BAKED EGGS IN BACON RINGS

BAKED EGGS IN BACON RINGS

Saturday, April 26, 2014

• 6 strips nitrite/nitrate free bacon
• melted bacon fat for brushing tins
• 4 eggs
• 1 small to medium tomato, cut into 4  (1/2 inch) slices
• 1/3 cup onions, chopped
• 3-4 white button mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325℉.
2. Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it begins to shrivel (about 3 minutes). Remove bacon from pan and set aside.
3. Discard all but a shallow film of bacon fat in the bottom of the skillet.
4. Brush 4 cups in a muffin tin or 4 small ramekins with bacon fat from the pan.
5. Add chopped onions and mushrooms to hot pan with remaining bacon drippings in the skillet and cook over medium heat until softened.
6. Meanwhile, place a tomato slice in the bottom of each cup. Circle the inside of each cup with 1-1/2 strips of bacon.
7. Break an egg into each muffin cup and season with pepper.
8. Add sauteed mushrooms and onions over the egg.
9. Fill any unused tins with water to protect from burning.
10. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
11. To serve, loosen the edges of the eggs with spatula and transfer the eggs to plates.

Alternate method: You can bake the bacon as well. Line a baking sheet with foil, and place bacon in neat strips. Place in the oven and turn on the oven to 400 degrees (don't pre-heat oven). After about 13-15 minutes, it'll be perfect to pull out and line the muffin tins. This prevents the bacon from getting too crisp in areas and not bending well enough. However, throw two strips in a pan on medium-high heat, and half-way through cooking, pull them out, dice them up, and then toss them and the onions and mushrooms in all together. Sautee, then sprinkle on top of the cups (as in step 8 above) before you bake them.