I made a batch of these buttermilk biscuits last week and, as promised, here is a lovely little (really, they’re pretty big) biscuit sandwich that’s perfect for breakfast — make them and freeze them, and you have breakfast for more than a week!

Since I work relatively odd hours, getting in a solid breakfast every day is a big chore for me. If you had to wake up at 3:30 am for work, you can imagine how difficult it would be to choke down a bowl of cereal. Forget about making a fresh breakfast every morning, I’d rather get as much sleep as I possibly can before I have to get ready and get out the door! Make-ahead breakfasts are perfect for those of you who have to wake up too early to be coherent about breakfast, or just for those of you who lead busy lives and want something simple, but still homemade and delicious in the morning. Split a soft and fluffy buttermilk biscuit, add some fresh scrambled eggs, savory sausage, and top it all off with some melty cheese, and you have something you will actually look forward to eating in the morning, whether it’s sitting at your desk, commuting in your car, or (like me!) trying to maintain a regular breakfast schedule when waking up before dawn. Trust me, these sandwiches beat the pants off of anything you’d grab from the drive thru!

sausage, egg + cheese biscuit sandwiches

(makes 12 sandwiches)

12 buttermilk biscuits (feel free to use english muffins if you’d like!)
12 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 c milk
32 oz (2 lbs) bulk pork breakfast sausage
vegetable oil
salt and pepper, to taste
12 slices American cheese

For the eggs: In a large bowl, crack the eggs, and whisk with the baking powder, salt, pepper, and milk. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and pour the egg mixture in. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and let the eggs sit while the oven heats. Once the oven is hot, place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 10 minutes. The eggs should be puffed and set fully. Let them cool for about ten minutes, then proceed with cutting the eggs. Cut the pan of eggs lengthwise down the center, then cut each half lengthwise into two more pieces, to end up with 4 long strips of egg. Cut the strips into thirds short-wise, to end up with a dozen rectangular pieces of egg.

For the sausage patties: Unwrap the sausage and place into a bowl. Divide the whole amount of sausage into 12 pieces, as equal as possible (75 – 76 grams apiece, if you’re using your scale!), and form them into balls. Place them on a clean sheet pan.

In a large skillet, heat a small drizzle of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, flatten 3 balls of sausage into roughly 3-inch patties. They will be thin, and that’s okay! Cook three patties at a time in the hot skillet, 1 minute per side. Place them on a clean plate and continue cooking three patties at a time until all the sausage is cooked.

To assemble the sandwiches: Slice the biscuits in half lengthwise. Grab one sliced biscuit and top the bottom half with a cooked sausage patty. Fold one rectangle of egg in half, and top the sausage with the egg. Finally, place one slice of American cheese on top of the egg. Place the top half of the biscuit on the cheese, and boom, you’re done! Repeat the building process with all the biscuits, sausage, egg, and cheese slices.

To wrap the sandwiches for long-term storage, tear off 1 foot sections of plastic wrap and tightly wrap each sandwich individually. Freeze the sandwiches for up to 3 weeks.

To heat the sandwiches: For best results, retrieve a wrapped and frozen sandwich from the freezer the night before, and place it in the refrigerator overnight. It will thaw a good amount, allowing minimal heating in order to be tasty! I found that the thawed sandwiches heat beautifully in the microwave, still wrapped in their plastic, for 45 seconds per side — just place the wrapped sandwich on a plate and heat on one side, then flip the sandwich over and heat on the other side. Unwrap the plastic and open the sandwich to make sure the egg has fully heated. If the egg isn’t fully hot, microwave the unwrapped sandwich on the plate for another 15 – 20 seconds.

My favorite way to eat these sandwiches is with an obscene amount of ketchup smushed in the middle after reheating, and a drizzle of real maple syrup on top of the entire sandwich. The sweet and savory combination is delicious! These can be a little crumbly to eat out of hand, but if you attack it with a fork, you’ll be enjoying your breakfast sandwich virtually mess-free. If you must eat this sandwich on the go, wrap in parchment or wax paper or a paper towel after heating, and be prepared for biscuit crumbs!