.
Maybe no ketchup for this one, but I do for the egg-in-a-hole (hobo eggs).
I'm a fan of the very thinly sliced mater on the sammich along with crispy bacon or ham or prosciutto. And maybe a smattering of grated yummy cheese with a little melty action.
Depending upon the time of day, it may get some fresh basil or leaves of something. I like to toast the bread a bit, just for a little texture and aroma.
If this is after an extremely long evening, I'll embiggen the bread, double the egg and add a patty of fresh sausage of any kind.
Hot sauce or fancy mustards will be used on nearly any food here at Meathenge Labs.
Biggles
A healthier and tastier alternative to ketchup and tabasco is salsa. Green or red. Also, you could be really crazy and crack the eggs directly into the pan. Always break the yolks early, and add the salsa once the eggs are just about dry-looking. The flavor of the salsa is crucial if you're going to to go healthy and use PAM instead of yummy butter.