Food I Made

Mild-mannered engineer by day, ambitious home cook by night

HomeAboutSearchMy Kit

Bodega-style Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

December 02, 2017

The New York Bodega egg sandwich is a beautiful thing to see, and it’s easy to recreate at home. I recommend using a heavy cast iron skillet and a really thin, flexible spatula.

We add water to the egg mixture so it can spread very thin, similar to how you might make a crepe. We are going to fold the egg over on itself multiple times, and the desired goal is to get “lamination” so when you cut into the sandwich you will see the distinct layers of egg with the cheese and meat mixed throughout.

You can leave out the canadian bacon if you like, or add chopped up bits of crispy bacon instead.

More recently I’ve been experimenting with serving this on a whole wheat roll and I’ve been really pleasantly surprised by the texture, although the end effect is something different than what you’d find at a bodega.

whole wheat breakfast sandwich

  • 1 serving
  • 10 mins
  • 20 mins
  • 30 mins

    • Ingredients

    • 2 egg, lightly scrambled
    • 1 slice canadian bacon
    • 1 slice american cheese
    • 1 deli kaiser roll, split
    • salt and pepper
    • 1 Tbsp. butter

    Equipment

    Instructions

    1. Heat the skillet with 1 Tbsp. of oil over medium heat and fry the chopped canadian bacon until it is heated through. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
    2. Toast the bread lightly on each side. Remove and set aside.
    3. Whisk the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water, and some salt and pepper.
    4. Add 1 Tablespoon of butter to the skillet. When it comes to a light foam, turn the heat down to medium-low.
    5. Pour the eggs into the pan into a light layer. If the temperature is right it shouldn't bubble up too much. Let it sit for about 1 minute until it is beginning to firm up on the edges and could be peeled away from the skillet with a thin metal spatula.
    6. Add the slice of American cheese to the center of the egg, and sprinkle with the chopped canadian bacon.
    7. Fold the edges of the egg around the cheese, and continue to fold the egg over itself until it is a small square that will fit on the roll.
    8. Use the spatula to flip the entire square egg packet in the skillet pan so you can lightly sear the top of the egg packet for about 30 seconds.
    9. Transfer the folded egg square onto your toasted roll. Use a sharp bread knife to cut the roll in half.

      Written by Will Chiong who lives and works in New York building useful things.