Brunch for the Haters

Some people, so I’m told, don’t like brunch.

I’m not sure how this happens.

Here are my theories:

1) Tragic family death occurring in IHOP

2) Deathly allergy to maple syrup

3) General disdain for anything everyone else likes.

Poor, poor souls.

I suspect these people have never eaten a liege waffle, either.

Well, here’s my stick-it answer to those brunch haters. We’ll turn you yet. Eggs Benedict is the best excuse for messy pictures there is.

Maybe brunch was invented by parents. The easiest meal to make, and it satisfies the requirements for two meals at once, which is necessary when anything other than cereal in a bowl is a production. Luckily, my daughter could eat breakfast for every meal. So she’s definitely mine. She’s even a fan of runny poached egg, which I previously thought was only for adults.

Island Eggs Benedict (serves 4) Click Here to Print

Sweet bread with a sauteed butter crisp, lemony hollandaise, perfectly poached local egg that just oozes yolk, with a savory/sweet combo of hash. A tomato, optional, I think makes it. Saucy, sweet, and savory.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, this is a sponsored post. King’s Hawaiian teamed up with Foodbuzz as part of a brunch series that will be featured in April’s Flavor of the Month. As you can see, I couldn’t keep myself from just tearing it off and eating it, which is the way we usually eat it here.

• 2 1” slices of round King’s Hawaiian Bread
• 3 Tbsp salted butter, at room temperature, divided
• 1 lb sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled (see note below)
• 1 Cup kalua pork (see note below)
• 4 local eggs
• 2 tsp white or rice vinegar
• 4 slices local tomato
• 1 Cup blender hollandaise sauce
• salt to taste

1. Begin heating 4 Cups of water in a small saucepan over high heat to poach the eggs.
2. In a bowl, mash the sweet potatoes and pork together with 1 Tbsp butter. Add salt to taste. Form about 4 patties by hand.
3. In a large fry pan (I use a metal skillet pan), melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the patties and just brown on both sides, pressing with the spatula on both sides to keep it formed together. Remove to a plate and set aside.
4. Butter the slices of bread with the last tablespoon of butter and brown in the same fry pan on both sides—this will only take about 20 seconds on each side because the bread is sweet and soft. Set aside.
5. When the pot of water is simmering, turn down the heat to medium high. The water should not be boiling. Turn it down more and adjust as necessary. When it returns to a simmer, add 2 tsp vinegar to the pot. Crack an egg into a small measuring cup or ramekin. Add the egg to the simmering water by pouring the egg out as close to the water as possible. Repeat with the 2nd egg. Let simmer for about 3-4 minutes. The whites should be set. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and set aside. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if you like. Repeat with the remaining two eggs when the water comes back to a simmer.
6. Assemble your eggs benedict: half a slice of the sauteed bread as the base, potato/pork hash over that, tomato next, egg, and then 1/4 Cup hollandaise sauce over the whole thing.

Notes: My favorite sweet potatoes are Okinawan purple sweet potatoes. You can use any sweet potato you like, but yams may be more watery. I usually just scrub my potatoes clean, prick them with a fork, and then microwave them for quick results.

Kalua pork, if you don’t have an imu, is very easy to make. Take a pork butt and sprinkle and rub it all over, with a pretty liberal hand, with kosher or slightly flaky larger-grained sea salt. Then sprinkle the whole thing with liquid smoke (2-3 teaspoons? I never measure) and rub that in too. Put it in a dutch oven with the lid on and cook at 350 degrees for 2-3 hours (depends on the size of the pork butt). Take it out when it falls apart easily. Let it rest and then shred it. There will be plenty. Eat the rest with rice or take it a step further for sandwiches.