As breakfast sandwiches go, Alvin Cailan’s Fairfax Sandwich is up there. Containing the three hallmarks of any good hangover buster (since you asked: i. eggs ii. something spicy iii. cheese) , the Fairfax is a delicious – if extremely structurally unsound – morning after cure. Originally made famous in Cailan’s flagship restaurant Eggslut in LA, the Fairfax has now become something of a foodie phenomenon – eager hipsters looking to land the perfect shot of the Fairfax for the ‘gram in the London Eggslut will have to pay £9 (nine!!) for the privilege. Anyway look: just go to Tesco and pick up some eggs and a few other things, and you can whip this up very easily.
You can whip up the Fairfax sandwich easily – you cannot whip it up quickly, unfortunately. There’s not many ingredients here, but one of the ones you absolutely can’t skimp on are the caramelised onions, and when we say caramelised here we mean get comfy – you’ll be fiddling with sliced onions in a pan for a good 45 minutes. Normally this would give you time to think about your previous night’s shame, but if you somehow have the fear in lockdown then you probably want to have a look at yourself, mate. So yeah anyway here’s how to make the Fairfax:
- Cara cara cara cara cara-melise the onions – Butter, onions and time. They don’t need constant attention, so just get them on while you make some coffee and stick Sunday Brunch on. Don’t burn them.
- Be cheap with the cheese – Plastic, floppy artificial American cheese please! Use up something you’ve got lying around if you really want, but it’s not going to be quite the same topped with a cheeky little Gruyère de Comté, is it?
- Kitchen nightmares – The eggs here are meant to be ‘like custard’. If you have your way of cooking eggs, then that’s fine. We like to use Gordon Ramsay’s method, as it feels like you’re working really hard but you also get lots of little breaks. Crack your eggs and an inadvisable amount of butter into your pan. Crank the heat to high, and let it sit for 30 seconds untouched. After thirty seconds, remove from the heat and stir vigorously, for thirty seconds, before returning to the heat for thirty seconds. Rinse and repeat until the eggs look good enough to eat. Your iPhone stopwatch is your friend here.
NOTES
This is a very messy sandwich – come equipped with kitchen towels etc, and only eat in front of someone you know quite well. Much like when making a burger, get the accompanying elements ready before you start to cook the eggs – sort your mayo, onions and buns out first. It’s very messy.
Fairfax Breakfast Sandwich
Ingredients
Sriracha Mayo
- 3 tbsp Mayonnaise
- 1.5 tbsp Sriracha
Caramelised Onions
- 1 Yellow Onion
- 1 knob Butter
- 1 pinch Salt
Assembly
- 2 Brioche Buns
- 2 slices American Cheese
Eggs
- 4 Eggs
- 2 tbsp Chives; chopped
- 1 pinch Salt
Instructions
- Make the sriracha mayo – mix the mayo and sriracha in a small bowl.
- Make the onions. Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat, and melt the butter. Slice your onion as thin as you can manage and add to the pan. Reduce heat to low. Stir regularly until the onion is soft, mushy and golden brown – around 45 minutes.
- Split and toast your brioche buns and spread a healthy dollop of the mayo on each half.
- Crack eggs into a pan with a very large knob of butter. Cook them to your liking or according to the Ramsay method outlined above. Once nearly done, add the chopped chives and season with salt.
- Pile the scrambled eggs on top of the buttom half of the brioche buns. Add a slice of american cheese on top of the eggs, then top the cheese with the caramelised onions. Top with the top half of the bun and enjoy.
Looking for messy, eggy sandwiches? We understand you. Feel our embrace, and check out our recipe for Molly Baz’s Egg Salad Sandwich.
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