Good Morning Burger from The Simpsons
The line between breakfast and lunch food is arbitrary. Homer Simpson understood this. The Good Morning Burger is proof that a beef patty belongs at 8am just as much as it does at noon.
A burger with a fried egg and bacon. Simple concept. Revolutionary execution. Your morning will never be the same.
Quick Facts
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy
- Servings: 4 burgers
- Breakfast Status: Achieved
Ingredients
For the Patties: - 500g ground beef (80/20 blend) - Salt and pepper - 1 tbsp butter for the pan
For the Toppings: - 8 strips bacon - 4 eggs - 4 slices American cheese - 4 brioche burger buns
Optional Additions: - Ketchup - Hot sauce - Sliced tomato - Hash browns (for the truly committed)
Method
Cook the Bacon:
Lay bacon strips in a cold pan. Turn heat to medium. Cook slowly, flipping occasionally, until crispy. About 8-10 minutes total. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
Save the bacon fat in the pan. You'll need it.
Make the Patties:
Divide ground beef into 4 portions. Shape into patties slightly larger than your buns. Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides.
Heat the pan with bacon fat over medium-high heat. Cook patties for 3-4 minutes per side for medium. Add cheese during the last minute, cover briefly to melt.
Remove patties to rest. Keep the pan hot.
Fry the Eggs:
Add a small knob of butter to the pan. Crack eggs directly in, one at a time. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook until whites are set but yolks are still runny. About 3 minutes. A runny yolk is essential. When you bite in, it should coat the burger like sauce.
For over-easy, flip and cook 30 seconds more. For over-hard, cook until the yolk sets. This is your choice, but runny is correct.
Assemble:
Toast the buns in the pan or under a broiler. Bottom bun first, then patty with melted cheese, two strips of bacon crossed over, fried egg on top. Add ketchup or hot sauce if desired. Top bun.
Eat immediately. This does not travel well.
The Egg Situation
The runny yolk transforms this from a burger with an egg on it into something greater. When you bite through, the yolk breaks and runs down through the bacon, mixing with the beef juices and melted cheese.
If you hate runny yolks, cook them through. The burger still works. But you're missing the point.
Variations
The Double Down: Two patties, two eggs. Requires a very tall mouth or a willingness to disassemble.
The Healthy-ish: Turkey burger, turkey bacon, egg whites. Technically still a breakfast burger. Homer would be disappointed.
The Springfield Special: Add a hash brown patty between the burger and the egg. Carbohydrates layered with protein layered with more carbohydrates.
The Hangover Cure: Add avocado and hot sauce. Hydrate aggressively.
Tips
Everything should be hot when assembled. Cold bacon ruins the texture.
Don't press the patties while cooking. You'll squeeze out the juice.
Brioche buns hold up better to the egg yolk than regular sesame buns. The slight sweetness also complements the savory toppings.
If your yolk breaks during cooking, you've made an over-hard egg breakfast burger. Still good. Not ideal.
The Simpsons Connection
Breakfast burgers appear throughout The Simpsons as symbols of Homer's dedication to eating whatever he wants, whenever he wants. The Good Morning Burger represents the rejection of arbitrary meal categories.
In Springfield, food serves one purpose: satisfaction. Whether that comes at 7am or 7pm is irrelevant. Homer has proven time and again that a man's appetite doesn't follow a schedule.
The breakfast burger is freedom on a bun.
More Springfield Breakfast: Try Moon Waffles for Homer's butter-wrapped heresy, or grab a Pink Frosted Donut for something sweeter.
