Bacon-Fat Brioche Breakfast Sandwich

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A café-style breakfast sandwich built the way the good ones are: eggs cooked in a ring so they sit flat and edge-to-edge on the bun, brioche toasted in rendered bacon fat until the cut sides go glassy and gold, and sharp cheddar melted right onto the hot egg. Ten minutes of real technique, zero fancy equipment beyond a metal ring (or a tuna can with the ends cut out).

Ingredients

• 6 slices thick-cut bacon
• 2 brioche burger buns, split
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 2 slices sharp cheddar cheese
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, if needed

• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

• 1 handful baby arugula or butter lettuce
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives

Instructions

1. Whisk the mayonnaise, maple syrup, Dijon, cracked black pepper and cayenne together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until assembly.
2. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lay the bacon out in a single layer with no overlap. Bake 14 to 18 minutes, until deep brown and crisp at the edges but still with a little chew. Transfer to a paper towel and carefully pour the rendered fat into a small heatproof bowl — you want about 3 tablespoons. Cut each slice in half crosswise so it stacks neatly on a round bun.
3. Set a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and swirl to coat. Press the brioche halves cut-side down and toast 60 to 90 seconds, until deeply golden and slightly crisp — brioche is sugary and colors fast, so lift and check at 45 seconds. Set aside cut-side up.
4. Wipe the skillet, return it to medium-low heat, and add another 1 tablespoon bacon fat. Set two 3 1/2-inch metal rings (egg rings, biscuit cutters, or clean tuna cans with both ends removed) in the pan and brush the inside walls with a little fat so the eggs release.
5. Beat 2 eggs with 1 tablespoon milk, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper, and pour into one ring; repeat with the remaining 2 eggs and milk in the second ring. Cover the skillet and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops are just barely glossy.
6. Uncover, run a thin knife around the inside of each ring, and lift the rings off. Flip each egg round with a spatula, lay a slice of cheddar on top, and cook 30 to 45 seconds more — just long enough to set the second side and slump the cheese. If the pan looks dry at any point, add the teaspoon of butter.
7. Spread maple-black pepper mayo generously on both cut sides of each toasted bun. Lay down a small nest of arugula on the bottom halves, top with an egg-and-cheese round, then three half-slices of bacon shingled across, and a scatter of chives.
8. Cap with the top buns, press gently for 5 seconds to set the layers, cut in half on the diagonal if you like a clean cross-section, and eat immediately while the cheese is still molten.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

Duck Confit Cornbread Waffles with Cane Syrup Gastrique

Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock

One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem