As you may already know, egg sandwiches are a VERY individual sport. This article specifically addresses closed egg sandwiches and not the more ?posh? open-faced Eggs Benedict-type menu offerings. Those are for another time and another article. Many people enjoy the common ?McDonald?s? style sandwich on an English muffin or biscuit with the egg patty, a slice of ham/sausage and a cheese slice or two. Condiment optional. I have a whole philosophy about egg sandwiches and matching them carefully so that the egg?s texture and true taste is not drowned out by the bread, other ingredients and condiments. Harmony is the target of a truly excellent egg sandwich.

Fresh herbs (of your choice), scallions and cucumber - in moderation - have been found to enhance and put the egg patty on a pedestal of flavor. Mostly, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and aioli are too stringent as they contain vinegar and they tend to ?cook? the egg patty into an undesirable texture (rubbery) and overpower its subtle flavors. A fun, creative, less aggressive condiment is sour cream mixed with the fresh herbs or a no-salt (Mrs. Dash) herbal mix. Cream cheese mixes can also be quite tasty on an egg sandwich. Spread cream cheese mixtures sparingly for your health and to maintain the original texture and flavor of the sandwich! Avocado, while buttery and delicious can be too much of a similar, soft texture as an ingredient. Instead, use guacamole or another avocado mixture as a delicious ?kick? to your egg sandwich..

Meat ingredients in an egg sandwich should be flavorful and sliced very thin. Some ideas are prosciutto, bacon, ham or sausage. There are those out there who use a tiny swipe of anchovy paste or even a thin anchovy filet broken up. This is a dicey idea and suited to very unique tastes. Crumbled, crunchy bacon bits and a thin, thin, thin slice of prosciutto work well together to enhance both the texture and the flavor of an egg sandwich.

Vegetable ingredients can also be as varied as your imagination. The best application is sliced, again, very thinly. Try using a vegetable peeler and drawing it gently across a washed (and peeled?) squash, cucumber, radish or carrot to make for a much needed crunch addition on an egg sandwich. Also using red onions or scallions, green onions or chives sparingly can uplift the egg?s flavor and move the sandwich to the next notch up from blah and boring. Be cautious, though, of using white or yellow onions. Unless they are parboiled or cooked first (perhaps a thin onion ring would be nice), these onion varieties are commonly too pungent and strong to accompany an egg in a sandwich of this type.

Bread preferences for egg sandwiches run toward the flavorful, airy, but thicker bread varieties. Sourdough slices, English muffins, Texas Toast, and potato rolls are the most popular and are readily available to most consumers at their local grocery outlet. However, when household white bread slices are the best available - try toasting them lightly so that they hold up until the sandwich is eaten!

My personal favorite egg sandwich is a toasted potato roll spread with sour cream (rather than mayo) that has been mixed with fresh, chopped basil, dill and a dash of salt. I cook the egg (yolks broken) in a buttered cast-iron skillet and drop the egg inside round (aluminum) biscuit cutters to keep the shape uniform. Once I put the egg "patty" on the potato roll spread with the herbed sour cream, I top it with minced, pickled red onions (just a bit); crumbled bacon and a slice or two of prosciutto!!! Cheese, you ask? Well, I have tried a crumble or two of pepper jack and a thin slice of Swiss, but nothing has really ?wowed? me as the perfect match yet. Perhaps, a slice of fresh mozzarella or a curl of Parmesan? Remember, this is an EGG sandwich and the egg?s flavor and texture should prevail.