15 Tips You Need When Making Fried Egg Sandwiches

There is a secret rule in well-managed kitchens that most home chefs should be aware of, and it is all about having your things in order before starting a recipe. Mise en place is a prep step that makes a good home chef. The term is French for "putting in place" and essentially means to prepare ingredients and have your tools ready to go before cooking.

Have you ever decided to cook up a meal, then a little way into your cooking, you realize you need something? You have something cooking on the stove while rummaging through the fridge for your needed ingredient. Before you know it, your stovetop is smoking, and you find yourself peering at a mess of burnt food. It's an awful experience, and exactly why mise en place is so important.

It's vital when making something as simple as a fried egg sandwich. You want your toast freshly warm out of the toaster, eggs brought to room temperature, and all your ingredients hot and ready to use when it's time to start stacking that sandwich.

First, ensure your bread is sliced and ready to go in the toaster but don't send them down until you add butter to your pan. Your cheese, meat selection, eggs, butter, and tools (like your spatula and skillet) better be ready too. 

If you have ever made a sweet cake from scratch, there is a good chance your recipe called for room-temperature eggs. But why does temperature matter so much? When baking, ingredients blend better when they are a bit warmer. The batter must be smooth and uniform, and using cold eggs can create a chunkier consistency, which won't lend well to your finished product.

When it comes to frying eggs, the same rule applies —and again, it is all about uniformity and results. When you use a cold egg, you risk cooking faster on the outside and slower on the inside. Unevenly cooked eggs are only one issue. If you plan to make scrambled eggs, you'll notice cold eggs don't mix well because they hold their structure better than room temp eggs. Warmer eggs will result in a more uniform mixture and create fluffier scrambles.

Bringing your eggs to room temperature can take up to two hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is. If you forget this crucial step, there is a way to bring your eggs to room temperature, too. Simply add your eggs to a warm bowl of water for about five minutes then get to cooking.

When we think of cheese for our fried egg sandwich, most of us immediately go to American cheese or cheddar. But we are here to tell you there are far too many exciting cheese selections to settle on the basics. Sure, cheddar offers a sharp tang that melts beautifully, and American is creamy and so yummy. But, do yourself a favor — expand your cheese-tasting palate every now and then.

Gouda is a great place to start. It's creamy and melts into a lovely gooey texture that pairs nicely on sandwiches with avocado, chives, and bacon. Brie cheese creates an incredibly rich-tasting sandwich, thanks to the butter-soft surface of this cheese type.

For a bit of a bolder take, you can try feta or goat cheese which both boast a tangy appeal. Feta will pair nicely in an egg sandwich that also has sliced tomatoes and spinach in it. Goat cheese will crumble well, but feel free to smear it over your bread.

Selecting from one of the three jack cheese options is always a good pick too. Monterey Jack and Colby-Jack are both mild and taste lovely in a breakfast sandwich, but if you want to start your morning off with a bit of spice, go for Pepper Jack instead.

Playing with flavor is only one element of cooking. If you want to dive deeper into culinary artistry, then texture is equally as important. While your tastebuds are interpreting the taste profile of your meal, your entire mouth is working to discover the characteristics and consistency of your food. The two play hand in hand, and having one off can ruin a meal.

When it comes to breakfast sandwiches, we often place our sliced bread in the toaster to help prepare hot crispy slices. This tried-and-true method gives you a homey, known feel when eaten. If you have a toaster oven at home, consider pre-buttering the bread to permeate the bread with a butter flavor. Place a sheet pan underneath to avoid butter dripping on the hot coils.

Otherwise, try buttering your bread and grilling it in the pan like a grilled cheese sandwich. Not only will this help melt the cheese, but you'll love the ultra-buttery flare that comes with each bite. You can take your grilling madness one step further, too, using a savvy trick. Keep reading.

There are a few details in the egg frying world that often get missed, and two of the most common are all about the skillet you use. First, let's talk about the pan size and the temperature you should strive for.

Typically, you don't want a super hot pan when you make fried eggs (or any egg). Instead, you need time and patience to work on your side. The results are incredible every time, but you won't get those delicious results if you are in a rush.

Add butter or oil to your pan, turn the heat to medium, and crack your eggs. From there, consider adding a cover and letting the heat and accumulated steam do the work. Otherwise, go traditional with a single flip halfway through.

Remember to use the perfect pan size to make the job easier. If you plan on frying one or two eggs, an 8-inch pan should do the trick. Go up to a 12-inch pan if you plan to fry more than that at once.

If the most important detail to your morning breakfast is texture, then perhaps oil is your best option. Olive oil has a higher smoke point than butter so you can enjoy the insta-worthy crispy edges by using hot oil. Because it already comes in liquid form, you don't have to wait for it to melt before cracking.

You'll want to crank your heat up for those crispy edges to allow the bottom of your egg to brown up a bit. The oil pooled along the edges of the egg whites will sizzle up just right, creating the brown crisped border you desire.

Plus, you'll explore the grassy flavor notes with olive oil instead of a rich buttery flavor. If you don't desire this flavor, consider using mild or delicately flavored olive oil or vegetable oil.

Everyone has a personal preference on how yolks should be cooked — whether eating them with a side of toast and bacon or placed over a few French toast slices with a drizzle of maple syrup. Regarding an egg sandwich, we're pretty specific about those luscious yolks too.

While we think runny yolks are gold, knowing how runny they should be is important. An over-easy yolk might lend to undercooked whites, which is a no-no if you ask us. But over-hard will render hard yolks that don't run at all. We don't condone that either.

You can achieve perfectly runny yolks by frying your eggs over-medium or consider popping the yolks right before flipping the egg. If you take them off the heat quickly, you can ensure the yellow doesn't cook all the way through. Then you can get the best of both worlds — cooked whites and runny yolks. Yum!

If you thought cream cheese sounded a bit daring, we have another unique spread that tastes amazing with egg sandwiches. Trust us when we tell you peanut butter and eggs taste amazing together. Making a plate of scrambled eggs with cheese? Don't forget to add peanut butter to your plate —because there is something special about that nut butter melted over a hot bite of scrambles.

The same goes for egg sandwiches. The salty bacon strips, rich, runny yolks, and melted cheese taste nice, with some sweet peanut butter added to each bite. Perhaps it's the sweet and salty combination that gets us every time.

After constructing your breakfast sandwich, add a smidge of peanut butter on the edge before each bite. Not only will this keep your peanut butter from melting too much, but it gives you the freedom to add as much or little as you want for each bite.