The egg muffin

Let's get this out in the open right at the start. The Egg McMuffin sans the "cheese" is a terrific egg breakfast sandwich. I've had maybe 20 to 30 of these over the last decade. At their best, the egg has exploded into a moist, steamy mass of goodness, not easily reproduced at home. The rest of the sandwich is pedestrian, but who cares when the egg is that good. At their worst, well let's just say, it is a good thing they are under $2 each.

(In the picture, that is a bite mark. This shows how the kitchen might look, instead of the standard pretty girl photos you see on food blogs.)

Which brings me to my other problem... the "cheese". I detest American cheese-like food product, which is conveniently used in roughly 99.5% of the commercial inexpensive recipes involving melted cheese. Fast food cheese burgers, fast food tacos, cheesy nachos, or grilled cheese sandwiches... I lose. Even this "marria" from another food blog has willfully chosen to use American cheese over all others, blanketing an otherwise fine egg. I've been known to pick the cheese off a Burger King cheeseburger I inadvertently obtained. Gross stuff! Now, if Mc Donald's served real cheddar with the Egg McMuffin, that would be a truly great sandwich for $2.

And then, there is Velveeta. What the heck is this stuff!? They don't even put the word cheese or food on the packaging. Apparently the standard American cheese-like product wasn't fake enough, so they invented a faux fake-cheese that as far as I can tell, they can extrude from a fallow plastic factory.

So what happens if I make a breakfast sandwich at home? Well let's go over the options and food choices one by one.

A bagel or an english muffin: I like the bread to have some texture and to hold up to the egg payload.

Egg: free range if possible. I typically get mine from Trader Joes, since they have a wide variety for reasonable prices. Also if you keep your eggs for a while like I do, know the the egg test for freshness. Put an egg in a tallish glass of water; if it floats, the egg is old and should only be used as a supporting role in recipes (cake mix, cookies, meat balls, or if you're going to cover it with American cheese, etc). However, if it sinks quickly, that's one fresh egg.

Cheese (optional): any real cheese, say cheddar, swiss, Gruyere, or even jack.

Bacon or other cured meat (optional): here I'm not so picky. You do need either cheese or meat, or even both.

Tomato: a nice slice of a non-hot house, non mass produced tomato.

The Egg Sandwich
(serves 1/2 to 1 person)

1 English muffin or plain/egg bagel
1 egg
1 slice bacon
1 slice real cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Toast muffin or bagel.

If using bacon, fry bacon in a pan until the desired doneness. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Heat frying pan to high and either use some of the remaining bacon fat or vegetable oil. Crack egg into the pan, taking care not to break the yoke. Wait for the egg whites to firm up and then flip if desired, though this might break the yoke. Egg should be crispy on the initial bottom side. When the egg is done remove from the pan and place on muffin. Do not let sit in the pan as this will dry the egg out. Top with bacon, cheese and a fresh slice of tomato.