Breakfast Combo Bar

The Best Breakfast Combo Bar

If I’ve never expressed my love for breakfast foods, particularly hot breakfast foods, I can sum it up in a word… GIMMIE! This Breakfast Combo Bar is no exception. What is it? It’s a crispy fried scrambled egg, ham and cheese patty and, if you’ve never tried one before, believe me when I say, they’re amazing. These can’t be purchased by the average consumer, by the way, and you don’t usually find this item on a restaurant menu so, you’re going to have to learn how to make these and try them your self.

Where does it come from

I learned about the Breakfast Combo bars over 25 years, when I attended trade school, and I fell absolutely in love with them. I’ve never seen them served any where else but I have since learned that they are a bulk product, made by Hormel, and they’re only sold to distributors and restaurant supply companies like Sysco; which also explains why my school cafeteria was serving them up in the mornings.

Eggs are the main ingredient in this recipe, mixed with minced ham and cheese so, be sure you’re stalked up to make these because it takes 2 eggs to make 1 Breakfast Bar.

What Kind of Ham and Cheese

The ingredients in the Hormel recipe says that the cheese in these Breakfast Combo Bars is pasteurized and American so, I chose to go with Velveeta Cheese. You can use what ever you want but, I’m telling you, the Velveeta, in my opinion, is spot on the way I remember these bars tasting. So, it’s something to consider if you prefer real cheese.

Cooked ham and cheese with scrambled eggs.

The Ham I use is just a classic hickory smoked ham that I add to the eggs, chopped, after they’ve cooked. I melt down the Velveeta cheese in a smaller pan with a few tablespoons of whipping cream to make it creamy and easy to poor over the eggs and ham mixture. Then, I mix everything together, remove from the heat and form patties on a cookie sheet.

Eggs, ham and cheese mix formed into patties on a cookie sheet for the freezer.

It’s good to use a non-stick cookie sheet or some non-stick spray that will keep the eggs, ham and cheese mix from sticking, once you’ve made patties. I use an egg pan mold approximately 3″ inches in diameter. The mold is only about one 1/2″ inch so, it makes it easy to press them flat too. The patties must be frozen before they’re battered for frying or they will not sustain their shape. 1 hour, minimum, in the freezer is required to obtain a frozen patty. In fact, I usually keep half of them in the freezer while I’m frying the first batch because they soften quickly and fall apart in the egg wash.

2 canisters of both Seasoned Panko and Bread Crumbs.

Breading and Batter

Once the egg, ham and cheese patties are fully frozen, they can be put through a 3 step breading. First the flour, then the egg wash and the seasoned Panko and bread crumb mix. Each patty only needs to go through these steps once. There’s no need for a second coating, trust me. Now all you need is a half inch of oil, in a hot pan, for frying. Fry at 350° Fahrenheit for approximately 2 minutes, or until golden brown, on each side. Then remove from the heat and let them rest on a rack or paper towels, to remove the grease, and serve.

Breakfast Combo Bar video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet

Breakfast Combo Bar Ingredients: Makes 6

12 eggs, scrambled and pre-cooked with Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Ham, minced
1/3 cup Velveeta Cheese, melted
2 tbsp Whipping Cream or Milk

1/3 cup flour
2 eggs
3 tbsp water
1/3 cup Bread Crumbs, seasoned
1/2 cup Panko, seasoned

Oil for Frying

Watch and follow all of the instructions in the Breakfast Combo Bar video tutorial.

Ribeye Chicken Fried Steak

The Best Chicken Fried Steak

A few years ago I ordered a Chicken Fried Steak from a restaurant in Gillette Wyoming that was, absolutely, out of this world. I went and re-ordered that dish several times, before I packed it in and left town, and I hadn’t had one that good since. That is until I stopped in to a little mom and pop’s diner hear in town and decided to take a stab at their version. Wow! It was delicious and it’s weighed down on my mind so heavy that I decided I better show the world how to do it your self and guarantee amazing results.

Chicken Fried Steak Cut

As you may or may not know, there isn’t just one way to make Chicken Fried Steak. There are several different ways to do it. Among the most common is your basic Cube Steak or, the poor man’s version, with hamburger. In this recipe, however, I’m going to suggest using fat trimmed Ribeye steaks cut about 3/8 of inch thick. Starting out with the right cut helps to insure tenderness with a rich flavor. Then tenderizing and seasoning takes it to the next level.

Homemade Blackened seasoning with Smoked Paprika.

Seasoning a Ribeye Chicken Fried Steak

Now that we’ve learned using a Ribeye is one of the secrets to making a great Chicken Fried Steak, now we need to talk about the seasoning. In my opinion, anything beef related needs a good rub with something salty, spicy and very flavorful. Blackened seasoning has got it all but it isn’t always available in standard grocery stores. I have to make my own and I’m going to show you how to do it in the next post. So, you’re not going to want to miss that. Blackened seasoning is amazing on steaks, ribs, chicken and seafood. It’s one of those all around seasonings that’s good on just about everything and it’s especially good in this recipe. Now all you’ll need is some flour, a simple egg wash and some country gravy.

Ribeye Chicken Fried Steak Ingredients:

2 Ribeye Steaks, 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick
1 tsp Blackened Seasoing
1 cup Flour
3 eggs
1 tbsp Water, mix with eggs
3 tbsp Olive Oil

1 cup Country Gravy

Fried Chicken Feet

The Best Fried Chicken Feet

I’ve got a lot to say about this Fried Chicken Feet recipe. First off, if you can get over the creepiness, these really aren’t that bad. In fact my wife even used the word delicious. And, as far as Chicken Feet Recipes go, this probably really is the best of the best.

The secret lies in how the feet are prepared. Though they are fried, to give it that crispy outside texture, they are actually boiled first to make the inside tender. I borrowed the sauce from my Wasabi Chicken Wings recipe, which I’ve included below, but in all honesty, if you like spice, I highly recommend using the sauce from my Firecracker Shrimp recipe instead. I’ve included a link for that below as well.

The second thing I would say about Fried Chicken Feet is that there really isn’t a lot of meat, unfortunately. I think someone would really be ordering or serving these up for the “Awe” effect, because these really are impressive to look at and they make a great conversational piece!

CLICK HERE for Wasabi Chicken Wings
CLICK HERE for Firecracker Shrimp

Fried Chicken Feet Ingredients:

1 oz Tempura Dipping Sauce
1 oz Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Honey
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Wasabi
1 Green Onion, chopped scallions
1 tsp Bonito Flakes (dehydrated skip jack tuna)

Boil for 1 1/2 hours then fry 375° Fahrenheit for 8 to 12 minutes. Be sure to watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make Fried Chicken Feet.