BREAKFAST SANDWICHES WITH CHILE-FENNEL SAUSAGE PATTIES

Breakfast Sandwiches with Chile-Fennel Sausage Patties image

Provided by Dennis Prescott

Yield Makes 4 sandwiches

Number Of Ingredients 16

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Sausage patties:
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound best-quality ground pork
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sandwiches
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon butter
4 large free-range eggs
4 English muffins, store-bought or homemade, split and toasted
1/4 cup Spicy Herb Mayo
1 large heirloom tomato, thinly sliced
4 sandwich-size lettuce leaves

Steps:

Make the sausage patties: Using a mortar and pestle, smash together the fennel seeds, oregano, and red pepper flakes. In a large bowl, combine the ground pork with the spice mixture, salt, and black pepper. Give the sausage a good mix, separate it into four equal portions, and shape them into patties. The patties should be just larger than the width of the English muffins, as they will shrink when cooked.
Heat two large skillets, one over medium heat and the other over medium-low heat. Pour the olive oil into the first pan and, working in batches if necessary, fry the sausage patties for 5 minutes per side, or until crispy and cooked through. When you flip the patties, top each with cheese.
Melt the butter in the second pan. Crack in the eggs, taking care to not break the yolks. Gently fry the eggs until the whites have set but the yolks are still nice and runny.
While the eggs and sausage are cooking, spoon a heaping spoonful of the mayo onto each muffin half.
To build each breakfast sandwich, lay a sausage patty, tomato slice, and fried egg on each English muffin bottom. Sprinkle each egg with a pinch of salt and black pepper, then top with a lettuce leaf and the other muffin half. Serve immediately.