If you dind’t have fried egg sandwiches as a kid, I’m sorry to say that you will probably never, ever be up to the task of understanding all the Secrets of the Universe. It’s simply a prerequisite.
…White bread, mayo on both slices spread liberally so as to ooze, an egg fried in butter—yolk broken and flipped—a dash of salt and lots of finely ground black pepper, left to cool down to warm, a slice of cheese is optional and totally appropriate now and then…and then finished off with enough catsup to ooze out along with the mayo.
Back in the Navy, and being always in WestPac and thereabouts for my first 5 years, we ended up in Pusan, Korea often enough, for R&R. Probably about 15 visits for me. What do I remember almost the most? Fried egg sandwiches. $1 each (mid 80s). They used hamburger buns, but there was nothing like coming out of the bar scene at 1 or 2 am, and smelling that cart.
But what to do now? I only eat bread as an infrequent indulgence. Well, some time back Bea and I incorporated quality corn tortillas. I may have blogged about it but I forget. Neither of us has any issue with them and the thing is, now we feel pretty free to go out to mexican because we so like the corn, I don’t think either of us has even been tempted to have a flour tortilla in a long while.
But I get quality ones, whether from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. Often, it’s just organic, sprouted corn, filtered water and lime juice. That’s it.
So, here’s a Fried Egg “Sandwich” Taco.
Fried in butter, break the yolks and flip
Let eggs cool to warm as you toast the tortillas directly over the gas flame
Mayo on the tortilla, egg, black pepper and catsup
Tacos!
Alright, so no, I don’t bother to make my own mayo or catsup, anymore. Tradeoff: it sucks. I use Trader Joe’s. Their mayo is “organic” canola, whatever the fuck that means. What it means to me is that a single jar lasts me about 4-6 months. Same with their organic catsup with no HFCS or a 2″ long list of unpronounceable ingredients. Your mileage may vary. If it serves your time and interests to make your own, go for it.
But, consider that in making your own to exacting Paleoish standards—I’m sure—might make you worse off, because you might end up eating a whole lot more mayo and catsup (overindulgence because it’s doctrinal) than we do, or that you ought to…
This isn’t an everyday thing. I just discovered this, and when I do that, It’s overindulgence for a week, getting better after two, and a now and then thing after three.
Go with it.
Now just wait. Soon, I might show you the most absolutely delicious corn dogs you’ve ever tasted. And they beat, hands down, a deep fried one. If you imagine, you can probable get where I’m going.
I was born in El Paso and spent the first 42 years of my life in Dallas (and surrounding ‘burbs) and I do not care for flour tortillas at all. I love corn tortillas, though, and if I could get some from La Tortilla Factory in Oak Cliff, I would probably eat them until I made myself sick. So it’s probably a good thing I can’t get them.
Hey, Jan
Ok, I owe you a comment at your place. Thanks.
Yea, when you forego the flour for good, you begin to realize how much better and even sweet corn tortillas are. I have to guess that corn tortillas have been around a long time before flour.
I grew up in New Mexico (more or less) and I still love me some flour tortillas.
A guilty pleasure for me is to buy a dozen flour tortillas and make a batch of beef and black bean burritos. Usually chimichangas, I guess, because I almost always finish them off by frying in lard, but I just think of them as crunchy burritos.
Oh, who am I kidding? I don’t feel guilty eating them.
If they aren’t going to be fried, lettuce and Greek yogurt (way better than sour cream) will probably go in as well, if available. Unfortunately the flour tortillas I can get here are too thick and lacking sufficient radius to make a really awesome burrito.
I am with you chief!
Corn tortillas have to be INCREDIBLE for me to enjoy em. Flour with beef? Only way to go. I had one not to long ago. FUCK.
Tacos al carbon….beef only on corn. Street tacos…only on corn. Only flour tortillas I had in Mexico had sugar and cinnamon on them.
That’s funny. I grew up in Dallas Texas and can’t stand corn tortillas. I also can’t stand Dallas :-/
Beg to differ with you… the proper way to fry that egg is in bacon grease! In my neck of the woods at any rate… ;)
Karen
Ahhhhhh, not so much for me, anymore. In fact, I almost never buy bacon, anymore and when I had some Sunday for breakfast I ended taking 2 of the 4 slices back home (oh, you can bacon bit that taco too). It has been a very long natural process but almost all bacon tastes irredeemably salty to me, to eat in slices. As bits on a salad or otherwise an addition to food it doesn’t overshadow, still love it.
That’s why I no longer have the coffee muge full of bacon drippings in my fridge I’ve always had.
You ever make your own bacon so you can control what’s in it? I know, lots of work compared to just buying some but it really is better.
