Bobby Flay Makes ‘Bacon’ And Eggs With Prosciutto And You Should Too

Crispy bacon, cooked the best way, is the tried-and-true breakfast companion for eggs of all sorts. But cookbook author, celebrity chef, and TV personality Bobby Flay has an even better idea. Prosciutto, an aged and cured slice of ham that hails from Italy, is the under-the-radar deli meat that Flay adds to his breakfast sandwiches in place of bacon. Like bacon, prosciutto tastes both salty and a little sweet. But both its aging process and its more thinly sliced preparation give prosciutto a more delicate taste and texture.

When Flay prepared his favorite prosciutto-laden breakfast sandwich, however, he likely horrified a few of his Italian fans who saw the method shared on Food Network’s TikTok. Like other salumi like capicola or mortadela, the cured pork is traditionally eaten raw. Certainly long-aged prosciutto, which has had years to develop its flavor, is best eaten on its own or with a few slices of cheese and a dish of olives. But if you’re willing to break tradition, cooked paper-thin prosciutto is delightfully airy and crisp. “I love taking thin slices of prosciutto and just putting them in some hot oil. It kind of renders, kind of shrinks a little bit,” says Flay. “As it cools, it will get nice and firm and crispy.”

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scrambled eggs, bobby’s way

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Crispy, salty prosciutto is perfect alongside Flay’s fluffy scrambled eggs, which are made even more creamy and rich with butter and crème fraîche. Leaning into the Italian spin on a classic breakfast, Flay serves his eggs and prosciutto on a slice of fresh focaccia.

As shown by his inclusion of prosciutto in a breakfast sandwich, Bobby Flay loves giving American breakfast staples an Italian refresh. In another video on Food Network’s TikTok, Flay shares a recipe from his cookbook “Sundays with Sophie,” in which he gives poached eggs a pasta-inspired update. “Cacio e pepe is a classic pasta dish from Rome,” Flay explains. Made with two key ingredients, Pecorino Romano cheese and freshly cracked black pepper, the flavors of cacio e pepe can be applied to a variety of dishes from mashed potatoes to eggs. (Another case in point: Ina Garten’s similarly pasta-inspired creamy scrambled eggs.)

To give his classic poached eggs an Italian twist, Flay tops them with a white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, shallot, chive, and honey dressing that’s punched up with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Parmesan. He then serves his poached eggs on olive oil-toasted bread that’s been rubbed with a clove of raw garlic. The whole preparation is then topped again with a bit more cracked black pepper. Of course, the entire dish could be perfectly balanced by a few crisped slices of prosciutto on the side. Buon appetito!

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poached eggs, @Bobby Flay’s way

♬ original sound – Food Network