The Hamilton Beach breakfast sandwich maker does one thing really well. Make a egg McMuffin. I save over $5 (including tax) everytime I make one at home.
Buy the sliced Canadian bacon and English muffins, eggs and American cheese.
Add a muffin half, cheese, C bacon, crack a egg and top with the muffin half. It cooks in about 2 mins.
Other sandwiches can be made. But the gadget is really designed for people who love Egg McMuffins. I recently upgraded my old one to a dual sandwich maker.
It’s not a new idea. I had a Presto hamburger cooker in college. I used it for years until the element burned out.
I like these gadgets because it’s easy cleanup. No dirty fry pan and splatter on my stove top.
Do you have a breakfast sandwich maker?
Do you use it?
I used to go out to breakfast every Saturday, until Covid hit. I purchased the machine so I could more easily and quickly prepare breakfast for myself. It’s been so successful that I haven’t gone back.
They are convenient and were essential during Covid. I used Pickup at the store for groceries. Kept me safer.
I use cardboard under my sandwhich maker. It catches minor splatter. I replace the cardboard every couple weeks. Longer if I haven’t used the gadget every morning.
Never heard of such a thing. I have questions! Can you use it like a panini press without the egg? Does it have to be reheated before you assemble the sandwich. Is the egg cracked into a pan and how do you get it out of its cooking pan onto the bread? Do you have to wash it after every use? Does it get gunkedup and sticky over time even if washed.
I can whipup a breakfast sandwich pretty quick with my microwave and a toaster. I’ll scramble an egg in a Pyrex dish, cover with plastic wrap and poke a couple holes in the wrap. Nuke for 45s watch the egg expand while it cooks and toast an eng muffin and if I wanted Canadian bacon or ham slice I could nuke that 10-15 s. Skip the butter add Tabasco or chili crisp.
The Hamilton Beach cooks the egg as it heats the Canadian Bacon and the entire sandwich. It’s very hot! The sandwiches come out easily onto a plate. I wait a few minutes to take a bite.
The egg soaks into the english muffin as it cooks. I don’t find it objectionable. Clean up is a wipe with a paper towel. Its teflon coated.
The other brands in that review are are more versatile.
So it’s not toasting the bread? And the egg is cracked directly onto the bread.
and just heating the sandwich up enough to cook the egg? Do you need to preheat the appliance first and how long does it take to cook is it variable cook times?
Not just breakfast! Best one I ever owned was a Clark Snackmaster (eBay image).
Went through two of those; kept breaking the latch by using fillings which were too tough for the cutting mechanism.
We currently have an Ovente but that doesn’t seal the edges. It works well enough for lunch meat but no good for anything that can leak out. Need to get another Snackmaster for stuff like BBQ and just use that other one for firmer things.
This is a whole category of kitchen gadget that I’m not familiar with. I guess since i eat cereal with milk and berries every morning, it’s not one i need. But I’m also really curious about the egg. You just break an egg over the bread and some of it sinks in? About how far does it go? Does it break the yolk or does that stay intact? Can you cook it to “runny yolk”, or does it only do well done eggs?
I have a early model from 2019. Inexpensive at under $25. It has a pre heat light that indicates when to add the bread and other items. Pierce the yolk. Instructions say to cook 4 to 5 mins.
It’s like a waffle iron. I learned quickly when to take out the sandwich.
The clever feature is the ring that makes a pan to cook an egg. Sliding out the ring drops the cooked egg onto the sandwich.
They probably added more features to the newer duel models.
I also have a Cuisinart grill for pressing Panini sandwiches. I’ve also cooked steaks on it. It’s more versatile and expensive than the breakfast sandwich maker.
I have a machine that makes egg bites, which I got when I thought Costco was no longer selling them. But they came back, and I seldom use it.
The shown breakfast sandwich maker has little appeal. I always use bacon, not ham, so having to precook the bacon wipes out any advantage. I microwave the bacon, toast an English muffin half way and add a slide of Velveeta and finish it, and cook a single egg in a small frying pan. Pretty fast, no splatter. And I don’t have space on my counters for yet another appliance.
I’m also very curious about the consistency of the muffin. Does it get fully toasted? Is it crispy, precious? We likes our breakfast sammie breads with crunch.
You could, since you mention Costco, buy a package of their precooked bacon. Not that this will put you in a breakfast sandwich maker today (there goes my commission) but one does have options.
I’ve eaten pre-cooked bacon, but I don’t really like it that much. And I also prefer bacon to ham. And I like crispy English muffins. And I have cupboards full of gadgets like that this that either were never used or only used a few times and never again (need to weed those cupboards).
So, I think I’ll pass on this.
ETA: If I’m making bacon these days I do it in the oven on a cookie sheet with non-stick foil. 425 degrees for 15-16 minutes for perfect bacon.
Yes? Or then again possibly No? I have a toasted sandwich press. These things seem to have different names across cultures, and slightly differing designs catering to local food peculiarities. I just make grilled cheese toasties in it.
