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.

Killer Hash Browns

The Best Hash Browns

You may or may not be familiar with the local Mom & Pop diner’s in your home town that serve their specialty menu Items. My town is no different and one of the traditions at my local diner is to serve what is called, “Killer Hash Browns” or “Killers”. Technically, the Killer’s is a glorified gravy packed with 3 different pork products, cooked sausage links, ham and bacon, plus a mix of sauteed onions, bell peppers and cheese. The Killers don’t just grace the top of hash browns, however. You can order them over the top of an omelette, biscuits or, my personal favorite, a chicken fried steak. In this recipe I’m going to show you how to do it for about $10 bucks and it should easily feed 2 to 4 people.

Killer’s mix with cooked sausage, ham, bacon, onions and bell peppers.

What I use to make Killer Hash Browns

There isn’t just one way to go about making these Killer Hash Browns. You can change it up any way that you see fit. I’m going to include all of the links for each of the recipes here too. For example, you’re going to need either a frozen bag of Hash Browns or Fresh Potatoes to grade your own. You’re also going to need to make a Breakfast Gravy. You can cheat and use a powdered pack, like I do in the video tutorial, or you can make your own favorite recipe if you have one.

As I mentioned before, you’re going to need sausage, ham and bacon. A pound of each will be plenty. Also, one chopped Onion and Bell Pepper but feel free to add or supplement any ingredient. Mushrooms would be a nice addition. The rest of the basic ingredients will be listed below.

Killer Hash Browns video tutorial by Poor Man’s Gourmet Kitchen.

Killer Hash Browns Ingredients:

1 bag frozen Hash Browns
1 lb Sausage, links
1 lb Bacon, sliced
1 lb Ham, diced
1 Onion, diced
1 Bell Pepper
1 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Peanut Oil
1 tbsp Butter
2 cups Breakfast or Country Gravy
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Cook sausage for 1 hour, flipping half way through and bacon for 30 minutes. Be sure to watch and follow the instructions in the video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make these Killer Hash Browns.

Shredded Hash Browns

I Love Shredded Hash Browns

There are several different ways to cook Shredded Hash Browns and it all just depends on how you like to eat them. Restaurants serve them up differently everywhere you go. Some people like them flat and formed into a pancake like patty and others like them loose and fluffy. Personally I’ll eat them either way but I prefer the ladder. In this recipe, I prepare them Loose and fluffy but I’m going to tell you how to cook the patty style too. Believe it or not, the secret all boils down to water.

Shredded Hash Browns Potatoes

In this Hash Brown recipe, I use good old fashioned Russet Potatoes because I like them crispy when I cook them. Yukon Gold Potatoes are good for patties that stick together. Although a Russet Potato will stick together fairly well, too, if you don’t rinse them with cold water as much as I’m recommending in the video. Waxy Potatoes tend to be the world favorite for making Shredded Hash Browns or Potato Salads because they hold their shape better. Starchy Potatoes, like the Russet get Crispier but the Yukon Golds, in my opinion, actually taste better. So if you’ve got options and you don’t mind the price difference, choose your spuds wisely.

If you want to trick it up a bit, I highly recommend adding a sliced onion and a few chopped Bell Peppers, for more flavor, when you’re cooking. I like to added grated Cheddar cheese, over the top too, at the end of the cooking. There’s a Restaurant here in town that will top your Hash Browns with what they call, “The Killers!” It’s Sausage Gravy with Bacon, Onions and Peppers cooked right into it and it is amazing. If you’re interested, check out my Potato Waffles made with Hash Browns and Cheese. They’re so good, my neighbor asks me to cook them for her birthday.

Fresh or Frozen Shredded Hash Browns

It’s important that you understand that this recipe is for Fresh Shredded Hash Browns and not Frozen. In fact, this recipe is best cooked immediately after following all of my rinse, parboil and straining steps. If you were to try to freeze these Potato Shreds uncooked, you’ll end up with a big mess on your hands. The color changes and they don’t taste good when they’re cooked. Frozen Hash Brown recipes have a whole different process and I’d love to share that with you in a future post. In the meantime, please, never freeze uncooked potatoes.

Shredded Hash Browns Ingredients:

6 to 8 Russet Potatoes, grated
4 tbsp Butter
1/2 pot Boiled Water, 3 to 4 quarts
Salt and Pepper to taste

Follow the instructions in the Shredded Hash Browns video recipe and I’ll show you just how easy these are to make.