Eggs and bacon sandwiched between a sliced glazed donut… crazy or genius?  I can report that it’s insanely easy and it tastes amazing.  Therefore, I’m leaning toward genius.  This recipe is a recreation of the Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich that was recently introduced by Dunkin’ Donuts.  Above, you can see my version.  Below, you can see the Dunkin’ Donuts version as it appeared in their press materials.  Believe it or not, their donut sandwich has only 360 calories.  Mine has a little more bacon.  I hesitate to recommend either version for your weight loss program.

The donut breakfast sandwich concept isn’t new. A few smaller donut outlets were doing them well before Dunkin’ Donuts put them in the news.  Buddha Belly Donuts in Sarasota, Florida offered a version with sausage.  Unfortunately, that shop is now closed. The Bleeding Heart Bakery in Chicago offered the Make-Your-Own Doughnut Breakfast Sandwich where you could choose any or all of the following ingredients to accompany the fried egg: bacon, ham, sausage, fried green tomatoes and Cheddar or Swiss cheese.  Strangely enough, that shop also closed recently.   Beware Dunkin’ Donuts!  There seems to be a trend.

I decided to try something quite controversial… I recreated Dunkin’ Donuts Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich using glazed donuts from Krispy Kreme.  Let’s face it, a Dunkin’ Donuts glazed donut is good, but Krispy Kreme is the current non-disputed champion for exceptional glazed donuts.

How To Make A Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich

Step One:  Acquire a glazed donut and carefully slice it with a serrated blade, trying not to dimple the beautiful sugar sheen of the glaze.

Step Two: Fry some bacon.

Since I was making multiple sandwiches with lots of bacon, I used the oven.  It’s a good tip to remember.  Whenever you want a lot of bacon done at the same time, just spread some slices out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake them at 400 degrees for 14 minutes.  No flipping is required and it comes out just as good and crispy as pan frying.

Step Three:  Fry an egg.

I guarantee that any properly prepared egg will taste great in this sandwich.  You could scramble, fry, poach or even use hard-boiled egg slices and you’re still in for a treat.

I decided to use an egg ring to make egg patties just so my sandwich would more closely resemble the Dunkin’ Donuts version.

When using an egg ring, beat each egg slightly in a small bowl.  Place a small frying pan over medium heat.  Rub olive oil over the inside of the egg ring with a paper towel.  Place the ring in the pan and then pour about 1/8th of a cup of water in the pan around the ring.  When the water sizzles, pour the egg in the ring.  Cover the pan, so the trapped steam cooks the top of the egg.  After 3 minutes, the egg will be mostly done.  Drain the water from the pan. Loosen the egg from the ring.  Flip the egg and cook one more minute or until completely cooked through.

Step Four:  Put the egg and the bacon in the donut and chow down.

Here’s the hardcore truth about Donut Breakfast Sandwiches: They’re kind of sloppy.  The glaze starts to melt from the warm fillings and the heat from your hands.  Have some towels ready.  For all the perceived indulgence of it, a nice biscuit or croissant is more complementary to eggs and bacon.  A plain biscuit is like a lonely person.  It’s not really complete until it finds a soul mate in the form of an egg, some jam or a piece of sausage. Donuts shine by themselves.  They don’t need anything else to be their very best.  But with that said, my final word on the subject is that donuts make awesome buns.

Cooking Note:  When making multiple sandwiches, keep your prepared bacon warm in an oven set to 200 degrees.  As you make each egg patty, you can also keep those warm next to the bacon.  When it’s time to serve, everything is good to go and you can have a very quick assembly.

A recent survey revealed that bacon is the overwhelming favorite food of Britain.  One in ten Brits put bacon at the top of their list.  In honor of that great nation of bacon lovers, I’d like to focus on a British staple that’s practically unknown in the U.S., the Bacon Butty –  a simple bacon sandwich.

When Prince William married Kate Middleton, her precocious brother-in-law Prince Harry planned a post-wedding, wee-hours party with Bacon Butty sandwiches as the main course.

The Bacon Butty is so popular in the U.K. that you find it on the menu of their Burger King Restaurants.

McDonald’s in Britain serve a Bacon Butty, but they call theirs a Bacon Roll.

To make a Bacon Butty, select a thick-cut bacon.  Bacon in Britain is traditionally thicker than our bacon.  For the bread, I decided to use two over-sized dinner rolls, but you could use any bread you like to make your Butty.

Fry up the bacon so it’s completely cooked but still a little flexible.  Transfer to stacked paper towels to remove excess grease.

Cut the rolls in half and butter.  At this point, many Brits assemble their sandwich.  Others fry the buttered side of the bread until browned and crisp.  That’s what I did.

HP Sauce (aka Brown Sauce) is the most popular thing to put on a Bacon Butty, but A.1. Steak Sauce and regular tomato ketchup are also common.  I tried all three and liked the A.1. most of all.  I had to visit a British specialty shop to get the HP.  As long as I was there, I picked up a small British flag to act as the perfect garnish for my homemade Bacon Butty.

That’s all there is to it.  Just pile bacon on your bread.  Douse your favorite sauce on top and there’s your sandwich.  Now pop that scrummy Butty in your gob.  That’s British slang for placing the bacon sandwich in your mouth.

That’s a Bacon Butty from your Breakfast Buddy.  Enjoy!

Bonus:

These young British guys, Joe and Ollie, love the Bacon Butty so much that they wrote a song about it.  Nice harmonies dudes!  (That how we say “mates” in the U.S.)

According to the company’s director of menu marketing and promotions, Tracy Dunn, “Jack in the Box is combining three popular breakfast choices – waffles, egg and our new country-grilled sausage – to create a distinctive, craveable sandwich that is easy to eat on the go. Our new Breakfast Waffle Sandwich is the perfect balance of sweet and savory.”

Visit jackinthebox.com for more details.

Important Update: I just tried the new Breakfast Waffle Sandwich.

Something about that promotional picture haunted me all afternoon.  I couldn’t shake the craving.  Luckily, Jack In The Box serves breakfast all day long.  Breakfast for dinner, baby!

My verdict:

It was alright.  It was a little smaller than the promo picture and placards in the store might have you believe.  I’m not a pig, but I was expecting more of a deluxe-sized sandwich, especially based on the $2.79 per sandwich price tag.

I liked it better than the McGriddle (the competing sandwich from McDonalds that uses maple “griddle cakes” for the bread).  The maple flavor in the waffle sandwich tasted more authentic.  All in all, it was decent sandwich.  Don’t let that first picture get your hopes up too high.