Breakfast Sandwiches for Lunch

Upstairs in my bedroom at 1:00 p.m. and already hungry, I caught a faint whiff of sizzling bacon in the air. An automatic reaction to find the source of said heavenly stench triggered in my brain. I hurried down the stairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen. There, next to the stove top with fork in hand, stood my younger brother, Will, masterfully flipping several soon-to-be-crispy slabs of pork. "Only three slices!" I worriedly exclaimed. The bacon gods were with me on that fine March day, as another pound of the divine meat was lying in the refrigerator, nearly exploding from the vacuum-sealed pack it's sold in, like a voluptuous woman wearing a tutu.

I placed six more slices in the hot oil bath for Emily and me. Will and I, both ravenous and on the same culinary wavelength, did not engage in any small talk - we had assessed the kitchen inventory and knew exactly what needed to be done. While Will busied himself with the frying, I began to cut extra-sharp Vermont cheddar cheese into thin slices. The finished bacon product, post-rendering and uber-crispy, is shown in the image below.

I proceeded to drain the hot bacon grease into an empty coffee can, a perfect place to store the oil until cool, as pouring it directly down the drain is generally a bad idea. Key point here. Do NOT wash the pan. If you're frying eggs, all you need to do is pour out the excess oil. The leftover bacon-fried goodness is what really makes these eggs, and the entire compilation, shine. Your pan should look like this, or something like it:

As the eggs slowly met their maker, I toasted three English muffins in the toaster. Be sure to toast these puppies completely - I prefer them slightly blackened. Wait a good three to four minutes, at least, for the eggs to fry before flipping them. If you flip too early, they will run and create a yolky flood, still delicious but not as aesthetically pleasing. Here are the eggs, before I popped the yolks:

Extra-sharp Cabot Vermont cheddar cheese is a staple in much of my cooking. All other strands of cheddar cheese are vastly inferior to this hard-to-find variety, but putting in the time to find a block is worth it. Eating the other kinds is unfulfilling and downright boring. Trust your taste buds, they don't lie. A couple slices melted atop a fried egg is a thing of beauty.

Take a look at the final product. With care, attention, and technique, four amazing ingredients came together in perfect harmony. It looks delicious, doesn't it?

If you don't have English muffins in the kitchen, you can make an equally-satisfying alternative by substituting Amish potato bread for the muffin.

A bite of either version really makes you wonder if this wondrous combination could substitute for the opposite sex.