When we do Mexican food we make our own corn tortilla’s and use fresh masa from the local Ranchero. Then we take our handy dandy old as dirt tortilla press we got at a yard sale for a quarter and make em fresh.
Jeremy, I never have, but my baby brother does and I agree. No comparison.
I just have too much shit to do, basically, and am behind on all paths. That’s my poor excuse, becaue all excuses are at best, poor excuses,
speaking of…was the consulting post and you selling your biz an april fool’s joke? I do not remember.
Not selling, closing it via client attrition. No joke. After 20 years. Time to do something else.
Richard,
Unlike some posters here I am not easily offended, but your description of a fried egg sandwich in your second paragraph is against god and nature. :)
From my childhood I know the proper way – White bread, egg fried on one side and yolk intact, put egg on bread, sprinkle with salt, put top slice of bread on, rub around to break and spread the yolk and then enjoy…..
No, MarkD.
You sir, are anti nature, and I curse you. :)
No no no!
Scrambled eggs with mustard and a little salt. That’s the only way to make an egg sandwich. I decree it!
Fried eggs I ate with toast to sop up the yolk, which I still do occasionally as an indulgence. Without the toast, it’s too much trouble to leave the yolks liquid, IMO, so I pop the yolks now.
No no no!
Fried egg on honey wheat, two slices of American cheese, sliced dill pickles, mustard and some sauerkraut on the side! I may be able to make it with a flour tortilla, but it has to be flour unfortunately and, WTF, I never eat bread anymore. I feel like a thief stealing bites of my kid’s sandwiches.
Breakfast for dinner anyone?
No no no!
Careful, I’m just shy of a cunt hair from expelling both of you from my universe, and anyone who dares to give you aid & comfort.
Good thing you don’t play those childish moderating games.
Never did, ever, Shelley.
Other than obvious spam or obvious trolling, I moderate after the fact. That involves 4-letter words, sometimes.
Those Trader Joe’s tortillas are awesome! I go through a few packs a week, nothing like scrambled egg tacos for a quick dinner
Bea and I might go through 10-20 corn tortillas in an average week. She’s Mexican and it’s part of her breakfast routine. I go weeks where I have none, or 10, so there’s the variation in the average.
Richard,
On a serious note, why do you prefer corn tortilla o flour tortilla (As an Englishman I assume that by corn you mean what I would call sweetcorn?)
MarkD
Well, corn is the really traditional Mexican and quite ubiquitous here in CA. Flour are appealing, but if you just buckle down to corn you’ll come to like them better. No idea what that have in UK. Perhaps your nan are better, and that’s the one thing I have to go for, at times.
(I was introduced to Indian food in Thailand in 1989 by and Englishman, who just found me on Facebook after about 15 years of no contact).
MarkD,
Yyou might know the plant better as maize. Some more modern (usually North American) tortillas are made of sweet corn, but the traditional version is based on a low sugar/high protein “flint” corn (or maize).
For tortillas, the corn is first soaked in calcium hydroxide (aka slaked lime). This breaks down the hull (which makes it easier to digest), kills molds and other nasties, and releases some extra nutrients. It also makes the stuff damn tasty!
It is considered borderline acceptable in Paleo diets, with the traditonal native American and south American versions being the “best”. They are much lower carb and higher protein than newer corn varieties. Corn is mostly gluten free, with fewer anti nutrients than the traditional grass grains (like wheat, rye, barely, etc.) But there are some concerns about its oil, so some folks avoid it entirely. I try to limit it to a few servings per week.
That being said, I just made some homemade corn tortillas tonight for fajitas. Masa flour (which is basically very fine corn meal/rough flour made from lime treated corn) is widely available here in the US, and it is dirt cheap. Mix it with equal parts water by volume, roll it between two sheets of plastic wrap, throw it in a hot skillet, and you’re done.
Jay Jay,
Thanks for the explanation – It all makes sense now
Hey Rich – don’t sweat it, it passes Ferriss’ 95% 5% rule.
Life is otherwise too damn short!!
I use sprouted corn tortilla’s I get from Sunflower. Our TJ store here in Modesto doesn’t have the sprouted, which I prefer. I’ve done several egg and tortilla concoctions, all good, but I haven’t tried the fried egg sandwich, it does sound delicious, and will be my breakfast tomorrow. I’ve done the corn tortilla dogs numerous times and love them.
So, with corn tortillas comes pulled pork tacos, or carnitas with lots of cilantro y cebolla. Or Picadillo tacos with ground beef cooked with tomatos and chills, or chorizo and egg tacos. These are a few of our indulgences. Oh, and I make the best salsa in the world.
My sister in law does and I quit fucking around the very first time I tasted hers.
