Pankegg!
You gotta love the Internet.
It has horrified me, entertained me, and sometimes…inspired me.
This is one of those times. After watching a particularly good episode of my favorite (now ended) video blog The Show With ZeFrank, I knew my life would never be satisfying until I followed the instructions he gave me (watch til the end):
“Put a little oil in the pan, but make sure you add some butter. That’s where the flavor is. Coat it, and then pour yourself a nice, big pancake. Now watch it. See those tiny little holes? Those are bonding holes, and they have a purpose. As soon as you see enough bonding holes, pick the pancake up and crack an egg under it…”
Cooking the Pankeggs was harder than I thought it’d be, mainly because juggling a half-cooked pancake on a spatula while you crack open an egg is no easy task. Attaining the “oozy, oozy middle” referred to by Ze also took some trial-and-error; twice I cooked the egg too much and was left with a yummy–but dry–Frankenstein’s monster. The third time, however…
Success!
The mix of flavors and textures works really well. The cooked egg white combines with the pancake to make something exquisitely fluffy, and the runny yolk fills the role normally occupied by syrup.
While experimenting, I (at my ladyfriend’s behest) also made an “egg in the basket,” an egg-and-toast combination:
It may look like–and probably is–something served at some roadside greasy spoon, but again, the results make for one hell of a breakfast treat.
How do I top this? Maybe I’ll combine sausage and pancakes! Naw, that’d just be crazy.
EDIT: There’s been a request for egg-in-the-basket instructions as well, and since it is a valid alternative to the Pankegg, here they are: take a piece of bread. Butter it. Cut a circle into the center of the bread; eat the circular scrap that results. Put the bread buttered-side-down in a skillet, crack an egg into the hole, and break the yolk. Allow one side to cook, flip the bread, and lightly cook the other (to insure the whole egg white has been cooked). Enjoy with Pankeggs, Sausage-and-Pancakes-onna-Stick, and…God, I don’t know, Raisin Bran with OJ instead of milk for a complete Mad Scientist breakfast.
I’m a big fan of the eggie-in-a-basket. When you are running late for work, it’s a great on-the-go breakfast.
Posted by Caley at June 11th, 2007, 4:25 pm..This is freaking awesome. I’m SO going to have to try this now. Thank you for the inspiration!
Posted by Muffin at June 12th, 2007, 9:43 amI have never seen anything like the pankegg! It sounds like something a drunk person would make. I will have to attempt this.
Posted by Anonymous at June 12th, 2007, 9:50 amAnd how does one make this egg in a basket? Hmmm?
Posted by Sarah at June 12th, 2007, 11:58 amCut a hole out of the center of a buttered piece of bread (you can use a glass for a perfect circle). Crack the egg into the hole in the toast when in the skillet. Flip after a bit! Enjoy!
Posted by Caley at June 12th, 2007, 12:00 pmYou can do what the cooking show hosts do and crack the egg into a small bowl beforehand. On the other hand, cracking an egg open one-handed does make you cool.
Posted by melch at June 12th, 2007, 1:07 pm…eat the circular scrap that results.
i like to cook that circle of bread in a bit of butter… makes a good test-indicator to check on how well the big piece of bread is cooking without having to check and upset some still-cooking/bonding egg.
Posted by Scott Reston at June 25th, 2007, 8:31 pm[...] As long as the chatroom abbreviations don’t threaten to overtake the rest of a sentence, I’m fine. Just hope we avoid things like "idk my bff jill?" And now that you’ve created simple pancakes, consider the more advanced Pankeggs! [...]
Posted by Discuss Cooking - ISO help making pancakes at August 15th, 2007, 10:57 amI confess to leaving Eggos out to defrost, giving them a coat of butter or spread, cutting out the requisite hole and making egg in a waffle. Defrosting gives it the chance to crisp while the egg is cooking. As a tip, let the heat get it just up to room temp till you drop the egg.
Posted by nerditry at August 27th, 2007, 6:34 pmI like to do this with the egg in a basket. I use a 10″ skillet that let’s me cook two pieces of bread at once. Cut a hole in two pieces of bread and place the bread on the hot skillet. You should have a narrow area on either side of the bread, put a slice of bacon on each side. Sprinkle some salt(lawry’s is awesome for this) and pepper on the bread and in the hole. Tilt the pan and spoon up a bit of the bacon grease and pour it into the holes. Add your eggs to the holes and let it cook until the whites start to solidify near the top of the hole. Flip everything. Now sandwich the bacon with some lettuce and tomato. Tasty
Posted by Bryan W at November 2nd, 2007, 6:18 pmThat egg is a little to undercooked for me and i prefer the whites
Posted by dee at April 15th, 2009, 8:13 pmWow this looks good. Reminds me of the ‘hole-in-one’ my mom used to make me. She would cut a circle in the middle of a piece of bread and crack and egg into it in the pan. It would cook up perfectly with the bread becoming almost french toast like.
Posted by Ashtray at August 3rd, 2009, 3:45 pm