At Eggslut in Los Angeles a couple of months ago, I ate what I declared was the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had. I ordered the Fairfax: cage-free soft scrambled eggs and chives, cheddar cheese, and sriracha mayo in a warm brioche bun. It typically comes with caramelized onions but I opted out of that. I also added bacon. It tasted like perfection.
Naturally I had to re-create it at home.
The components of the dish were simple and I knew I can easily figure out how to make the sandwich, but to get it as close as possible to the one I had in LA (check out the pics on Instagram), I did some research and watched a Fairfax recipe video from chef Alvin Caillan himself.
There’s a couple of things that were new to me, and these contributed to the overall texture and flavor of the eggs. First, it’s a different technique than I’m used to – he started the eggs in a cold pan, blended the eggs there, and added a knob of butter before turning on the heat to medium-low. He used a spatula to continually mix the eggs and move them around while cooking.
When I make scrambled eggs – and I also like my eggs soft and wet and creaammmmy – I whisk the eggs with a little cream or milk or sour cream in a separate bowl. I then melt butter over medium-low heat and continue to move the eggs around, using a whisk. So we have similar essentials (eggs, butter, medium-low heat) but instead of melting butter first and using a whisk, he starts in a cold pan and uses a spatula.
My verdict? His version is way better for a breakfast sandwich! The eggs remained very creamy, but instead of the more custardy version I end up with, the eggs have soft ripples throughout.
Second thing to note: this recipe has a generous amount of chives and other strong flavors. This is not a shy breakfast sandwich. There’s plenty of chives folded in the eggs (not sprinkled on top, like how I usually do it), salt and pepper (I watched a Bon Appetit video and EIC Adam Rapoport said, “eggs love salt” and I wholeheartedly agree), spicy mayo, and glorious bacon. It’s creamy and salty and crunchy and buttery.
The bacon was an add-on option available at Eggslut at the Grand Central Market in LA, and I highly recommend adding it to this sandwich. Especially because I skipped on the traditional caramelized onions, the bacon more than makes up for it.
I cooked my thick-sliced bacon in the oven, and just broke a couple of pieces in half so they fit the bread nicely. And speaking of bread, don’t skip out of toasting the brioche buns on a skillet. The toasted surface ensures that the bread doesn’t get soggy and becomes a crisp surface for the spicy mayo.
So we have buttery toasted brioche, creamy spicy mayo, crunchy salty bacon, sharp cheddar, and soft perfect eggs. The combination of flavors and textures taste decadent and made the ultimate breakfast treat. This was the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever made.
My version of the delicious breakfast sandwich I had at Eggslut in LA's Grand Central Market
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
2 slices of thick-cut bacon, cooked crisp
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
1 brioche bun
1 tablespoon butter
3 eggs (the freshest and best quality you can get)
2 tablespoons chopped chives
slice of sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
The original Fairfax sandwich at Eggslut had caramelized onions instead of bacon. If you'd like to try that, check out this recipe. The Eggslut guys also warm/melt the cheese first on a skillet before topping the scrambled eggs with it, but I was too lazy to do that :) Either way, this is a very delicious sandwich!
Hope you’re all having a great summer! Stay tuned for Dish of the Week later this week.