Her parents are Paruvian, she’s a high powered lawyer, but she makes the best damn fresh salsa I have ever tasted and there are many, many varieties around here with all my wife’s family from S Am.
Salsa Wars…it’s on. Oh, my guacamole is pretty damn good, also.
She makes amazing guac as well and I use her recipe. In addition to the regular things like fresh crushed garlic, finely chopped fresh jalepeno and cilantro to taste.
Dude,
You need to let those eggs cool to 50•F for, like, 18 hours.
FYI Richard: The “lime” ingredient in corn tortillas is not lime juice, but rather calcium hydroxide, or limestone – like you get in a bag at Home Depot. It’s a process called “nixtamalization,” which is the ancient preparation of maize that removes the mycotoxin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization
If you buy corn tortillas, make sure it says “treated with lime” because nixtamalized corn is a benign starch. Most corn tortillas have undergone nixtamalization. Another option for you may be hominy, which is corn grits that have underwent nixtamalization. Same with many brands of masa harina – you can make gluten-free cornbread out of nixtamalized masa harina and hominy in place of typical all purpose flour and cornmeal. You cannot tell the difference at all and you can substitute it equally. I make a fantastic jalapeno cornbread – I use hominy, masa harina and soak it overnight in kefir and yeast to really get it bubbly, then add my eggs and bake. Awesome stuff!
I now really like Ezekiel bred tortillas from sprouted grain. They have a nutty taste that I really like.
No, no, no!! It’s scrambled eggs and bacon on toast with Welch’s grape jelly. That sweet and salty combo, yum. It’s probably been 40 years since I have had that, but it’s a fond childhood memory.
…Oh, man…visions of one of my brothers breaking his bacon into bits and putting it on his buttered and jellied/jammed toast.
Nope. I’m firm in conviction. Sweets belong with sweet stuff and meat stuff belongs with meat stuff. …And fuck that mint jelly with lamb shit, too.
You’re all fucked in the head. Golden brown toasted bread, spread with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, maybe a slice of tomato, a few pieces of ham cooked after or before the egg (same method as you here, Richard), liberal pepper, and you have yourself a real fried egg sandwich. I used to enjoy with a tall glass of milk, but I’ve pretty much stopped drinking milk.
You and my dad would get along great Todd. He’s an everything plus the kitchen sink kinda guy too.
Simple simplicity. If I want an egg and ham sandwich, I can make one of those, too.
I don’t think that quite qualifies for a complicated sandwich, but I know what you mean by keeping it simple.
Most of my meals are usually kept to just a few ingredients. It’s about highlighting the main characters instead of throwing in a bunch of shit to make something out of nothing.
runny yolk. No ooze, no goodz.
Long time reader, first time poster. Anyway, my dad taught me this trick. If you beat the egg before throw it in the pan then toss the tortilla on top, the egg and tortilla bond to each other while the egg cooks and the tortilla warms up, flip it over in a couple minutes to hit the other side of the tortilla. Makes things quite convenient to pile on other ingredients.
Posts (and comments!) like these make me jealous. I just CAN’T STAND eggs! I try them constantly, and can sometimes hold my nose and get them down.
I’ve concluded it’s the whites that I dislike so much. I like fresh yolks (preferably pastured) in just about any dish imaginable. Egg nog, rice pasta, mayo, breads (when I indulge), meatloaf, etc. Get a week or so of age on them, and well, not so much.
But whites, ick. I just get a nasty flavor on my tongue in anything above maybe 5% concentration. Fresh out of the chicken, it’s not so bad, but to me, the whites go down hill extremely fast. Almost like fish. One or two days old, and in limited quantities, I can handle them, but it’s still a struggle for me to get a plain white down.
I know I’m missing out on some good, cheap nutrition. But thankfully, there is nothing essential in them that I can’t find elsewhere.
And for European readers who might not be familiar with Trader Joe’s, its the upscale US division of the Aldi grocery store chain. It’s quite the marketing success story over here.
Serendipity! I was thinking about having eggs on a tortilla right before heading home from work, and then I looked at FTA to kill a couple minutes and there it was!
The only difference is I cooked my tortillas in the leftover egg frying butter – just long enough so they toughened up a little bit. I like the flavor and texture of that a little more. I skipped the mayo as well. We sauteed some yellow squash fresh from our garden as a side. It was an excellent meal.
Catsup? You don’t have cholula sauce in california?
Sheesh. I’m gonna get nitpicked to death here, aren’t I? :)
what the hell is catsup? Is that american for Ketchup?
Yep, and I prefer the classic term. I hate when people pronounce it kechup, and soupcase, and mannaise.
