Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker Review

 Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker Review

- jim Young

This is really more of an appliance review than a recipe, but it can be used to make a variety of Breakfast Sandwiches.

I love McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches but the nearest McDonald’s to me is over an hour away. And I find the frozen breakfast sandwiches you can get at most grocery stores to be tasteless and too expensive for my liking.

The Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker

As a writer, I like to get up between 5:00 am and 6:00 am and I don’t want to spend too much time making breakfast so I decided to give the Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker a try. I have to admit after reading some of the reviews, I was skeptical. Unpacking the sandwich maker and seeing how loose the parts were did nothing to diminish my fears.

However after a couple of weeks of use, my initial fears were quickly alleviated. I only experienced a small amount of leakage from the top once but that was when I decided to try putting the cheese in the top section instead of the bottom section. Lesson learned. Apparently the loose fitting parts are part of the design and don’t seem to have any negative impact on the usage.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the breakfast sandwich maker will save you a LOT of time, but I do find it easier. And it makes better use of the wait time as I don’t have to closely watch it once the timer is set.

At first I considered purchasing the single unit as I was worried if I was only cooking one at a time, the second part of the double unit might burn out. While I was assured this would not happen I also received a great tip to make two at a time anyway and toss the other one into the fridge or freezer for later use. It doesn’t take any longer to make two than it does one, so now I can make breakfast sandwiches for a few days in a row and take the next few days off as I have them ready to go in the fridge waiting for a quick re-heat in the microwave. In the long run, this saves me the most time.

So here’s my morning routine now.

1. If I’m having sausage patties on my breakfast sandwich I will throw my frozen patties into the microwave for about a minute to thaw them.

2. Plug in the breakfast sandwich maker.

3. While the breakfast sandwich maker is heating I prepare the rest of the ingredients I will be using. ie: English muffins, eggs, cheese, tomato, peppers, onions etc.

4. Break an egg into a small bowl and give a quick mix with a fork, adding some salt & pepper to taste.

5. By now the sausage patties in the microwave and the breakfast sandwich maker are both ready to go.

6. Place the bottom half of the English muffin into the bottom ring, add cheese, sausage and whatever else I’m using and lower the top ring making sure the metal plate is in place. 

   

   Place the bottom of the English Muffin as well as meats, cheeses and
   whatever else you choose in the bottom half of the ring assembly.

7. Pour the egg into the left top ring, add the top half of the English muffin.

8.  Quickly prepare a second egg in the bowl, add it to the right top ring and add the top half of the second English muffin.

   

   Pour the egg mix into the top half of the rings
   and cover with the top of the English Muffins

   
   

9. Close the lid and set the timer to four or five minutes. 

   

   Close the lid and set the timer.

   
   

10. This gives me lots of time to make a pot of coffee which every writer needs to work. (Until it’s time to crack open a bottle of rum to really get the creative juices flowing.)

11. When the timer runs out, I unplug the breakfast sandwich maker.

12. Open the lid.

    

    Don't forget to slide the cooking plates
    out before trying to lift the top ring.

    
    

13. Slide the cooking plate out on one side. (I sometimes forget this step and then wonder why I have to struggle with the next step.)

14. Use the handle of a wooden or plastic spoon or spatula to hold the top half of the breakfast sandwich down while I lift the top ring.

15. Repeat the process for the bottom ring and remove my finished breakfast sandwich with the spatula.

16. Repeat these steps from Step 13 - 16 for the other breakfast sandwich.

17. Grab my coffee and get to work.

    

    Once the Breakfast Sandwich Maker has completely cooled, a quick wipe
     with a damp cloth or paper towel will quickly clean up any mess left behind.

    
    

Pros

• Fast and convenient.

• Easy to use.

• Easy to clean.

• Affordably priced.

• Doesn’t require a lot of attention when using.

• Doesn’t take up a lot of counter space.

• Unlimited variety and combinations of breakfast sandwiches that can be made.

Cons

• The breakfast sandwich maker can get very hot but shouldn’t be a real issue if used with care.

• The power cord is short so depending on your placement you might have to take care when reaching over the hot breakfast sandwich maker to unplug it. For some, the shorter power cord may not even be a con if an electric outlet is close by.

• No on/off switch. An on/off switch would be convenient. However it’s important to remember that units like the breakfast sandwich maker that create high heat are best if unplugged when not in use even when turned off. So maybe it’s better if they don’t add a 50 cent power on/off switch which would likely raise the retail cost by about $5 anyway. If this minor inconvenience will help prevent a fire in the kitchen, I suppose it’s not really a “big con”. 

• After a couple of uses, the C-clip on the ring assembly came off allowing the pin on the hinge to come out. Fortunately the C-clip didn’t go flying and I was able to retrieve it and slip it back in place. So far it has held but I will try to find some spare C-clips in case it happens again. To be fair, this was likely an isolated incident.

The Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker
creates a perfect Breakfast Sandwich every time.

Tips

1. After the breakfast sandwich maker has cooled completely remove the ring assembly and give the grill and lid a quick wipe with a damp dish rag or paper towel. Repeat with the ring assemblies or give them a quick rinse in hot water and set aside to dry. 

2. After a few days' usage I will use a bit of hot soapy water to wipe down the breakfast sandwich maker followed by a wipe with just hot water on the rag to get rid of any soapy residue. I will likewise give the ring assemblies a good wash in hot soapy water, rinse with hot water and let them sit to dry but I don’t find this step necessary on a daily basis.

3. While spraying with vegetable oil is often recommended, I have found it just as easy to clean without it - even when spills have occurred. In fact when oil is used, I found it actually harder to wash the breakfast sandwich maker to remove all the oil. Perhaps over time the vegetable spray may be needed but in the meantime, I don't find it necessary.
   

4. Meats should be pre-cooked. My frozen sausage rounds are. To make my breakfast sandwiches with side bacon, I fry up a pound of bacon the week before and store it in an air tight container in the fridge to use as required. (FYI Canadian Bacon is usually pre-cooked.)

5. I intend to try other ingredients such as sweet or hot peppers, a variety of shredded cheeses and various spices. I am also looking forward to making up and precooking some small hamburger patties or maybe even some patties made from ground chicken. The sky’s the limit.

6. If you are a big fan of McDonald’s Salsa packets as I am, President’s Choice and Compliments Salsa are both very, very close and make an excellent condiment for your breakfast sandwich.

7. We buy our eggs fresh from the farm so there isn’t always consistency with the egg size. While I haven’t had any eggs large enough to cause leakage, some of the cooked eggs have been a little thicker than I would prefer in my finished breakfast sandwich. Now, when I pick an egg that appears to be considerably larger than the others, I will break and mix it into a small bowl and then use the contents of the single egg to make two breakfast sausages.

8. If you choose to add some milk or cream to your egg to make a scrambled egg, you may have to set the timer to cook a little longer. Adding milk or cream also increases the volume so you may want to consider making 1 egg/milk mix for both sandwiches. 

9. I haven’t found that the order really matters much. For less mess and ease of cleaning, I try to keep things like cheese or a slice of tomato on the bottom section but covered with something like a slice of meat to avoid the cheese or tomato from coming in direct contact with the top hot plate. But so far, when that’s not convenient, I haven’t had any issues with foods sticking to the plates.

Conclusion

For what it’s worth, from my personal experience I did not have any of the issues that other customers complained of in their reviews such as: leaking eggs, burned buns, parts of the sandwich being under or over cooked or difficulties in cleaning.