Breakfast sandwiches for when you have a little time

A great way to start your day — with a neat little trick from Molly Baz.

Breakfast is always a struggle for me. I’m a savory person and so many options like yogurt, waffles and smoothies, just don’t appeal to me early in the morning. Most often, I’ll have cottage cheese on toast when I’m in a hurry or toast with eggs. I won’t lie, it gets really boring.

But when I have a little extra time (or I went a little too hard the night before) I like to treat myself to a breakfast sandwich. This is my go-to. It was inspired by Molly Baz’s Smash Patty Breakfast Sando which I made during the pandemic but has since evolved into its own thing that is slightly less nap-inducing.

It features breakfast sausage (I make my own with ground chicken, see below, but you do not have to!), an egg, Molly-inspired sriracha-laced onions and greens on an English muffin. Mine does not have any cheese, but you’re welcome to add some if you want. It’s tangy and a little spicy and it is so, so good

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This recipe makes two but is easily adjusted.

Sausage Breakfast Sandwich with Sriracha-Marinated Onions

Ingredients:

FOR THE SANDWICHES:

• Two English muffins

• 3 oz. homemade breakfast sausage (below), or your favorite bulk breakfast sausage (not in casings)

• 1/4 small onion, any color you have

• 2 eggs

• A handful of spinach, arugula, or another green of your choice

• Mayonnaise

• Sriracha

FOR HOMEMADE BREAKFAST SAUSAGE:

• 1 lb. ground chicken, pork or turkey (I tend toward chicken)

• 1 tsp. kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp. ground sage

• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme

• 1/2 tsp. fennel seed* (I hate fennel and omit this, but I know it’s essential for many people, so, do you)

Method:

If you’re making your own breakfast sausage:

1. Combine all ingredients (1 lb. ground chicken/turkey/pork, 1.5 tsp. kosher salt, 1 tsp. ground sage, 3/4 tsp. black pepper, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, 1/2 tsp. fennel seed — if using) and really mix it together with your hands. This freezes well. I’ll usually keep a quarter or half a recipe in the fridge to use during the week and freeze the rest for another time.

Now, onto the sandwiches:

1. First, slice 1/4 of an onion very thinly, you’ll want to sharpen your knife for this, just get it as thin as you can. Put that in a small bowl with a pinch of salt and a squirt of Sriracha and massage it all together with your fingers for a few seconds. Set aside. This is going to break down the onions so they get soft and infused with some of that Sriracha flavor, it’s delicious.

2. While your onions are marinating, split your English muffins and swipe a bit of mayo on all four pieces. Place them, mayo-side-down, into a skillet over medium heat to toast them. Press them down to good contact with all those nooks and crannies. Once nicely toasted, set your muffins aside.

3. Next, cook your sausage. I like to cut two squares of parchment paper and portion out little balls of sausage on each. I aim for about the size of a golf ball. Using the same skillet, just flip those sausage balls into the pan, parchment-side up and using your spatula on the paper to smash them down into flat patties. They won’t be perfect circles, and that’s fine, just make sure they’re about evenly thick. Then peel off the paper. Cook them for a few minutes on each side until cooked through. (If you want to add cheese, do it here after you flip the sausage the first time. Stick a lid on the pot til it melts).

4. Meanwhile, you can add a little more mayo on one side of each of your muffins as desired, and a squirt of Sriracha. Place your sausage on top of that.

5. Now the eggs. Make them however you want. I like to fry them and pop the yolks so you don’t end up with a mess all over your hands. This is sacrilege in some circles. Make them however you want. I just crack each egg into the skillet and break up the yolks with my spatula and add salt and pepper. Once they’re cooked enough on one side, flip them and let them cook through.

6. Assemble! Put your eggs on top of your sausage patties (you may need to fold or cut your egg to get it to fit well, it does not need to be pretty, IMO). Next, the onions, then your greens of choice and your top bun. Voila.

Yes, and

If you’re really craving a bacon, egg and cheese: Ali Slagle has a really smart method: when you’re done assembling, wrap up the whole sandwich in parchment paper and/or foil and let it steam for a few minutes before cutting it in half and eating. It really brings all the flavors of the sandwich together. To save on splatter, mess and active time, I cook my bacon in the oven.

Background noise

If it’s morning, it’s NPR’s “Up First.”

I’m a journalist and I actually listen to very few news podcasts — most of mine are comedies, true crime, video games and other escapism. But, I listen to “Up First” every morning. It’s under 15 minutes and runs through three top news stories of the day on a real variety of subjects from Washington to international to pop culture. I always learn something and it drops super early, so it’s flexible for a lot of schedules. The hosts are really wonderful, too. Shout out to my personal faves, Steve Inskeep and Ayesha Rascoe!

That’s all for this week! Hope you have a wonderful breakfast and some time to savor it in the coming days. I’ll be back soon with more recipes.