Originally published on April 11, 2014
Gordon Ramsay’s recipes typically fall into one of two categories. They’re either classic dishes made with traditional techniques, or they’re totally innovative and ingenious ideas. This one combines the two, and it’s a lot of fun to make. When Gordon made it on one of his many television shows, he managed to get the bacon right on top of the eggs. I guess my cast iron is a bit smaller than his, as mine didn’t fit. But it’s what you do with the bacon before it even meets the eggs that makes this dish really come alive. (It’s cooked in sugar!) Serve it on the side, serve it on top, either way it’s going to be super delicious. And it’s all the breakfast classics served up in a whole new way!
Ingredients:
6 russet potatoes, grated
4 whole eggs
8 slices bacon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.) With a box grater or in a food processor, grate potatoes. Place them in the centre of a paper towel or clean tea towel, bring up the sides of the towel, and twist them at the top so that the grated potatoes are tightly closed within. Over the sink, squeeze the towel as hard as you can, and for as long as you can. This will extract all of the juices from within the potatoes, and that will ensure that your potatoes brown and do not turn soggy in the pan.
3.) Heat the vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet set over medium heat. When you’ve extracted as much of the juice as you can, turn the potatoes out into a skillet and spread them around so they form an even layer over the bottom of the pan; they should cover the entire surface. Season with salt and pepper, and then place another skillet right on top of the potatoes. This can be another cast iron, or another skillet with some cans placed within it. The cans won’t get hot, they’ll just weigh down the second skillet, which will really press the potatoes down and they’ll start to form one large hash brown. Cook for about five minutes.
4.) Remove second pan and, with a spatula, start to lift up the edges of the potatoes. If the underside has started to turn brown, and the potatoes hold together, flip it all at once so that it remains one large hash brown. With the skillet still on the heat, crack the eggs right onto the potatoes, being sure not to break the yolk.
5.) Turn the heat off under the skillet, season the eggs with salt and pepper, and carefully place the entire thing in the oven. Cook, for about 12 minutes, until the eggs have set to your liking.
6.) While the skillet is in the oven, place strips of bacon in a separate skillet on the stove top over medium heat. Cook, turning occasionally, until the bacon is nearly crisp (but not quite,) and almost cooked through. When it’s gotten to that point, sprinkle the brown sugar into the skillet and stir it around so that it’s throughout the entire pan. Turn the bacon one more time, ensuring it gets fully coated with the sugar, and remove from heat when it’s entirely cooked through, and very crispy.
7.) Remove skillet from the oven, and cut into four different pieces, right along the edges of egg so that each serving gets one. Carefully place bacon on top (or serve on the side,) and sprinkle the entire thing with fresh parsley.