I fucking hate it, and ‘worsh the clothes’ too.
Cool. I make triple decker breakfast club sandwiches myself… egg, bacon/back bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato…
…… with real fucking wonder bread.. I don’t fuck around.
I was gonna ax you how you pronounce sammich, but I won’t now…I’ll just check the liberry.
You’re a man after my own blackened, shrivelled heart, then. I have relatives who will pour themselves a tall glass of “melk” at “brefuss,” and if they’re feeling fancy they’ll order an “expresso” instead of coffee. Oh, and mayonnaise is “may-nayze,” which gives me the shudders.
Don’t even get me started on one low-carb blogger who always–ALWAYS–spells birthday as “burfday.” She’s quite a special case, that one.
MBP
What is it? Phnoics?
I remember the headphones in 2nd grade, but that’s about all I remember,
Just outside of the Air Force base at Kunsan, there was a cart that sold “Miss Kim Burgers” greasy hamburgers made with who-knows-what kind of meat, cabbage, and fried eggs. The were great when the juicy bars closed, but if you ever got one to take home thinking it would be a great breakfast you were sadly mistaken the next morning!
I used to love me some soju-tent food, too! They served up some nasty shit, but it was primal as hell! fish heads, chicken feet, mmmm,mmmm
Heading to Santa Cruz! Driving past all these lovely cattle prisons on California. Totally lost my appetite. Disgusting. With acres and acres of corn fields to feed these beasts. And acres and acres of manure ponds stinking up the place. Mono-culture every where. Signs pleading to save California water for agriculture. When will we ever learn
The shame about the Central Valley is that it used to be an immense grassland, sustaining huge herds of big, tasty herbivores–and it could be, again. In fact, it should be again, because decades of industrial agriculture are destroying the soil and in some places it’s already too exhausted and saline (from heavy irrigation) to grow much of anything at all. Shifting from commodity crops to rangeland for grass-fed beef would be a much wiser and more sustainable use of the land. And it would free up all the water that currently goes into irrigation.
But that isn’t going to happen until it becomes more profitable that what they’re currently doing, so I won’t hold my breath.
Speaking of holding my breath–I haven’t driven through there in maybe 6 or 7 years. The last time I did, heading north, I drove along in a reeking, ammonia-laden Valley fog from just north of Bakersfield all the way up to just past the big Harris Ranch feedlot–maybe a 45 minute drive? I had to pull over, dig a scarf out of my bag, and wrap it over my nose and mouth to get just a little bit of relief. It was just unbelievable; I’d never seen (okay, smelled) it that bad in 20+ years of driving that stretch of road.
Sorry, MBP, but as someone who drives I5 regularly for 20+ years and still does several times per year in both directions, that is such wanton over the top hype I can’t help but call total and absolute bullshit.
Bullshit. And the Harris Ranch CAFO is a blip along the way.
There are water issues, now, but it’s all about government. And it’s recent. I agree that setting it back to natural rangeland would be a step in the right direction.
It’s a pretty big blip, but it wasnt just that. It was miles and miles of corn and hay. Santa Cruz is cool, and the small farms around Watsonville. I could live here
My fave part of SC is around the Marina . The pier is fun. Stagnaro’s
Otherwise, best of all is Capitola just a few miles south. If you’re still there tomorrow, lunch. If you’re moving south, Carmel.
We had lunch by the marina and went to jump in the pacific, then drove thru capitola. We are now heading back south on the 1, my dd is in love with Carmel. She wants to move there. I forgot how beautiful this is
We stupidly drove back from SC last night along 1 in the dark. Peed my pants a few times, but even in the dark, it was cool…
Although it took us 9 hours to get back south. Will be back in 6 months and want to go back up to Carmel for the day. Maybe camp at Big Sur.
Anyone tried the New Evolution Guardian product? Art Devany is selling it on his website. What does it do? Does it get you ripped or not? Can you take it while you’re in a cold tub?
No idea. Let my subscription lapse after 3 years of support and didn’t renew.
Art make himself irrelevant and marginalized. Maybe. I don’t know but I wish him well.
YUM!! I have no idea if corn tortillas are available in Manitoba, will have to check that out.
I can’t find this corn tortilla crap in Canada anywhere….
I confess to never having had a fried egg sandwich, but your description of Pusan Airbase parallels exactly the stories my husband tells of “Mr. Lee’s fried egg burgers served from a cart down in the vil…exactly the right thing at 2:00 a.m. when you’re drunk off your ass!”…1985, Camp Humphreys…guess that is part of the universal experience.
You forgot the mustard.
My ex-wife’s midwestern family taught my family that trick many, many years ago. In fact, mustard on plain fried eggs is great, too.